EARLY DAY STORIES. 151 



with renewed care, as we thought his recent freak was 

 occasioned from some ill adjustment of the load. 



We saw no signs of deer, but about noon a few ante- 

 lope were seen at a distance but not in position to approach. 

 Toward the middle of the afternoon some antelope were 

 seen feeding about half a mile away. We were in the creek 

 valley, partly screened from view by clumps of sage brush 

 — the antelope being on the undulating table land to the 

 west, and apparently not yet having seen us. I went after 

 them, Charley, in the meantime, hiding with the pony, be- 

 hind a dense bunch of sage brush. The approach was easy 

 by taking advantage of some low knolls and frequent patches 

 of sage brush, and at certain places by lying flat and crawl- 

 ing through the grass. Getting within easy range I got one 

 at a standing shot, and put in a second shot as they ran off. 

 The first one fell after a jump or two, but the second one 

 following the herd a short distance, turned oflf by itself 

 and was lost. I spent some time looking for it, but had to 

 give it up, and returning to the first one, cut out the hind 

 quarters, and throwing them on my shoulder started back, 

 leaving the fore quarters to the wolves. A day or two later 

 I found the carcass of the second antelope. It had not been 

 found by the wolves, but the meat was spoiled, the weather 

 through the middle of the day having become warm. Even 

 in real cold weather the meat will become more or less 

 tainted unless the intestines and stomach are removed. 



So much time had been wasted in hunting for the 

 wounded antelope that it seemed doubtful whether or not 

 the hills toward which we had been traveling all day could 

 be reached before dark. They were now in plain sight not 

 over three miles away, one of which being higher and more 

 prominent than the others, having on its extreme summit 

 a single ''lonesome pine." Others hills in the vicinity of 

 this one were partly covered with a growth of scrubby pine 

 trees and altogether it looked very inviting as a camping 



