THE FOREST AND THE PLAINS. 355 
teen points at deer, and killed half the number, as he 
implies, in a morning. This is, however, but the ignoble 
work of breaking a butterfly on the wheel! Let Mr. 
Quid go! 
In these three kinds of deer hunting, all that the 
beginner has to do, is, if placed at a stand, to hold himself 
perfectly silent, perfectly motionless, perfectly observant 
and attentive, neither to smoke cigars, nor go to sleep; 
neither to fire his gun at any thing but the deer, nor to 
let the deer go past without firing at him. In a word, let 
him keep his mouth shut, his eyes open, and his head 
clear, trust in Providence, and be patient. 
If he be riding to hounds, let him choose out the best 
rider, and the person best acquainted with the country 
whom to follow, let him stick upon his horse as well as he 
can, hold him hard by the head with the snaffle, keep his 
spurs out of his sides, put his head straight at whatever 
fence he means to take, refuse no necessary, and ride at no 
unnecessary, leap, and when he fires, grip the horse firmly 
with the knees, and bear his weight on the stirrup of the 
side toward which he fires, rather than on the other, 
since, if the horse swerve, it will be away from the shot, 
not toward it. If he be riding at speed on parallel lines 
with the game at which he shoots, little allowance will be 
necessary, as the gun and its object advance at nearly 
equal rates. 
In still-hunting, which no one, a novice, of course, 
dreams of doing, except in company with an experienced 
guide, the only thing to do is to follow silently in his 
wake, imitate all his motions, observe all that he observes, 
