392 THE DEER OF AMERICA. 



and struck an object witliin two miles of camp, whicli I knew 

 was on the way, and then I spent two hours or more circling 

 round on a section of land ; every half hour or so I would pass 

 close by the object, with the same bearing and distance as the 

 first time. Though I was perfectly familiar with every object on 

 this portion of the prairie, nothing at this time looked natural ex- 

 cept the stake stuck in a little mound or ant-hill, with that ever- 

 lasting owl sitting upon it. That looked natural, and I knew I 

 could leave it in the proper direction for camp, but before long 

 the inevitable owl on the stake would again appear not a hun- 

 dred feet away on my right. At length I detected the faint trail 

 of the wagon, which I knew had gone out over the same ground 

 that morning. I dismounted, carefully examined for prints of 

 the horse's feet ; and when found, I discovered I was headed the 

 same way they had gone. No one who has not tried it, can ap- 

 preciate how difficult it is to make the inclination yield to the 

 judgment. I /t?Zt that I was headed directly for camp. \ kneu\ 

 from the evidence before me, that I was faced the other way. 

 Judgment prevailed, and I carefull}^ followed the faint back trail, 

 and in half an hour I reached camp just before dark. Then and 

 not till then did familiar objects look natural. I had been lost. 

 The mental faculties had become bewildered. Why people in 

 this condition should incline to wander in a circle, it is not my 

 place now to inquire, but such is frequently though probably not 

 always the case. Nor does it seem to make much diffei'ence 

 whether one is lost in the woods or on the prairie, the same sys- 

 tem or the want of it in bewilderment seems to prevail. It 

 comes on when one is not suspecting it, or looking out for it, else 

 by watchfulness it might be guarded against. 



Frequently in this kind of prairie hunting, one hunter may 

 drive the deer upon another. The instant, therefore, a shot is 

 heard, the hunter should stop and remain perfectly still. If he 

 does not move, the deer may come directly upon him if he is in 

 their selected course, witliout recognizing him, and he may get a 

 shot as it passes, or what is much more likely, he may trace its 

 course at a distance, and watch it to a new bed. 



" I was returning towards camp one evening," said my friend, 

 who was an expert at this mode of hunting the deer, and enjoyed 

 it more than any other, " slowly walking my horse along a high 

 ridge in the prairie, when I discovered a large buck on the op- 

 posite ridge, half a mile away. He was evidently intently watch- 

 ing me. He stood in a narrow belt of grass which had been left 



I 



