We often had
fine sport with these fellows. A quick, sharp bark from a coati, and
in an instant every dog was at the height of his speed. A few
moments made up for an unfair start, and gave each dog his relative
place. Welly, at the head, seemed almost to skim over the bushes;
and after him came Fanny, Felicians, Childers, and the other fleet
ones,- the spaniels and terriers; and then behind, followed the heavy
corps- bulldogs, etc., for we had every breed. Pursuit by us was in
vain, and in about half an hour a few of them would come panting and
straggling back.
Beside the coati, the dogs sometimes made prizes of rabbits and
hares, which are very plentiful here, and great numbers of which we
often shot for our dinners. There was another animal that I was not so
much disposed to find amusement from, and that was the rattlesnake.
These are very abundant here, especially during the spring of the
year. The latter part of the time that I was on shore, I did not
meet with so many, but for the first two months we seldom went into
"the bush" without one of our number starting some of them. The
first that I ever saw, I remember perfectly well.
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