IN THE FAR WEST. 267 



iu many places. On reaching a small, basin-like turn we 

 scanned its banks closely, and descried on the opposite side a 

 group of half a dozen or more stags, which were slaking- their 

 thirst in its bluish water. 



While we were standing in the shade of a tree we noticed 

 that they took only one long draught before raising their 

 heads to survey their surroundings, and that some one of them 

 was always peering about. While watching them with keen 

 interest, they made a sudden plunge into the water, and swam 

 rapidly towards us; and on looking for the cause of their unex- 

 pected alarm we saw a young stag struggling bravely against 

 a dozen or more wolves, but as his hamstring was evidently 

 cut by the cunning prowlers, he could do nothing more than 

 use his horns vigorously, while they harassed him on every 

 side. 



The poor fellow was snorting and plunging and scattering 

 the leaves and fallen branches about in his mad efforts to 

 escape ; but before we could learn his fate our attention was 

 attracted to the animals approaching us. When they readied 

 to within a few yards of the bank we fired at them in rapid 

 succession, but we killed only two, the remainder escaping by 

 swimming towards another portion of the bank. I have found 

 it rather a difficult matter to shoot deer in the water when 

 they were moving from me, as only a small portion of the 

 skull is seen ; hence, though we fired at them several times, 

 I doubt if we hit one severely enough to cripple it. The two 

 in the lake were pulled ashore by my friend, who dragged 

 them after him one by one until they were in water so shallow 

 that we could both pull them on terra firma together. 



When they were landed, which required no small effort to 

 accomplish, we turned our attention to the wolves, and ran as 

 fast as we could round the lake in their direction. When 

 we reached to within one or two hundred yards of them we 

 halted to watch their actions, and to get a shot at them if 

 possible. A momentary glance revealed to us the fact that 

 they were fighting and snarling over the slain animal, but we 

 could see nothing of it, so closely were they grouped about it. 

 "\\ e therefore concluded that we might bag one or two, owinu 1 



