108 GAME. 



when in the actual presence of game. This excitement 

 is the culmination of the pleasure of the pursuit. With 

 the novice it is ' buck fever,' and leads to all sorts of 

 absurd situations. I remember, when a boy, following 

 the first black squirrel I ever saw for a quarter of a 

 mile, my gun pointed, my finger on the trigger, pulling 

 with all my might ; and it was only when the squirrel was 

 safe in his den in a hollow tree, that I discovered that 

 my gun was not cocked. 



With every new animal encountered, in a pretty long 

 experience, I have had a recurrence of the malady, 

 though not frequently to the extent of interfering with 

 my success. The best shot at game I ever saw was so 

 nervous in its presence, that he could hardly hold his 

 rifle; but let him get within range, and a rock could 

 scarcely be steadier than, his rifle barrel, as it blazed out 

 almost certain death. 



When I first went to Texas, soon after entering the 

 service, I had never killed a deer. My first post was at 

 Fort Lincoln (long since abandoned), in the vicinity of 

 which deer were almost as abundant as rabbits in a 

 North Carolina 'old field.' In spite of their numbers 

 and indefatigable hunting, I could not bag a deer, though 

 I fired at them ten or fifteen times every week. When 

 this had continued for a month, I in despair laid away 

 my rifle, and took to my shot-gun to go after turkeys 

 and quail. Some time after I was sent on a scout in the 

 Guadalupe Mountains ; black bear were very plentiful, 

 and I bagged a good many. One day, taking a carbine 

 from one of the men, I went into a canon, looking for 

 Bruin. When about three miles from camp, a herd of 

 at least fifty deer sprung up from the bottom of the 

 valley, and ran a little way up the side of the opposite 

 hill. I could not resist such an opportunity, and, dis- 

 mounting, fired at a splendid animal near the foot of the 

 hill and about eighty yards off. At the report my deer 

 threw up its flag and went off, as did the herd. While 



