356 



AN UNWELCOME INTRUDER. 



not one of them, however, hit the noble beast, which, in a 

 contemptuous manner, continued his gallop in my direction. 

 My heart beat with emotion and desire: with my eye fixed 

 on the sight of my rifle, I kept the antelope under aim, 

 ready to pull the trigger, when, at twenty yards from my 

 hiding-place, a fourth report startled the echoes, and I saw 



"HE CONTINUED HIS GALLOP IN MY DIRECTION." 



my coveted prey, which I had looked upon as peculiarly 

 my own, roll lifeless on the blood-bedabbled grass. At 

 the same moment, an Indian, emerging from the shade of 

 the cotton-trees, filled the air with his shrill whoop, in 

 token of victory. I confess I felt so furious, that, for a 

 moment, I entertained the fatal thought of lodging a 

 bullet in the head of the Sioux ; but I soon shook off the 

 criminal feeling, and called my dogs, vowing that never 

 again would I separate myself from other hunters, nor 

 run the risk of having my own proper booty carried off 

 under my very nose. 



When one hunts in company in the 'American prairies. 



