SPOUTING ADVENTURES IN THE 

 FAR WEST. 



CHAPTER I. 

 HINTS TO SPORTSMEN. 



Hints to Sportsmen Best game regions of the United States Pro- 

 fusion of animal life Advantages of the Far West as a hunting 

 ground Best quarters- Inconveniences of farm-houses for large parties 

 Character of guides Resent all assumption of superiority on account 

 of title or wealth Anecdote of their independence of character 

 Action and reaction How to select guides The best animals for 

 hunting expeditions Tents to be used How and when to pitch them 

 General instructions about camp life What foods and medicines to 

 use Bedding and clothing Stoves Fires and how to build them 

 How to make a fire without matches Lamps Best clothing for hunt- 

 ing Treatment of boots How to prevent the feet from blistering 

 Moccasins and slippers Rubber goods Underclothing An antidote 

 for fever and ague How to prevent the insect plague Picketing 

 horses Necessity of vigilance How sentinels should be posted How 

 to detect the approach of objects Weapons should be convenient 

 Thieves Best fire-arms Bullets Breech-loading shot-guns for forest 

 shooting Woodcraft Lost in the forest Necessity of observation 

 Value of a compass How to track or trail, animals in flight How to 

 procure water Telling the weight, size, and movements of animals by 

 their tracks Use of a field-glass Qualities of a successful hunter 

 Characteristics of best Nimrods Difference between field and target 

 shooting. 



THE higher order of game animals are now so scarce in t he- 

 United States east of the Missouri River that sportsmen can 

 have little real hunting until they go far to the west of that 

 noble stream ; but if they would enjoy it to an unusual 

 extent they must cross the Rocky Mountains, for in the vast 

 area lying between that chain and the Pacific Ocean may be 

 found nearly every species of game indigenous to the North 

 American Continent, and several whose habitat is confined to 



