OF A RANCHMAN 259 



quarry stone dead. If the deer stands fac- 

 ing the hunter it offers only a narrow mark, 

 but either a throat or chest shot will be 



;il. 







Good shooting is especially necessary 

 after black-tail, because it is so very tena- 

 cious of life ; much more so than the white- 

 tail, or, in proportion to its bulk, than the 

 elk. For this reason it is of the utmost im- 

 portance to give an immediately fatal or dis- 

 abling wound, or the game will almost cer- 

 tainly be lost. It is wonderful to see how 

 far and how fast a seemingly crippled deer 

 will go. Of course, a properly trained dog 

 would be of the greatest use in tracking and 

 bringing to bay wounded black-tail; but, 

 unless properly trained to come in to heel, 

 a dog is worse than useless; and, anyhow, 

 it will be hard to keep one, as long as the 

 wolf-hunters strew the ground so plenti- 

 fully with poisoned bait. We have had 

 several hunting dogs on our ranch at dif- 

 ferent times; generally wirehaired deer- 

 hounds, fox-hounds, or greyhounds, by no 



