Nor is attended with less risk ; for, in addition to the above negli gence, the danger of being run away with by the elephant, on which the sportsman must be mounted, is to be considered. The tiger is usually roused from his the jungle of underwood, or from his haunt among grass of a prodigious height, covering immense ttacts of land. Few elephants can be brought to face him ; and, when they can, it often hap pens that the tiger's claws repel the at tack, or that, by springing upon the back of the stupendous quadruped, he dislodg es the driver, or the sportsman and his attendant. It is, however, a fact, that fewer persons are destroyed, or maimed, in either boar or tiger-hunting, than meet their deaths in fox-hunting. But even that hazardous diversion may be consider ed as safe, when compared with in which Feat speed is indispensable, and no hesitation can be admitted by any person desirous of wit nessing the various bold and elegant va riations in the stag's career. For this sport, hounds of large stature, great pow ers, and extraordinary courage, are in dispensable; for when the stag sails, (i. e.
takes to the water) be must be followed without delay : when at bay, (i. e. stand ing on his defence, probably with his rump towards a tree) he will make des perate attacks on his pursuers; frequent ly tossing many of the dogs, and goring the horses of such as approach him in cautiously. Many hunt stags with what are called stop-hounds: which implies, that whenever the stag is to be saved, the huntsman heads the pack, and throws a pole, on which the whole desist from the pursuit. This may be needful where the game is not abundant, but requires much management and great assiduity to effect. • We fear the taxes laid on horses and dogs, added to the expense of the neces sary certificate, trench deeply on the en joyment of rural sports, by those who are qualified, and operate considerably in fa vour 'of poachers, who thus have the game, in a measure, preserved for them ; and are sure of a sale for their ill-gotten gains, among families which formerly could always obtain a hare, or a brace of birds, without expense, and the result of a healthy mode of amusement.