EARLY DAY STORIES. 207 



game, or to take any part in the shooting if I happened to 

 miss, or if there should be more than one deer. I there- 

 fore motioned for him to go farther down and take posi- 

 tion on a high point, that would give him a better chance. 

 It often happens that while only one deer is in sight, there 

 may be several near by, hidden in the brush or weeds. While 

 Mr. Mathewson was taking his position, which took probably 

 three minutes, I had a chance to study my deer. He was 

 asleep, and was nodding. It is the only time I ever saw 

 anything of the kind. He would raise up his head, then it 

 would begin to nod, nod, two or three times, then come up 

 again. As soon as my comrade was in position I took aim 

 and fired, the ball striking between the shoulders and coming 

 out at the sticking place. 



Those men who pride themselves on being true sports- 

 men and boast of it, will say that this was not sportsman 

 like — that the deer should have been routed out and given 

 a chance for his life. I did not stop to moralize — for five 

 years after we settled in Antelope county, if we had any 

 meat at all in the family, it came from killing game — this 

 year, 1871, was one of the five years. 



