The morning times., 1897-01-10
RECKLESS SOUTHERN HoRsEMEN
When After Hounds Nothing Dauntr
the Virginian or kentuckian.
Cenf1lrn

1t is hard to fathom the spirit Of reckless
ness that most sharply differentiates the
Southern hunter from his Northern brother,
and thatrunshim amuck when he ComeSi into
contact with horse, whether riding, driv-
ing or betting on him. II thing has to DE
Gone III a hunting field. or can Toe done there
islittle difference between the two Only
the thing must, with the Northerner, be a
natter of skill and Judgment and he likes to
know his horse. Tohin or 10 an EnglishmaR
the s Southern hunters performances on a
green + orse look little short of criminal. N
certain Counties of Virginia where hunters
follow the hounds after the English fashion
the main point seems to be for each man TO
''hang up the man behind him and des-
perate risks are run Il have stopped that
boyish foUfshEess, though" said an aged
hunter under thirty Il give ny horse a
chance" In other words, he had stopped
exacting OF him theimpossible. In Georgia
they follow the hounds at n fast gallOp
thIo ough wooded b0gs and swampS at night,
and 1 have seen a horse go down twice
within a distance of thirty yards and tho
rider never leave his back.
/ have known one OF my friends in the
blue grass to amuse himself by getting into
his buggy an unsuspecting friend, who
was as sedate then as he is now and he is
Judge now, and driving him at fun speed
through an open gate, then whiZziDg
through the woods and seeing how near he
could Craze the trunks OF trees in his course
and how sharply he could turn, and end
ing up the circuit by dashing, still at fun
speed, into a creek, his companion still Sc
date and fearless, but swearing heIplesSly.
Being bantered by an equally reckless
friend one dark midnig ht while going home,
this same man threw both Teins out on his
horses back, and gave the high-strUng
beast a smart cut with his whip He ran
four miles. keptthe pike blythe sound mercy
of Providence, and dstoppedexhausted at his
masters gate.
A Northern visitor was irritated by the
apparently reckless driving of his host.
who is famous horsemaR in the blue
grass.
You lunatic," he said, you'd better
drive over those stone pnes,-' meaning a
heap of Bnbr0EzeR rocks thatlay on the side
of the turnpike
II -wi8l,'' was the grave answer, and he
did.
This is the Kentuckian in a buggy Imag-
inc him en- horseback, with no ladies' present
to check the spirits or the spirits Ofthe Occa-
sion, and we can believe thatthe Thanks
giving hunt Of tire IroquoiS Club is perhapsa
little more serious business than playing
polo orriding after aniSeed. Andyetthereis
hardly member of this club who could sit
in his saddle over the course at Meadow
brook or Chevy Chase, for the reason tllathe
has never practiced jumping horse in his
stride, and because when he goes fast he
! takes the jockey seat, which rs not. ! believe
a good seat for five-fOOtfencei atthe same
time there is hardly a Countrybred rider in
the blue grass, man or woman, who would
not try.it- StnlaccidentS are rare, and il is
yeta tenetin the creed ofJhe Southern hunt
er that the safer plan is 20 take no care.
on the chase with greyhounds, the dogs
run, of course, by sight, and the point with
the huHtSInan is TO be the first at The place
OF the kill. As the greyhound toSses the
rabbit Seyeralfeeti in the air and catches it
when it falls, the place is seen by all and
there is a mad rush for that one spot. The
hunters crash together aud often knock one
another down I have known tw o fallen
horses and their riders to be cleared in q
leap by two hunters who were close be-
hind them. One ofthe men was struck by .
hoof flying over him.