OF A RANCHMAN 195 



possible to shoot the rifle with any degree 

 of accuracy from the saddle. 



Except on such occasions as those just 

 mentioned, the white-tail is rarely killed 

 while hunting on horseback. This last 

 term, by-the-way, must not be understood 

 in the sense in which it would be taken by 

 the fox-hunter of the South, or by the Cali- 

 fornian and Texan horsemen who course 

 hare, antelope, and wild turkey with their 

 fleet greyhounds. With us hunting on 

 horseback simply means that the horse is 

 ridden not only to the hunting grounds, but 

 also through them, until the game is dis- 

 covered; then the hunter immediately dis- 

 mounts, shooting at once if the animal is 

 near enough and has seen him, or stalking 

 up to it on foot if it is a great distance off 

 and he is still unobserved. Where great 

 stretches of country have to be covered, as 

 in antelope shooting, hunting on horseback 

 is almost the only way followed; but the 

 haunts and habits of the white-tail deer 



