198 EARLY DAY STORIES. 



first deer, which now lay kicking in the weeds. Again I 

 fired the gun in the direction of the deer, and plainly saw 

 where the ball struck over its back in the bank. This second 

 deer did not stir except to start, but kept watching the first 

 one. The second shot brought it down, the two falling not 

 more than three or four steps apart. I had killed a good 

 many deer before this, and thought I could always keep cool 

 enough to take accurate aim. Well, this time I had learned 

 something new about my ability and my failings as a hunter. 



These deer were young, probably yearlings, were very 

 tame, and it is likely, had never seen a man before. Dress- 

 ing the deer, laying them in a shady place and covering 

 them over with choke cherry bushes, I went on. In two or 

 three hours more I had found a pool of clear water at the 

 very head of Wallace creek, where there was an abundance 

 of dry elm wood and some ash for camp fires, and plenty 

 of good grass for the horses. Having seen fresh signs of 

 elk, I thought it best to try to get one on my way back to 

 camp. Taking a long circuit to the north of the course fol- 

 lowed on my way out, I sighted a herd of about twenty-five 

 about two o'clock in the afternoon. They were feeding in 

 a rather flat sandy country where there were some low knolls 

 and an occasional patch of plum bushes, so that it was not 

 hard to get near enough for a shot, and besides the wind 

 was favorable. Leaving Flora where she would be out of 

 sight I approached them on foot. When near enough for a 

 long shot, I lay in the grass to wait and watch, as they were 

 working along across the wind, and gradually coming near- 

 er. My hat was trimmed with grass, and as I lay on my 

 stomach, resting on my elbows, this brought my head high 

 enough so that the elk were in plain sight through the scat- 

 tering stalks of blue stem. What a sight that was ! It was 

 too early in the season for the young bucks to be driven out 

 of the herd, although the old master buck was there with 

 his big branching antlers. There were several, probably five 



