The Mule-deer 53 



fair rate of speed, it was very common for the 

 hunter to go on horseback and not to dismount 

 save at the moment of the shot. In the early 

 eighties, while on my ranch on the Little Missouri, 

 this was the way in which I usually hunted. 

 When I first established my ranch I have often 

 gone out in the fall, after the day's work was over, 

 and killed a deer before dark. If it was in Sep- 

 tember, I would sometimes start after supper. 

 Later in the year I would take supper when I 

 got back. Under such circumstances my mode 

 of procedure was perfectly simple. Deer were 

 plentiful. Every big tangle of hills, every set of 

 grassy coulies winding down to a big creek bot- 

 tom, was sure to contain them. The time being 

 short, with at most only an hour or two of light, 

 I made no effort to find the tracks of a deer or 

 to spy one afar off. I simply rode through the 

 likely places, across the heads of the ravines or 

 down the winding valleys, until I jumped a deer 

 close enough up to give me a shot. The unshod 

 hoofs of the horse made but little noise as he 

 shuffled along at the regular cow-pony fox trot, 

 and I kept him close into the bank or behind 

 cover, so as to come around each successive point 

 without warning. If the ground was broken and 

 rugged, I made no attempt to go fast. If, on the 

 other hand, I struck a smooth ravine with gentle 

 curves, I would often put the pony to a sharp 



