7 6 



R EC RE A TION. 



selves, and now follow each turn and 

 wrench with wonderful agility. The 

 hounds seem to get their mouths closer 

 to the hare and make a drive to kill, 

 only to be again cast off. Once more 

 they get their noses close to her and this 

 time their effort to kill is successful. 

 After a turn or two has been made by 

 the hare and hounds, your horse has 

 fully entered into the sport and endeav- 

 ors to follow the line of the course as 

 closely as possible, keeping you on the 

 alert, watching your seat as well as the 

 course. It is a ride like this that gives 

 the invalid new lease of life. 



A few minutes breathing spell for 

 yourself and horse — (during which time 

 the exhausted greyhounds are taken up, 

 put into their crate, and a fresh pair put 

 down,) the lucky foot and ears having 

 been duly presented to the first in at the 

 kill, and all are ready for another course. 



As you are riding along leisurely, sur- 

 veying the surrounding country, your 

 horse suddenly throws up> his head, 

 pricks his ears forward -and attracts 

 your attention to a cayote sneaking over 

 the next hill several hundred yards 

 away. The hounds have just got a 

 glimpse of him and are off ; when they 

 reach the brow of the hill and get a 

 good view of the cayote making tracks 

 for the next county, they let out another 

 link of speed and at once commence to 

 close up the gap between them and the 

 quarry. After a run of a mile or more 

 they reach and trip him. They do not 



seem to be able to hold him and for 

 several hundred yards, it is snap, snarl 

 and yelp — a regular running fight. At 

 last one of the hounds succeeds in get- 

 ting a firm hold on the throat, while 

 another gets a flank hold ; thus they 

 stretch and choke him until life is ex- 

 tinct. 



The first rider in at the death claims 

 the pelt and at once sets about getting 

 it ; which when removed he takes to the 

 taxidermist and has mounted or made 

 into a rug to ornament his library and 

 as a trophy to recall the exciting and 

 most enjoyable course. The opportu- 

 nities to participate in this grand sport 

 are confined principally to those who 

 live west of the Mississippi. 



So popular has rabbit coursing be- 

 come that clubs for the advancement 

 of the sport have been the outgrowth. 

 The first club in this country was or- 

 ganized in California in 1867, and was 

 known as "The California Pioneer 

 Coursing Club." Since then many 

 clubs have been organized on the Pa- 

 cific coast and in the states east of the 

 Rockies. Public meetings, under the 

 auspices of the different clubs, are now 

 held annually in several states ; one 

 meeting following another. 



Let us hope that this sport will con- 

 tinue to grow in favor and popularity, 

 until we may with reason quote the old 

 Welsh proverb, " You may know a gen- 

 tleman by his horse, his hawk and his 

 greyhound." 



