2O8 ADVENTURES OF DR. ALLEN. 



fied with sport that I did not follow the other deer any 

 farther, but contentedly cared for the meat. When I told 

 Mike what I had done, he rolled up his eyes and exclaimed : 



"I never knew you could shoot at all. I don't believe 

 half you have said. Give it to me light." 



I finally persuaded him to go with me, taking with us 

 two mules and an ax to cut a good road. He called one of 

 the mules Jack, the other Antelope. We gathered up the 

 game, packed it on Jack and Antelope, and started back, 

 Mike leading the way and I following. When we reached 

 a steep bank where the trail was very narrow,, the mules be- 

 gan to crowd, and in other ways to exhibit their mulish na- 

 ture, until Antelope lost his footing and fell into the water 

 on his back. 



Mike warmed the old fellow up with a brush vigorous- 

 ly applied ; but Antelope was too heavily loaded to get up 

 without assistance. We relieved him of his load, finally 

 pulling him out of the water, but we had a hard trip to 

 camp, tearing through thorns and beaver-dams. There were 

 now sixteen deer dressed and ready to be taken home. 



When I awoke the next morning, a large deer was 

 standing above the camp looking down upon us. The re- 

 port of a shot from my rifle set the camp in an uproar. The 

 deer came crashing toward us, and fell dead within fifty 

 yards of camp. After a splendid breakfast, we packed our 

 venison and separated, Mike and I going to Custer, Frank 

 and Danford to their homes on Canyon Creek. 



Traveling along beneath the broiling sun, Mike and I 

 became very thirsty, and our mules were also suffering for a 

 cooling draught, when we noticed some bushes and found 

 that they fringed the banks of a little rivulet. With cries 

 which rivaled the demonstrations made by the children of 

 Israel in the wilderness under similar circumstances, we 



