THE TEXAN HUNTRESS. 285 
with eager eye and bounding pulse to wait the instant when 
they should have passed us on their way into the illimitable 
plain upon which they trust to their flying feet for safety. 
But though those tiny hoofs be fleet enough to leave the Red 
Wolf far behind, or dart beyond the agile panther’s leap, yet 
our good steeds, that champ and plunge impatiently, are far 
more fleet than they. Now they go bounding by with long, 
high leaps over the tall, embarrassing grass, and seem as if 
they half wore wings, and were afraid to use them. Now, 
too, with a wild shout of pent-up excitement, we are off on 
the chase, each man selecting his special prey. There is 
little use for the whip and spur in this hunt, for when a horse 
has once tasted its fierce and headlong pleasures, he needs 
no other stimulant after. They, like their riders, become | 
furious with the excitement, and sometimes will bite the poor 
animal when they come up with it after a long chase. 
The broad, white tails of the deer produce a droll effect as 
they rise and fall along the surface of the grass, and serve as 
a sort of fluttering beacon to the eye in the early part of the 
run; for, when they, at first sight of you, fairly straighten 
themselves in their frightened speed, they leave horse and 
rider far enough behind; but this does not last long; they 
are very fat at this season, the fall, and do not hold out at 
this rate. They soon begin to flag from the heat and dragging 
weight of the grass, which is now nearly as high as their backs. 
We gradually close upon them, and the herd begins to break 
up, scattering here and there and everywhere. Your eye 
has become fixéd upon a particular one, a noble buck, whose 
powerful form has attracted you. Your horse has caught 
_ the same object, and divines you well as he turns his head to 
follow it, without regard to the course taken by the rest. 
Now the excitement becomes a delirium of action; and as 
you find yourself farther separated from the other sounds of 
the chase, your own individual passions become more and more 
intensified upon the immediate object before you, and you 
