carts. That was something that we
did not desire, as we wished the honor of making the capture; and had we
been disposed to trust to our revolvers, we could have wounded the bird
when it unhorsed the lieutenant and left him sprawling in the dirt.

The eyes of the cassiowary were as sharp, however, as our own, and
seeing the danger in front, slackened its speed as though uncertain what
to do, and we took advantage of the hesitancy to urge the pace of our
horses to the utmost, and gained so rapidly that Fred determined to try
his reatta. He whirled it over his head in true Mexican style, and threw
it, but the Mexican science was not in the act; it struck upon the
bird's back, and then slipped to the ground.

Nothing daunted, Fred gathered up his rope again, and by the time that
it was in his hand the chase suddenly stopped, raised its long neck, and
attempted to pass between us, and again seek refuge amidst the grass
that was growing in profusion on our right.

That act was fatal to the poor bird, for before it could gain headway
Rover had caught one of its long legs in his mouth and bit so hard that
a shrill shriek was elicited--something like the cry of an enraged ape.
Again did the bird strike him with beak and claw, but the dog held on
with the tenacity of a death-grip; and during the struggle we rode
quickly up and threw our slip-nooses over that long neck, which had cut
through the air with more than railroad speed. Even then, the cassiowary
seemed to be more concerned about Rover than ourselves, and fought him
fiercely.

"Call off the dog," shouted Fred; "we have him sure, now."

That was a task of some difficulty, for Rover had got his blood up and
was fighting desperately, making the feathers fly in all directions; and
even his antagonist was using all the weapons that nature had given him,
and was striking out like a prize-fighter, fighting with wings and beak,
and sometimes with feet, in a manner that would have excited the
admiration of a cock-fighting padre.

By the time that I got Rover to relinquish the combat,--and during its
continuance I did not escape harmless,--the teamsters had stopped their
oxen and were rushing towards us, anxious to see what kind of an animal
we were struggling with. The bird made frantic efforts to escape, but by
means of the rope we were enabled to frustrate them, and were getting
him quite subdued when the crowd reached us.

"What on airth is that?" inquired a man, whose