230 HUNTING TRIPS 



difficulty of capture than upon the nature 

 of the qualities in the hunter which each par- 

 ticular form of hunting calls into play. A 

 man who is hardy, resolute, and a good 

 shot, has come nearer to realizing the ideal 

 of a bold and free hunter than is the case 

 with one who is merely stealthy and pa- 

 tient; and so, though to kill a white-tail is 

 rather more difficult than to kill a black- 

 tail, yet the chase of the latter is certainly 

 the nobler form of sport, for it calls into 

 play, and either develops or implies the 

 presence of, much more manly qualities 

 than does the other. Most hunters would 

 find it nearly as difficult to watch in silence 

 by a salt-lick throughout the night, and 

 then to butcher with a shot-gun a white- 

 tail, as it would be to walk on foot through 

 rough ground from morning till evening, 

 and to fairly approach and kill a black-tail ; 

 yet there is no comparison between the de- 

 gree of credit to be attached to one feat 

 and that to be attached to the other. Indeed, 

 if difficulty in killing is to be taken as a cri- 



