It Must Appear A Frightful Extravagance To
English Ideas To Feed The Hounds Upon Venison, But As It Costs Nothing,
It Is A Cheaper Food Than Beef, And No Other Flesh Is Procurable In
Sufficient Quantity.
Venison is in its prime when the elk's horns are in
velvet.
At this season, when the new antlers have almost attained their
full growth, they are particularly tender, and the buck moves slowly and
cautiously through the jungle, lest he should injure them against the
branches, taking no further exercise than is necessary in the search of
food. He therefore grows very fat, and is then in fine condition.
The speed of an elk, although great, cannot be compared to that of the
spotted deer. I have seen the latter almost distance the best greyhounds
for the first 200 yards, but with this class of dogs the elk has no
chance upon fair open ground. Coursing the elk, therefore, is a
short-lived sport, as the greyhounds run into him immediately, and a
tremendous struggle then ensues, which must be terminated as soon as
possible by the knife, otherwise the dogs would most probably be
wounded. I once saw Killbuck perform a wonderful feat in seizing. A buck
elk broke cover in the Elk Plains, and I slipped a brace of greyhounds
after him, Killbuck and Bran. The buck had a start of about 200 yards,
but the speed of the greyhounds told rapidly upon him, and after a
course of a quarter of a mile, they were at his haunches, Killbuck
leading. The next instant he sprang in full fly, and got his hold by the
ear. So sudden was the shock, that the buck turned a complete
somersault, but, recovering himself immediately, he regained his feet,
and started off at a gallop down hill towards a stream, the dog still
hanging on. In turning over in his fall, the ear had twisted round, and
Killbuck, never having left his hold, was therefore on his back, in
which position he was dragged at great speed over the rugged ground.
Notwithstanding the difficulty of his position, he would not give up his
hold. In the meantime, Bran kept seizing the other ear, but continually
lost his hold as the ear gave way. Killbuck's weight kept the buck's
head on a level with his knees; and after a run of some hundred yards,
during the whole of which, the dog had been dragged upon his back
without once losing his hold, the elk's pace was reduced to a walk. With
both greyhounds now hanging on his ears, the buck reached the river, and
he and the dogs rolled down the steep bank into the deep water. I came
up just at this moment and killed the elk, but both dogs were
frightfully wounded, and for some time I despaired of their recovery.
This was an extraordinary feat in seizing; but Killbuck was matchless in
this respect, and accordingly of great value, as he was sure to retain
his hold when he once got it.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 98 of 177
Words from 50077 to 50586
of 91283
