A Curious Shot. 151 



was a tempting shot, and taking a very steady aim, I 

 fired. For a moment he was down, but recovering 

 himself he bounded up the bank, and was soon in full 

 speed through the forest with only one antler upon his 

 head. I picked up the fellow-antler, which the rifle- 

 ball had cut oft' within an inch of his skull. This was 

 a narrow escape. 



I did not reload my rifle, as I was not far from the 

 tent, and I was tired of shooting. Giving my rifle to 

 the gun-bearer, I took the double-barreled gun which 

 he carried, and walked quickly toward breakfast. 

 Suddenly I heard a crash in a small nook of thick 

 bushes, like the rush of an elephant, and the next in- 

 stant a buck came dashing past in full speed : his long 

 antlers lay upon his back as he flew through the tangled 

 saplings with a force that seemed to defy resistance. 

 He was the largest spotted buck that I ever saw, 

 and, bemg within thirty paces, I took a flying shot with 

 the right-hand barrel. He faltered for a moment, and 

 I immediately fired the remaining barrel. Still he con- 

 tinued his course, but at a reduced speed and dead 

 lame. Loading the rifle, I soon got upon the blood- 

 track, and I determined to hunt him down. 



There were many saplings in this part of the forest, 

 and I noticed that many of them in the deer's track 

 were besmeared with blood about two feet and a half 

 from the ground. The tracks in the sandy soil were 

 uneven — one of the fore feet showed a deep impression, 

 while the other was very faint, showing that he was 

 wounded in the leg, as his whole weight was thrown 

 upon one foot. Slowly and cautiously I stalked along 

 the track, occasionally lying down to look under the 

 bushes. For about an hour I continued this slow and 



