EARLY DAY STORIES. 205 



good luck, and were having a good time. All had killed 

 some game excepting Lowe and Porter. Lowe had an old 

 Spencer carbine that was worthless and he gave up hunting 

 and looked after the camp. Porter had a good double bar- 

 rel shot gun, but had been unable to get in a shot at close 

 range. He thought he could surely get some game if he 

 had a rifle. As we were to move camp the next day, and 

 as it fell to my lot, as usual, to act as guide to the team in 

 moving, and I could therefore do little or no hunting, I 

 offered to trade guns with Porter for the day. He was glad 

 enough to make the exchange. We were to move about 

 fifteen miles, Mr. McClary and Lowe keeping with the team, 

 while I, acting as guide, would either go ahead or off some 

 distance to one side in search of game. We had gone per- 

 haps two miles when I came across a spike horn white tail 

 buck, in a little grove of box elder trees. He did not offer 

 to run, but stood watching me, not over ten rods away. I 

 fired, nearly every buck shot taking effect, and he fell with- 

 out hardly making a jump. Loading on the deer, I directed 

 those with the team to follow up a certain ridge, and, if I 

 did not overtake them to wait near a hill about two miles 

 distant but in plain sight. 



Striking off toward the left, and gradually increasing 

 the distance from the wagon, I had not gone much more 

 than half a mile, and was following up along the side of a 

 ravine, when I saw an elk coming over a hill about half a 

 mile away. He entered the same ravine I was following 

 and was coming down to meet me on a fast trot. There 

 was not the least shelter or screen of any kind near me, not 

 even any grass, for just there the fire had crossed the ravine 

 and burned everything off. I knelt down on one knee and 

 waited, thinking the elk would surely see me and turn off 

 in some other direction. He came on without paying the 

 least attention to me, and was passing within thirty steps 

 when I fired one barrel and as he turned, gave him the other 



