320 BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA. 



the mind is so intent on the lead that the elevation is apt 

 to be overlooked — no pun intended. 



The vitality of the Antelope, considering its size and 

 weight, is truly wonderful. There is absolutely no give-up 

 in them; and many a man has worn out a good horse in 

 trying to run down one minus a leg, or one that had been 

 shot clear through by several large bullets, any one of 

 which would have killed a Deer on the spot. I have killed 

 many an Antelope with one solid bullet; but, again, I have 

 put two or three of these through many another that went 

 off like the wind, as though he had only been frightened. 

 That these poor creatures died from the effects of their 

 wounds is very certain, but it is equally true that I, at least, 

 never got a pound of the meat; so, as I was hunting, for 

 food as well as recreation, I gave up solid bullets alto- 

 gether, and confined myself to hollow-pointed ones exclu- 

 sively. A fairer, test of ammunition could not have been 

 made, as I used the same rifle and powder-charge — every- 

 thing exactly the same, but simply substituting a hollow- 

 pointed for a solid bullet; yet the difference in the execu- 

 tion was so striking that the most casual observer must 

 have noticed it. I have no reason to believe that I shot 

 closer to vital spots than before; nor did I get closer shots, 

 nor more of them. The dead Antelope, though, were there 

 all the same, proving conclusively that, even if not driven 

 by the heavy powder-charge, nor fired through the slow- 

 twist grooves, the hollow bullet, as a killer, i&so far superior 

 to the solid ball that there is no comparison whatever 

 between them. 



Now, a body-hit meant a knock-down, sure enough, 

 while a raking shot— even at a slight angle — fore and aft 

 was always a paralyzing one, and generally left the quarry 

 so nearly dead at the instant of impact that a few con- 

 vulsive kicks and spasms were all the signs of life remain- 

 ing; while many and many a one was instantly doubled up 

 like a rabbit — struck lifeless between bounds — and died a 

 truly painless death. Indeed, years ago, when shooting on 

 the pampas of South America, I discovered that a Double 



