OF A RANCHMAN 247 



nothing left to do but to walk on down the 

 valley to the bottoms, and then to wade the 

 river; as the latter was quite high, we had 

 to take off our clothes, and it is very un- 

 comfortable to feel one's way across a river 

 at night, in bare feet, with the gun and the 

 bundle of clothes held high over head. 

 However, when across the river and half a 

 mile from home, we ran into our horses a 

 piece of good luck, as otherwise we should 

 have had to spend the next day in looking 

 for them. 



Almost the only way in which it is possi- 

 ble to aim after dark is to get the object 

 against the horizon, toward the light. One 

 of the finest bucks I ever killed was shot in 

 this way. It was some little time after the 

 sun had set, and I was hurrying home, rid- 

 ing down along a winding creek at a gallop. 

 The middle of the bottom was covered with 

 brush, while the steep, grassy, rounded hills 

 :ich side sent off spurs into the valley, 

 the part between every two spurs making a 

 deep pocket. The horse's feet were unshod 



