328 SPORTING ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. 



fornia, for thousands are slaughtered there annually by 

 market hunters, pot-hunters, and sportsmen. This is spe- 

 cially true of the more northern region of the State, where 

 the forests are still heavy and extensive, and settlements 

 are scarce compared to the more southern parts. 



Many of the ranchers depend largely on wild game for 

 their fresh meat, and of this the flesh of the black-tail forms 

 the most prominent portion. 



A person can seldom visit a cabin hidden in the forest 

 without finding a deer or two suspended outside the door, 

 while he may see dozens of splendid mountain trout, a bar- 

 rel of fresh salmon, or the white-fish of the Pacific inside. 

 The consequence is, that some persons live there in almost 

 Oriental idleness ; for many might say, as one said to me, 

 "Why, what's the use of working? I can kill all the 

 meat I want in the woods, and catch all the fish I want 

 with a grasshopper, and grow all the wine I want in my 

 back garden, and all the fruit and vegetables I want in that 

 patch behind the house, and I can kill deer and bears 

 enough to supply me with clothing and whiskey. Now, 

 why should I work hard, when I can get everything I want 

 without it?" 



I learned from this man that he had earned over a hun- 

 dred dollars by selling deer-skins alone in one winter ; but 

 as he could not realize more than fifty cents or a dollar for 

 each skin, he must have slain one or two hundred of the 

 animals to obtain that amount. I asked him how he man- 

 aged to kill so many, and he replied that he never allowed 

 .a hound to run a deer in his district ; and if he found one 

 doing so, he either poisoned or shot it. These pot-hunters 

 never allow hounds in what they call their own country, if 

 possible, as they say that the deer are driven off by the 

 baying and running, and, if pursued much, that they desert 

 the region for good. 



In Oregon and Washington Territory, however, the ani- 

 mals are largely hunted with hounds of all grades, from 

 the half-bred mongrels to harriers, fox-hounds, curs, and 

 Indian dogs. 



