328 FORTY -FOUR YEARS OF 



him another trial; and as the river must be forded, I rode 

 across, and sent the horse back ; after which I entered 

 the woods. I had gone but a short distance, when I dis- 

 covered his tracks in the snow, which I followed until 

 they crossed a flat .piece of ground, and ascended a steep 

 hill on the other side. At the top of the hill was a high 

 ledge of rocks, forming a curve ; and in a thicket below 

 the rock I knew the buck lay, watching for the approach 

 of danger. 



As soon as I saw what he purposed by going into that 

 place, I left his tracks, went round on the other side, and 

 mounted a high rock behind him ; when, being much 

 higher than he was, and there being a steep hill below, I 

 could see everything around me. I stood on the rock, 

 and looked about me with the utmost care, but could see 

 nothing of the buck, until, casting my eyes down at the 

 base of the rock, directly below where I stood, there lay 

 the buck, contentedly chewing his cud, apparently consi- 

 dering himself perfectly secure. He was watching the 

 ground in front, not thinking that an enemy could ap- 

 proach on the side which the rock so completely covered. 

 This rock being fully twenty feet high, I was obliged to 

 shoot nearly straight down ; but when I saw what a com- 

 plete advantage I had, it greatly marred my pleasure to 

 think that such a noble animal, possessing all the beauty 

 bestowed by a pair of fine large horns, a well-formed 

 body, and tapering limbs, whose life had been innocently 

 spent, never having committed an injury against either 

 man or beast, — should be thus sacrificed. My desire of 

 killing him was so weakened, that I really had thoughts 

 of letting him escape the death that was then hanging 

 over him ; but, again, it occurred to me that he was one 

 of the creatures placed here for the use of man ; that, if 

 I Itet him go, probably the next hunter who caught him 

 In his power would surely kill him ; and that it would be 



