RECREA TION. 



67 



in front of it, with the bulb of the 

 shutter in my hand. I did not wait 

 long before I saw the great mule ears of 

 first one and then another deer, until 

 five or six were in sight. So noiseless 

 were their footfalls that had I been 

 lying with my face away from the trail, 

 I should not have heard them. When 

 the leaders were at the right place I 

 bleated like a fawn, which instantly 

 stopped them. Although there were 

 several more coming I did not care to 

 risk the chance of these first ones 

 moving, so I pressed the bulb and had 

 their shadows securely fixed. Of course 

 they stood and the others came and 

 stood with them until they were satis- 

 fied, from their scrutiny, that I was 

 harmless, when they went on. Some in 

 the photograph were bucks, but, it 

 being spring, their horns had been left 

 in the cedars, somewhere down the trail. 



The same spring I had been watch- 

 ing across a valley where the trail 

 crossed. I could see deer for a mile. 

 Suddenly I discovered a yearling within 

 150 yards, right in open ground, much 

 to my chagrin, for I am endowed with 

 very acute vision and I could not under- 

 stand how it came so close before I saw 

 it. I ran down behind a hill, to where 

 the trail came up the gulch, and had 

 barely time to get the camera ready 

 when she came along. She would have 

 passed me without a glance had I not 

 bleated to her. She stopped, with the 

 timid, shy look and position which deer 

 always assume when surprised. The 

 shutter clicked and I felt that I had 

 added another portrait to my list. She 

 looked until satisfied and passed on. A 

 deer cannot discern what an object is by 

 looking at it. This I am positive of, as 

 I have had them pass within 15 feet of 

 me, looking intently at me, without 

 taking alarm. I also know that when 

 they do discover danger by seeing a 

 motion, hearing a noise or smelling the 

 object, they bolt instantly. 



After watching nearly all day and 

 having an adverse wind to bother me I 

 was changing locations, when, as I 

 stepped out into a sagebrush park in the 

 cedars, I discovered two bucks, looking 

 at me, about 100 yards way. Set- 

 ting down my camera and pointing it 

 toward them, I was astonished to see 

 them come directly at me, followed by 

 two small fawns. Slowly they crossed 



the park, one in particular looking con- 

 stantly at me and holding the other one 

 back as much as he could. They ap- 

 proached to within twenty steps, where 

 I should have taken their picture, as the 

 fawns stood smelling noses with the rear 

 buck, but as the leader had his head 

 down I waited until I could get him to 

 look up. The fawns passed ahead of 

 him before I got his attention, so I did 

 not get a perfect pose of the group. They 

 looked at me for awhile and passed on, 

 without becoming frightened. 



Later in the fall I was watching on 

 the trail when a doe and fawn came 

 along. I was well hidden, so until I 

 bleated to stop them, at 30 feet, they 

 were unaware of my presence. They 

 did not flinch at the click of my shutter, 

 and their images are good. After look- 

 ing until satisfied they passed on around 

 me. 



Later, I took a trip to the antelope 

 country and camped at a spring, which 

 proved to be the most horrible water it 

 has been my lot to find in twenty-four 

 years of frontier life. Even our horses 

 refused to drink it. We staid there 

 twenty-four hours and watched all the 

 forenoon in vain. About noon I took a 

 trip down the gulch, to look for more 

 water and a better place. I found these 

 and ran across a friend who lived down 

 the gulch about ten miles and who urged 

 me to come down. On my return I 

 saw five head of antelope near Mrs. 

 Wallihan and the camera. I kept out of 

 sight, only peeping through the sage 

 brush enough to watch the performance. 

 They came down to the right place, and 

 I felt sure their photos were taken, which 

 proved to be the case. They ran off 

 and I went to the camera. The wind 

 was blowing harder and harder, and we 

 concluded to drive down to our friend's, 

 which we did as fast as we could, pass- 

 ing right through a band of antelope. 

 Just as we were safely housed with our 

 friend the worst snow storm I ever saw, 

 for the season — the latter part of Sep- 

 tember — broke over us, and it snowed 

 for thirty-six hours, We went on home 

 as soon as it was over. We were glad 

 we had gone to our friend's house, as 

 we had no tent. 



About a month afterward I took 

 another trip to the range and secured 

 several photographs, one of which shows 

 only a part of a large bunch. I had my 



