HUNTING IN CATTLE COUNTRY 161 



all day long. Such a camp was always comfortable, for 

 there was an abundance of wood for the fire, plenty of 

 water, and thick feed in which the horses grazed one 

 or two being picketed and the others feeding loose until 

 night came on. If I had killed a prongbuck, steaks were 

 speedily sizzling in the frying-pan over the hot coals. 

 If I had failed to get anything, I would often walk a 

 mile or two down or up the river to see if I could not 

 kill a couple of prairie-chickens or ducks. If the even- 

 ing was at all cool, we built a fire as darkness fell, and 

 sat around it, while the leaping flames lit up the trunks 

 of the cottonwoods and gleamed on the pools of water 

 in the half-dry river bed. Then I would wrap myself 

 in my blanket and lie looking up at the brilliant stars 

 until I fell asleep. 



In both 1893 anc * 1894 I made trips to a vast tract of 

 rolling prairie land, some fifty miles from my ranch, 

 where I had for many years enjoyed the keen pleasure 

 of hunting the prongbuck. In 1893 the pronghorned 

 bands were as plentiful in this district as I have ever seen 

 them anywhere. Lambert was with me; and in a week's 

 trip, including the journey out and back, we easily shot 

 all the antelope we felt we had any right to kill; for we 

 only shot to get meat, or an unusually fine head. Lambert 

 did most of the shooting; and I have never seen a profes- 

 sional hunter do better in stalking antelope on the open 

 prairie. I myself fired at only two antelope, both of 

 which had already been missed. In each case a hard run 

 and much firing at long ranges, together with in one case 

 some skilful manoeuvring, got me my game; yet one buck 



