312 SPORTING ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. 



spreading, boasted of sixteen points, and his body was as 

 plump as that of a stuffed pheasant. We drew his viscera 

 at once, and tried to suspend him head downward on the 

 bough of a large fir ; but as he was too heavy to be pushed 

 up conveniently, I was compelled to climb the tree, and help 

 to haul him up on the stub of a huge branch by means of 

 a stout piece of twine that was fastened to the hind-legs. 



That matter being finished satisfactorily, I descended, 

 and asked my companion what success he had met* with, 

 and he replied, in the dryest manner possible, that he reck- 

 oned his deer was making fun of him on the other side of 

 the ravine, but he hoped to be able to laugh at it in a short 

 time. "I'll make that there critter pay for wagging his 

 tail and kicking up his heels at me," said he, " and treating 

 me with as much contempt as a horse-thief would a justice 

 of the peace." 



Further inquiry revealed the fact that he had fired and 

 missed, although he thought he had made a hit, and that 

 the animal had been making fun of him by wagging its 

 tail violently as it disappeared down a canyon. 



As he presumed that the group had not moved far off, 

 we returned to where they had been started, and followed 

 their slots into the chasm, thence across it and up on the 

 other side. We had scarcely emerged from its depths, be- 

 fore we saw the animals trotting quietly away; but they 

 did not move more than a hundred yards ere they stopped 

 to gaze at us. The range was a long one all of three 

 hundred yards but my companion concluded to try a shot, 

 nevertheless ; so he picked out a large stag that presented 

 a three-quarter view, and, taking deliberate aim, he fired at 

 the heart; and when the smoke cleared away we beheld 

 the herd scampering off at full speed. When he saw his 

 quarry going as fast as the others, he burst into a vigorous 

 expletive, and said he was sure the buck must be an en- 

 chanted one, or he would not have missed him twice in 

 succession. 



As every hunter knows a stag that nothing can kill, and 

 defies every stratagem planned for his destruction, I was 



