EPISODES 471 



approaches the object, sometimes so near as to discern its 

 form, when, raising the rifle to his shoulder, he fires and 

 kills it on the spot. He then dismounts, secures the skin 

 and such portions of the flesh as he may want, in the man- 

 ner already described, and continues his search through 

 the greater part of the night, sometimes until the dawn of 

 day, shooting from five to ten Deer, should these animals 

 be plentiful. This kind of hunting proves fatal, not to the 

 Deer alone, but also sometimes to Wolves, and now and 

 then to a horse or cow, which may have straggled far into 

 the woods. 



Now, kind reader, prepare to mount a generous, full- 

 blood Virginian hunter. See that your gun is in complete 

 order, for hark to the sound of the bugle and horn, and 

 the mingled clamor of a pack of harriers ! Your friends 

 are waiting for you, under the shade of the wood, and we 

 must together go driving the light-footed Deer. The dis- 

 tance over which one has to travel is seldom felt when 

 pleasure is anticipated as the result ; so galloping we go 

 pell-mell through the woods, to some well-known place 

 where many a fine buck has drooped its antlers under the 

 ball of the hunter's rifle. The servants, who are called the 

 drivers, have already begun their search. Their voices are 

 heard exciting the hounds, and unless we put spurs to our 

 steeds, we may be too late at our stand, and thus lose the 

 first opportunity of shooting the fleeting game as it passes 

 by. Hark again ! The dogs are in chase, the horn sounds 

 louder and more clearly. Hurry, hurry on, or we shall be 

 sadly behind ! 



Here we are at last ! Dismount, fasten your horse to 

 this tree, place yourself by the side of that large yellow 

 poplar, and mind you do not shoot me ! The Deer is fast 

 approaching; I will to my own stand, and he who shoots 

 him dead wins the prize. 



The Deer is heard coming. It has inadvertently cracked 

 a dead stick with its hoof, and the dogs are now so near 



