Till-: ]1L A CK- TAILED AND VIRGINIA DEKIi. 353 



dog-wood bushes not ten yards in front of me. She made 

 for the river at once, with the hounds in full cry behind 

 her; and I started after them, taking every advantage of 

 crosscuts to try and head her off. When I reached the 

 stream I could hear the hounds baying a short distance be- 

 low, and, on drawing near, I saw them grouped around the 

 quarry in the water, and worrying her. Having a forty- 

 one calibre pocket revolver in my belt, I put it in my 

 mouth, undressed myself, and swam toward the growling 

 hounds, which were fastened to the poor bleating creature 

 in every available part; and, placing my weapon near her 

 ear, I killed her with the first shot. With the aid of the 

 dogs, which still held on to her, I pushed her ashore with 

 one hand, while I used .the other for swimming; and on 

 landing, I dressed in a hurry and ran as fast as I could for 

 several hundred yards in order to warm myself and take 

 away the chill, for the water was very cold. I left the ani- 

 mal where it lay on the bank, and started to join the re- 

 mainder of the party; and these I soon found, as they were 

 following the cries of the dogs, not so much in hopes of 

 getting a shot at a deer as to keep the choristers from 

 straying too far. With their aid the doe was taken back 

 to where the buck was lying, and the two were carried to 

 a central position, where others were placed with them. I 

 then learned that the cause of the sudden silence of the 

 dogs was due to the death of the animal they were pursu- 

 ing, and that four others had been started out of a fern- 

 brake, and all killed. 



As we had had plenty sport for the day, having bagged 

 fourteen deer, we returned to camp; and while some at- 

 tended to cooking dinner, others took two wagons to bring 

 in the slain. We feasted that evening on venison, fresh 

 trout, grouse, and our own edibles ; but the chief dish was 

 a stag's head roasted whole in the ashes. 



Notwithstanding our hard day's work, all were in excel- 

 lent condition ; and as soon as the punch was finished, the 

 enthusiast of the company took a large accordion out of a 

 box, and began to play all the jigs and reels he knew with 



