192 EARLY DAY STORIES. 



by relieving each other every few hours by several fresh 

 relays, will run down a well deer and I had plenty of con- 

 fidence that I could easily outrun this badly wounded one. 

 But I soon found out my mistake — he outwinded me. In 

 a quarter of an hour or so, I gave it up, concluding I had 

 had enough exercise for one day. The next morning we 

 moved camp early to the place where the three deer had 

 been shot. The wounded one was found dead very near 

 where I had left him the preceding day. 



These three were all young deer, probably two years 

 old the previous spring. They all looked exactly alike and 

 were of the same size. Doubtless they had been driven from 

 the herd by the master buck, and were thus keeping together 

 for company. Such is the habit of both elk and black tail 

 deer — the younger bucks when driven out will herd in twos 

 and threes, but an old fellow who has himself been the boss 

 of the herd, and has been overcome in battle always goes 

 by himself. 



I have never seen a battle between two deer or two elk, 

 but I once killed a black tail buck in Logan township not 

 more than four miles from where Elgin now stands, that 

 had gotten the worst of it in battle. His hide was pricked 

 full of holes in several places by the sharp horns of his rival, 

 and in two places these had become running sores. I left 

 him lying on the ground where he fell, not even saving the 

 hide. 



We remained two nights at this camp, and what a camp 

 it was ! How pleasant to call to mind the comfort, the pleas- 

 ure, the satisfaction, with which we spent the two remaining 

 days before starting for home. There was our little warm 

 tepee of straight ash poles with an old carpet for a cover, 

 a bright warm camp fire of ash wood, shelter from the wind 

 under the lee of the big hills, clear water for the camp, and 

 good pasture for the horses, plenty of provisions brought 



