260 HUNTING TRIPS 



means absolutely pure in blood; but they 

 all, sooner or later, succumbed to the effects 

 of eating poisoned meat. Some of them 

 were quite good hunting dogs, tlje rougli 

 deer-hounds being perhaps the best at fol- 

 lowing and tackling a wounded buck. They 

 were all very eager for the sport, and when 

 in the morning we started out on a hunt the 

 dogs were apparently more interested than 

 the men; but their judgment did not equal 

 their zeal, and lack of training made them 

 on the whole more bother than advantage. 



But much more than good shooting is 

 necessary before a man can be called a good 

 hunter. Indians, for example, get a good 

 deal of game, but they are in most cases 

 very bad shots. Once, while going up the 

 Clear Fork of the Powder, in Northern 

 Wyoming, one of my men, an excellent 

 hunter, and myself rode into a large camp 

 of Cheyennes; and after a while started a 

 shooting-match with some of them. We 

 had several trials of skill with the rifle, and, 

 a good deal to my astonishment, I found 



