EARLY DAY STORIES. 155 



in sight — the old doe had doubtless gone on over the hill. 

 T was just ready to follow when there was a sHght noise 

 on a side hill some distance to my right. In a moment I 

 saw two black tail bucks traveling slowly along the side hill, 

 one behind the other. They v/ere across a deep ravine, and 

 about forty rods away. I might have taken a shot, but 

 wanted a better chance. They kept on, going slowly, circling 

 gradually to the left, and keeping about the same distance 

 from my position until they came to the timbered hill in 

 front, when they turned and came almost directly towards 

 me. Only my head and arms were in sight and as I kept 

 perfectly still they did not notice me at all. They kept com- 

 ing on, until when within about seventy-five steps I fired 

 at the one behind. He gave two or three big jumps and 

 fell. The other instead of running off gave a bound or two 

 and turned to look at the fallen deer. I fired, but too hastily 

 and the ball struck too far back. He turned, and runnmg 

 directly toward me, was brought down by a second shot 

 when not more than twenty steps away. I dressed them 

 both, cut off the hind quarters, and inserting a gambrel in 

 each hung the quarters up in a pine tree out of reach of the 

 wolves. Then cutting out of each of the fore quarters the 

 thick meat along the backbone just back of the shoulders 

 and securing it with a buckskin string so that it could be 

 slung over the gun to be carried to camp, was ready to go 

 as soon as my hands had been washed in a near by snow 

 bank. 



It was not quite noon, but luncheon was eaten before 

 starting out again. I did not care either to hunt for game 

 any more that day, or to go back and spend the whole after- 

 noon in camp, and therefore concluded to do a little explor- 

 ing. There was a deep ravine on either side of the ridge 

 where the deer were killed — these two ravines coming to- 

 gether less than half a mile to the north formed a little val- 

 ley in which about a mile away were several cottonwood 



