CHASE-GUNS are guns which are either in the head, when they are used in chasing others, or in the stern, where they are only useful in the event of pursuit by any other ship.
Wild-goose Chase, a term used to express a sort of racing on horseback formerly practised, resembling the flying of wild geese: those birds generally going in a train one after another, not in confused flocks as other birds do. In this sort of race the two horses, after running twelve score yards, had liberty, which horse soever could get the lead, to take what ground the jockey pleased, the hindmost horse being bound to follow him within a certain distance agreed on by the articles, or else to be whipped in by the triers and judges who rode by; and whichever horse could distance the other won the race. This sort of racing was not long in common use; for it was found inhuman, and destructive of good horses, when two such were matched together. For in this case neither was able to distance the other till they were both ready to sink under their riders; and often two very good horses were both spoiled, and the wagers forced to be drawn at last. The mischief of this sort of racing soon brought in the method now in use, of only running over a certain quantity of ground, and determining the plate or wager by coming in first at the winning-post.