106 THE COMMON AMERICAN DEER. 



other little matters Avhich will often materially assist 

 him in his sport. For instance, deer very frequently 

 run in a circle, like hares, and that circle is in nine 

 cases out of ten made from right to left — left shoulders 

 forward, as military men say ; so that if the deer should 

 bound past the spot which the hunter has selected, 

 without giving a chance for a shot, he may yet gallop 

 forward and intercept the game at some other point. 



It should be recollected, also, that in ascending hilly 

 ground deer never choose a direct route unless very 

 hardly pressed ; on the contrary, they wind round and 

 round after the fashion of a country turnpike road, 

 ascending gradually in a circuitous route ; so that if a 

 winding trail exists leading to high ground the deer will 

 be almost certain to follow it. In descending they 

 follow the same rule, unless when closely pursued by 

 man or hound. 



Such was the abundance of game in Texas that there 

 was rarely any occasion for galloping about. There 

 were generally several deer moving at the same time, 

 and by remaining at one well-chosen path I seldom 

 failed to get a shot. On one occasion, when I was in 

 the woods with a friend, an old negro acting as driver, 

 we had no less than twenty-seven shots at deer in the 

 short space of three hours. Tw^o years afterwards, 

 however, I paid a visit to the same woods, and hunted 

 a whole morning without success ; the forest had been 

 so thoroughly harried by men and dogs, that the 



