74 HUNTING TRIPS 



Vic is an exception. With practice an 

 amateur will become nearly as good a shot 

 as the average hunter; and, as I said be- 

 fore, I do not myself believe in taking out a 

 professional hunter as a shooting companion. 

 If I do not go alone I generally go with one 

 of my foremen, Merrifield, who himself came 

 from the East but five years ago. He is a 

 good-looking fellow, daring and self-reliant, 

 a good rider and first-class shot, and a very 

 keen sportsman. Of late years he has been 

 my fidus Achates of the hunting field. I can 

 kill more game with him than I can alone; 

 and in hunting on the plains there are many 

 occasions on which it is almost a necessity 

 to have a companion along. 



It frequently happens that a solitary 

 hunter finds himself in an awkward predica- 

 ment, from which he could be extricated 

 easily enough if there were another man 

 with him. His horse may fall into a wash- 

 out, or may get stuck in a mud-hole or 

 quicksand in such a manner that a man 

 working by himself will have great difficulty 



