472 AUDUBON 



that it will pass in a moment. There it comes ! How 

 beautifully it bounds over the ground ! What a splendid 

 head of horns ! How easy its attitudes, depending, as it 

 seems to do, on its own swiftness for safety ! All is in vain, 

 however ; a gun is fired, the animal plunges and doubles 

 with incomparable speed. There he goes ! He passes 

 another stand, from which a second shot, better directed 

 than the first, brings himi to the ground. The dogs, the 

 servants, the sportsmen are now rushing forward to the 

 spot. The hunter who has shot it is congratulated on his 

 skill or good luck, and the chase begins again in some 

 other part of the woods. 



A few lines of explanation may be required to convey 

 a clear idea of this mode of hunting. Deer are fond of 

 following and retracing paths which they have formerly 

 pursued, and continue to do so even after they have been 

 shot at more than once. These tracks are discovered by 

 persons on horseback in the woods, or a Deer is observed 

 crossing a road, a field, or a small stream. When this has 

 been noticed twice, the deer may be shot from the places 

 called stands by the sportsman, who is stationed there, and 

 waits for it, a line of stands being generally formed so as 

 to cross the path which the game will follow. The person 

 who ascertains the usual pass of the game, or discovers the 

 parts where the animal feeds or lies down during the day, 

 gives intimation to his friends, who then prepare for the 

 chase. The servants start the Deer with the hounds, and 

 by good management generally succeed in making it run 

 the course that will soonest bring it to its death. But, 

 should the Deer be cautious, and take another course, the 

 hunters, mounted on swift horses, gallop through the woods 

 to intercept it, guided by the sound of the horns and the 

 cry of the dogs, and frequently succeed in shooting it. This 

 sport is extremely agreeable, and proves successful on 

 almost every occasion. 



Hoping that this account will be sufficient to induce you, 



