338 SPORTING ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. 



cow tied up in a barn. When the poor creatures see the 

 light they stare at it in stupid amazement, if the person 

 carrying it is to the leeward, and keep staring until a bul- 

 let, fired at a distance of a few feet or yards, goes crash- 

 ing through their brains. This is, literally speaking, cold- 

 blooded assassination, and is only fit for hungry men or 

 starving Indians : it is certainly unworthy of sportsmen ; 

 yet I am sorry to say that many persons who call them- 

 selves by that name resort to it, and actually boast of the 

 number they have slain in a night. 



I heard of a band of Indians in Washington Territory 

 who killed forty in one night by using torches of pines, and 

 I knew two market hunters who said they had averaged 

 eight a night for several nights in succession. The deer 

 were of course very abundant, to permit such slaughter ; 

 but as they are considered too numerous to be agreeable 

 in some of the wooded portions of that country, no persons 

 objected to this seemingly wanton destruction. 



In still-hunting, patience and perseverance are two essen- 

 tial qualities to insure success. It is tedious work, though, 

 and one which galls on a restless, sanguine nature. Prac- 

 tice dispels the ennui, however, and the most impulsive 

 person may become the most skilful hunter after awhile. 

 One thing every person ought to practice, and that is, to 

 keep the eyes on the alert, and to step high when walking, 

 so that the foot, when it comes to the earth, should not 

 make much noise, and that the ball might touch it first. 



Novices, as a rule, walk too rapidly, cover too much 

 ground, and use their legs instead of their eyes ; so the 

 result is too often a failure, and they return home compar- 

 atively dispirited. Experience corrects such mistakes ; and 

 they soon learn that the less they walk in a country where 

 deer abound the more successful they will be. The stalker 

 would find a deer-hound of great use in the forests of the 

 West to bring wounded animals to bay; otherwise he is 

 liable to lose several, or to tramp after them for miles when 

 he is so weary that he can hardly move. If ever there was 

 a country where that noble animal would be of use, it is 



