The Deer of the River Bottoms 127 



the brush is higher than a man's head, and one has 

 then practically no chance at all of getting a shot 

 on foot when crossing through such places. But I 

 have known instances where a man had himself 

 driven in a tall light wagon through a place like this, 

 and got several snap shots at the deer, as he caught 

 momentary glimpses of them stealing off through 

 the underbrush; and another method of pursuit in 

 these jungles is occasionally followed by one of my 

 foremen, who, mounted on a quiet horse, which will 

 stand fire, pushes through the bushes and now and 

 then gets a quick shot at a deer from horseback. I 

 have tried this method myself, but without success, 

 for though my hunting-horse, old Manitou, stands 

 as steady as a rock, yet I find it impossible to shoot 

 the rifle with any degree of accuracy from the 

 saddle. 



Except on such occasions as those just mentioned, 

 the white-tail is rarely killed while hunting on horse- 

 back. This last term, by-the-way, must not be un- 

 derstood in the sense in which it would be taken 

 by the fox-hunter of the South, or by the Califor- 

 nian and Texan horsemen who course hare, ante- 

 lope, and wild turkey with their fleet greyhounds. 

 With us hunting on horseback simply means that 

 the horse is ridden not only to the hunting grounds, 

 but also through them, until the game is discovered ; 

 then the hunter immediately dismounts, shooting at 

 once if the animal is near enough and has seen him, 

 or stalking up to it on foot if it is a great distance 

 off and he is still unobserved. Where great stretches 



