The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1891-10-30

Il
first one and then the other of those
awfully long ears; he changed his
trot to a gallop, and pushed right
up through the band ofwell-mount-
ed hunters, going straight to the
front and just simply stabbing the
earth with his hOofs in an effort to
overtake the hounds.
" Don't try to hold him Just
hang on' cried my friend, as [ shot
past him; and 1 gave myself up to
that task as well as | could, for he
had me pretty well frightened. On
hewentthrough the woods, just mis-
sing a great sycamore on one side
and a rock on the other, crashing
into and over heap of brush or the
top Of fallen tree, plunging into
wide creeks and leaping over mar
row ones, until | thought my end
was come. But / couldn't let 90.
Ny only hope was that he would
let up after awhile, and give me a
chance to get away. One-half of
my shoe was ripped from my foot,
and the half Of my coat had gone
to keep it company. My hands and
face were scratched and bleeding,
but I led the chase and led it easily
Finally we came to a high rail
fence-ten rails high and | said
to myself, Now [ have got him
But l hadn't He just kept on
galloping right at that fence, but
he seemed to be studying it, and
feeling the bits as if they didn't set
right. 1 pulled away harder than
ever, for [ felt if he undertook to
jump that fence he would kill him
self and me, to. But he didn't try
to go over it he just went through
it. He went right at it with a rush,
threw his fore legs high enough to
get them over the top-and that
settled the fence. Down it came
mule, man and all-and he clam
bered out and went on without los
ing minute.
"That was a cotton field. 1t was
rank and tall, and the bolls whip
ped me in the face, and the strong
stalks grasped my clothes and tore
them but l could not get away,
and just sawed at the bits and pray
ed for a dead wall, or a pitfall or a
stroke of lightning. Out on the
further side of the field the fence
was down, and we went outall right.
There was thecreek, and the hounds
were just creeping up the further
bank. 1t was high and steep.
though this would end it, but IL
didn't. That mule went at it fran
tically. He leaped from the high
bank as if he was a sort of winged
steed, and landed right in the mid
die Of the water. But he didn't
waste a minute. He clambe1ed uI
the further bank, and shot away
again after them-and the nearest
horsemen were twenty rods away
, looking for ford.
"There were the hounds, JUS
over a little hill not forty rods away
, and they had the fox. If that mule
, had been frantic before, he was mac
now. He fairly flew, and uttered
! that unearthly cry-the only on,
? permitted to the hybrid brute. VI
over the knoll, through little patel
of timber called the grape field
h down --
"But that was the end of my ride
One of the grapevines hung low be
tween two trees, and the mule dart
ed under it. 1t caught me abou
. the body, and away went that AM
: NAL, right up to the hounds. 'Isho
y, high up in the air on that vine, the
. swung away back, and finally man
- aged to get to the ground withor
injury. The other fellows gallon
80 ed past and around me, and leape
from their horses about the fox.
stumbled down there as we'll as