122 Hunting Trips of a Ranchman 



this kind of hunting, no dress is so good as a buck- 

 skin suit and moccasins. The moccasins enable one 

 to tread softly and noiselessly, while the buckskin 

 suit is of a most inconspicuous color, and makes less 

 rustling than any other material when passing 

 among projecting twigs. Care must be taken to 

 always hunt up wind, and to advance without any 

 sudden motions, walking close in to the edge of the 

 thickets, and keeping a sharp look-out, as it is of 

 the first importance to see the game before the game 

 sees you. The feeding-grounds of the deer may 

 vary. If they are on a bottom studded with dense 

 copses, they move out on the open between them ; if 

 they are in a dense wood, they feed along its edges ; 

 but, by preference, they keep in the little glades and 

 among the bushes underneath the trees. Wherever 

 they may be found, they are rarely far from thick 

 cover, and are always on the alert, lifting up their 

 heads every few bites they take to see if any danger 

 threatens them. But, unlike the antelope, they seem 

 to rely for safety even more upon escaping observa- 

 tion than upon discovering danger while it is still 

 far off, and so are usually in sheltered places where 

 they can not be seen at any distance. Hence, shots 

 at them are generally obtained, if obtained at all, at 

 very much closer range than at any other kind of 

 game; the average distance would be nearer fifty 

 than a hundred yards. On the other hand, more of 

 the shots obtained are running ones than is the case 

 with the same number taken at antelope or black-tail. 

 If the deer is standing just out of a fair-sized 



