Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1879-07-11
An Exciting Chase.

q hounds chase after an antelope in
Sonora is from Summerland Sketches;
or, Rambles in the Backwoods of Mexico
and Central America" in LipDincOt'S
MGgGzj'ae:
We kept the -galgo in leash till we
reached the lower end of bushy ravine.
at point from where the antelOpes
were in plain view. There were eight OF
them-five does and three bucks, one OF
them a fat old fellow with the grayisl
upper neck that distinguishes the full
grown specimens OF the antelope Gnleri'
Ca1a0-all browsing quietly and evident
ly unconscious of any danger, though
two of the old does faced the ravine anC
seemed t. look directly into our eyes
whenever they stretched their necks fol
digestive purposes.
COnTounu the dog! lie HASN'T seen
them yet" said Mr.. Davis; but it's a
lost game if we go any nearer. Just
hold his head a moment"
Nepo had understood the meaning of
our maneuvers for the last five minutes,
and fully conscious of being the cause
of the perhaps fatal delay, had wrought
himself into a state of nervous excite
ment; but after straining his neck and
eyes in all possible directions, he still
turned his head and looked at US in q
helpless and deprecatory way.
"That's it! hold him steady" whis
pered the Boss. THAT will do now; he
has seen them-by Dios he has seen
them! Now take care! keep hold of him
till get that leash off. That's it! What
do you say? shall we try to get a little
nearerP 1t can't do any harm now. Let
me go ahead" He grabbed the hound
by the collar and walked, or rather crept
toward ajuniper bush some twenty yards
farther down; and still the cobras
the bush and after n little pause crept
around it, more slowly and surrepti-
| tiously than before; but he had not adj
vanced the length ofhis own body when
two, three, four sibilant snorts from tn
coppice gave the signal for the beginning
of the race. One the does led off with
a dashing caper, and the troop wheeled
around the coppice and went down the
slope at rafting gallop.
| have seen English race horses on the
homestretch and a wolf in full pursuit
of roe, but the career Of the galgo re-
minded me more of the rush of some
long waterfowl sweeping down
river with that impetus that sends it
flying through the surface water for ten
or twelve yards if it tries to alight
With his head. neck and breast stretched
, forward, he shot ahead in a direction
that was well calculated to intercept the
fugitives if they should try to take to the
timber on this side of the lower valley
and headed them off before they had
passed the bottom of the ravine. They
turned to the left then, now fully aware
that they had to run for their lives, anG
went over the undulating hillocks of the
opposite slope at a rate that would have
.defied the pursuit of the best rider il
North America. Hedges, gulleys anC
rocks they cleared with flying leaps
which only kangaroo could emulate
while the greyhound had to break
through such obstacles or get aroun'
them the best way he could.
There was an extensive forest on thu
ridge of the opposite slope, and, though
still at distance of half a league, the
chances seemed even that the cabra'
would get there in time. But before
they reached it they had to cross a leveI
plateau where neither rocks nor bushes
gave them any advantage over the pur
suer; and here the race of life began il
earnest. The antelopes strained ever.
nerve, and their flying leaps became
, wilder and more frequent, but the gal
COS chance had come. No Intermittent
flying could save them from that stead.
J rush, and just when the foremost cabri
} dashed into the wood the troop flew
asunder like pile of pebbles under
,, sudden blow; the greyhound was il
! their midst, and loud hurrah from tn
ridge above told us what we could no
see from our lower standpoint; TIL
cook had won his bet, and Nepo wa
throttling an antelope in the outskirts o
the forest, which she had reached
second too late. The race had lasted
little more than ten minutes.