84 HUNTING TRIPS 



my hiding-place, he stopped still, broadside 

 to me, and I aimed just at the root of the 

 neck for he was near enough for any one 

 firing a rifle from a rest to hit him about 

 where he pleased. Away flew the others, 

 and in a few minutes I was riding along 

 with the white gander dangling behind my 

 saddle. 



The beaver meadows spoken of above are 

 not common, but, until within the last two 

 or three years, beavers themselves were very 

 plentiful, and there are still a good many 

 left. Although only settled for so short a 

 period, the land has been known to hunt- 

 ers for half a century, and throughout that 

 time it has at intervals been trapped over 

 by whites or half-breeds. If fur was high 

 and the Indians peaceful quite a number of 

 trappers would come in, for the Little Mis- 

 souri Bad Lands were always famous both 

 for fur and game; then if fur went down, 

 or an Indian war broke out, or if the beaver 

 got pretty well thinned out, the place would 

 be forsaken and the animals would go un- 



