EARLY DAY STORIES. 209 



However, I had no gun with me, and did not really think 

 it could be a deer, but supposed it to be a weed or a bunch 

 of grass. When passing within about two hundred steps 

 of the clay bank, the spot got up, stretched itself, looked at 

 me for a second, and bounded away around the point of the 

 bluff. Had I been hunting at the time and had with me a 

 glass, the question as to whether the object was a deer or 

 not could have been quickly solved, and most likely a fair 

 shot could have been secured. Something quite similar has 

 happened many times when I have been out on a hunt, and 

 at such a time, and at very many such times in fact, a field 

 glass was very convenient. When game is seen traveling 

 at the distance of a half mile or more away, one can deter- 

 mine the exact course it is taking much better with, than 

 without a glass. 



After the year 1888, all the hunting done by me was 

 done in the Black Hills, mostly in South Dakota, but to some 

 extent in Wyoming. Hunting in the Black Hills was very 

 pleasant ; not that game was any plentier than it was on the 

 Loup Fork river and its tributaries in the early days, but 

 because of the enchanting wildness and wonderful diversity 

 and magnificence of the scenery. Whether game was killed 

 or not, a hunting and camping trip in the Black Hills was 

 always a source of unalloyed pleasure. In fact, I never had 

 quite as good luck in getting game in the Black Hills as I 

 have had in the country west and southwest of Antelope 

 county, but in the Black Hills the best of camping places 

 could be found everywhere, with good water, perfect shel- 

 ter, and for the camp fires, fuel without end. In the Black 

 Hills one forgets that he is there to hunt for game, and is 

 likely to put in the time climbing the steep rugged peaks to 

 enjoy the grand scenery, or wandering through the pine and 

 spruce forests, or skirting the splendid open parks and glades 

 that are so numerous. 



