172 The Black-Tail Deer. 



by my lessons ; and before we reached home my wish was 

 gratified. We were loping down a grassy valley, dotted 

 with clumps of brush, the wind blowing strong in our 

 faces, and deadening the noise made by the hoofs on 

 the grass. As we passed by a piece of broken ground a 

 yearling black-tail buck jumped into view and cantered 

 away. I was off Manitou's back in an instant. The buck was 

 moving slowly, and was evidently soon going to stop and 

 look round, so I dropped on one knee, with my rifle half 

 raised, and waited. When about sixty yards off he halted 

 and turned sideways to me, offering a beautiful broadside 

 shot. I aimed at the spot just behind the shoulder and 

 felt I had him. At the report he went off, but with 

 short, weak bounds, and I knew he would not go far ; nor 

 did he, but stopped short, swayed unsteadily about, and 

 went over on his side, dead, the bullet clean through his 

 body. 



Each of us already had a deer behind his saddle, so we 

 could not take the last buck along with us. Accordingly 

 we dressed him, and hung him up by the heels to a branch 

 of a tree, piling the brush around as if building a slight 

 pen or trap, to keep off the coyotes ; who, anyhow, are not 

 apt to harm game that is hanging up, their caution seem- 

 ing to make them fear that it will not be safe to do so. 

 In such cold weather a deer hung up in this way will keep 

 an indefinite length of time ; and the carcass was all right 

 when a week or two afterwards we sent out the buck-board 

 to bring it back. 



A stout buck-board is very useful on a ranch, where 

 men are continually taking short trips on which they do 



