The Antelope. 309 



H. Reed, in October, 1882, near Como, Wyoming Territory, and 

 communicated to the "Forest and Stream." He says: 



" Thursday, the 26th of this month, I saw a strange battle between two kid ante- 

 lope and an eagle. The antelope, when first seen by myself and Mr. Carlin, were 

 running in our direction, and above them, about one hundred feet, was a large golden 

 eagle, which made a swoop down at the antelope. When the bird did this, one of the 

 kids stopped, turned round and reared on its hind legs and beat the air with its fore- 

 feet, and the bird of prey rose high in air, only to make another dash, with the same 

 result. This was repeated at least a dozen times, when the eagle, seeming to become 

 tired, flew away and settled himself on a rock, and the antelope trotted away to join 

 a large band on a near hill-side." 



Civilized man has proved himself the antelope's worst enemy, and 

 in those districts where hunters are numerous, this species soon dis- 

 appears. The traveler kills it for food, the skin-hunter for the few 

 cents its hide will bring, the sportsman for its head, the cow-boy to 

 try his six-shooter, and everybody for " fun." Not one man in a 

 hundred can resist the temptation to shoot at the beautiful and grace- 

 ful animal which chance or its curiosity brings within range of his 

 rifle. That his wagon is already loaded with meat, that he cannot 

 possibly utilize what he kills, makes no difference to him. He must 

 try to slaughter as long as there is game in sight. 



To become a successful antelope hunter, it is more necessary that 

 one should understand the habits of his game than that he should be 

 a good shot. During the middle of the day, the antelope are usually 

 lying down in places where they can have a wide outlook, and they 

 are then most difficult to approach. For these resting-places, they 

 select either a knoll in the midst of a broad valley or else the top of a 

 bluff, or, perhaps, the middle slope of a wide, smooth hill-side, so that 

 their gaze can cover all the country about them. The best time for 

 hunting them is in the morning or evening, when they are scattered 

 about on the hill-sides and in the little valleys, feeding. At such times 

 they are most easily approached, and the hunter takes advantage of 

 the inequalities of the ground to discover their presence in time to suc- 



tully stalk them. The essential point is that he should see the 

 ant(-lope before they descry him, for if their suspicions are once 

 aroused, it is almost hopeless to attempt to get within shot of them. 

 As soon as one of these wary creatures sees an object about which 

 he feels doubtful, he takes a long, patient stare at it, and unless sat- 

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