/ 



ouch- 

 jually 

 ; have 

 them 

 every- 

 iached 

 across 

 L for a 

 tarting 

 is very 

 powder 

 1 1 fired 

 J to me. 

 A raced 

 1 having 



[vane on 

 as there 

 ished to 

 Ae. For 

 The un- 

 ,ny noise 

 but now 

 ;s of thin 

 Lsly, mak- 

 At last, 

 [ we spied 



On the Little Missouri 



two more prong-bucks, half a mile ahead of us 

 and to our right. 



Again there seemed small chance of bagging 

 our quarry, but again fortune favored us. I at 

 once cantered Muley ahead, not toward them, 

 but so as to pass them well on one side. After 

 some hesitation they started, not straight away, 

 but at an angle to my own course. For some 

 moments I kept at a hand gallop, until they 

 got thoroughly settled in their line of flight ; 

 then I touched Muley, and he went as hard 

 as he knew how. Immediately the two panic- 

 stricken and foolish beasts seemed to feel that 

 I was cutting off their line of retreat, and raced 

 forward at mad speed. They went much faster 

 than I did, but I had the shorter course, and 

 when they crossed me they were not fifty yards 

 ahead — by which time I had come nearly a 

 mile. At the pull of the rein Muley stopped 

 short, like the trained cow-pony he is ; I leaped 

 off, and held well ahead of the rearmost and 

 largest buck. At the crack of the little rifle 

 down he went with his neck broken. In a 

 minute or two he was packed behind me on 

 Muley, and we bent our steps toward camp. 



During the remainder of my trip we were 



never out of fresh meat, for I shot three other 



209 



