3i8 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS 
CHAP. 
knell to a deer. When attentive to the distant 
voices, quite half a mile away, he little dreamt that 
long-legged mute hounds were far in advance upon 
the scent. Here we see the advantage of the cross 
with greyhound and foxhound, or blood - hound. 
Those dogs would follow by scent or sight, but 
would never open. Much faster than other hounds 
which composed the pack, they went ahead, and 
gained a position close to the stag before he knew 
that danger was nearer than the chorus to which he 
listened at a distance. Sometimes I feel sure that 
the long-legged dogs actually appeared in view of 
the awaiting stag before he had an idea of any 
enemy. This was absolutely necessary to ensure a 
quick solution of the hunt. If the stag were not 
pressed to his utmost at the outset, he would have 
plenty of leisure to breast the mountain steep, to 
reach the summit long before the pack. In that 
case he would cross the ridge, and descend the slope 
upon the other side. That would be a case indeed 
when the buckle of the waist-belt would be drawn as 
tight as possible, to prepare for a long day’s work ; 
as the sambur would never stop when once his nose 
was turned down hill, and he would run for probably 
io miles into the depths of some awful ravines, 
where he would possibly escape. 
If, on the other hand, the mute long-legged 
hounds should interview him before the arrival of 
the pack, the effect would be magnificent. For the 
first burst the stag would make straight up the 
mountain side, but the full paunch of a night’s feed 
c\ 
