Of course, riding to hounds, like all sports in long settled, thickly
peopled countries, fails to develop in its followers some of the hardy
qualities necessarily incident to the wilder pursuits of the mountain
and the forest. While I was on the frontier I was struck by the fact
that of the men from the eastern States or from England who had shown
themselves at home to be good riders to hounds or had made their records
as college athletes, a larger proportion failed in the life of the
wilderness than was the case among those who had gained their experience
in such rough pastimes as mountaineering in the high Alps, winter
caribou-hunting in Canada, or deer-stalking--not deer-driving--in
Scotland.
Nevertheless, of all sports possible in civilized countries, riding to
hounds is perhaps the best if followed as it should be, for the sake
of the strong excitement, with as much simplicity as possible, and not
merely as a fashionable amusement. It tends to develop moral no less
than physical qualities; the rider needs nerve and head; he must possess
daring and resolution, as well as a good deal of bodily skill and a
certain amount of wiry toughness and endurance.
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