THE BLACK-TAILED AND VIRGINIA DEER. 355 



cancc. The first was, that one of the most courageous and 

 experienced of the party wounded a stag so severely that 

 he was overtaken by the hounds in a short time, and forced 

 to fight bravely for life for fifteen minutes or more. While 

 engaged in a contest with his canine foes, the hunter ap- 

 proached to give him a finishing shot ; but he broke away 

 from the dogs so suddenly, and charged his human adver- 

 sary so vigorously, that the latter was taken by surprise, 

 and before he knew what to do he was knocked down and 

 seriously injured in the chest and abdomen by the antlers 

 of the infuriated beast. Fortunatoly for him, succor ar- 

 rived promptly, and he and his assailant were taken to 

 camp together. This is no uncommon thing for stags to 

 do; hence persons should be cautious in approaching them 

 when they are wounded. The hunter was sent home to 

 receive medical assistance, and was soon himself again. 



An incident which occurred to myself the same day is 

 one I shall not readily forget, as it taught me a useful les- 

 son. Having heard what I supposed to be hounds belong- 

 ing to some other hunters a short distance away from my 

 post, I started toward them in hopes I should get a shot at 

 the quarry ; but, after travelling two miles or more through 

 the dense forest, I could see nothing of them, though their 

 voices were audible among the hills. As the evening was 

 getting late, I decided to go no farther, so I returned to- 

 ward where I supposed the camp stood. I wandered about 

 until dusk in various directions, but I could find no traces of 

 it, nor could I see any footsteps of men or dogs — a proof 

 positive that they had not been in that dii*ection. Feeling 

 that I was lost, I commenced an examination of the branch- 

 es of the trees to see on which side they were longest, and 

 where the moss grew ; but as I had not taken any notice 

 of the situation of the camp, my knowledge of woodcraft 

 was of little use. I then climbed a tree to note the appear- 

 ance of smoke anywhere, but the lateness of the evening 

 prevented me from seeing it. Not knowing what else to 

 do, I commenced blowing the cow's horn which I carried 

 slung over my shoulder, and kept it up until my lips were 



