232 SPORTING ADVENTURES 



I have said that the animals were more numerous in the two 

 latter countries than in any other portion of the Continent, and 

 this I believe to be a positive fact, for I have seen them, 

 during the autumnal migrations, when they were fleeing from 

 the icy breezes of the mountains to the warmth and shelter 

 of the .coast, pass a runway in herds nearly all day long, and 

 had I remained I might, perhaps, have seen the same sight 

 for a week. They moved in long columns and in single file, and 

 each column was led by a sturdy stag or a matronly hind, but 

 the rear was always occupied by old males. When startled, 

 they would move at a tremendous rate through the thick 

 woods and matted undergrowth ; but they seemed to have no 

 special leaders, for in some cases a young stag, and in others 

 an old hind headed the fugitives, the young being in the centre. 

 The cause of this lack of a regular commander in a stampede 

 would seem to be that the males are often too heavy to lead 

 the van, and that, as with the buffalo, the lighter-footed females 

 are compelled to do it on account of their superior activity. 



To hunt them successfully in the forest I have found a 

 breech -load ing shot-gun, well charged with buckshot, the best 

 weapon, but for open shooting I prefer a fifty calibre double 

 express that is accurate up to three hundred yards ; and for run- 

 ning them down on horseback few weapons are more convenient 

 than a heavy self-cocking revolver, that carries a bone-smash- 

 ing bullet and a large charge of powder, so that one shot at 

 close range may be able to disable or kill a fugitive. A good 

 breech-loading rifle, provided one has a trained horse, is pre- 

 ferable to a revolver, however, owing to its longer range, 

 greater accuracy, and more destructive power. 



Pv. Carver, the celebrated rifleman, who has performed the 

 unparalleled feat of killing thirty-three elks in one straight 

 run, and two hundred and thirty in two weeks by running and 

 stalking, considers that any rifle less than fifty calibre is rather 

 light for hunting such heavy game, unless it carries a large 

 charge of powder and a long- bullet ; and he deems a revolver to 

 be of comparatively little use for general work, owing to its want 

 of accuracy, and its dangerous character in the hands of novices. 

 I have seen some splendid work clone with it, however, by 



