92 Deer and Antelope of North America 



the big patches of brush and timber in the larger 

 creeks. When they were found in such country 

 I hunted them very much as I hunted the mule- 

 deer, and usually shot one when I was expecting 

 as much to see a mule-deer as a whitetail. When 

 the game was plentiful I would often stay on my 

 horse until the moment of obtaining the shot, 

 especially if it was in the early morning or late 

 evening. My method then was to ride slowly 

 and quietly down the winding valleys and across 

 the spurs, hugging the bank, so that if deer were 

 feeding in the open, I would get close up before 

 either of us saw the other. Sometimes the deer 

 would halt for a moment when it saw me, and 

 sometimes it would bound instantly away. In 

 either case my chance lay in the speed with 

 which I could jump off the horse and take my 

 shot. Even in favorable localities this method 

 was of less avail with whitetail than mule-deer, 

 because the former were so much more apt to 

 skulk. 



As soon as game became less plentiful my 

 hunting had to be done on foot. My object was 

 to be on the hunting-ground by dawn, or else to 

 stay out there until it grew too dark to see the 

 sights of my rifle. Often all I did was to keep 

 moving as quietly as possible through likely 

 ground, ever on the alert for the least trace of 

 game ; sometimes I would select a lookout and 



