256 



RECREATION. 



Should the ranchman be out of meat about 

 the first of June he may feel certain he will 

 find the buck antelope in good order. It is 

 then readily distinguishable, even at a dis- 

 tance, by its full size, full horn and solitary 

 habit, though often 2 or 3 old males will 

 range together. 



Taking from the rack his heavy Win- 

 chester and with mind made up for 

 sport and good meat our Nimrod sad- 

 dles his hunting pony and strikes out to- 

 ward some favorable rolling country. A 

 good knife and steel hanging to the car- 

 tridge belt and a pair of light field glasses 

 carefully cased and fastened to the saddle 

 show that he is well outfitted. The animal 

 he bestrides does not resemble the one de- 

 scribed by Mr. Roosevelt as accompanying 

 him on hunting trips. He is either a horse 

 that has served his time in some cow out- 

 fit, or he is out of an Indian camp. In- 

 sensibility to sound and smell and indiffer- 

 ence to the character of his pack are his 

 most praiseworthy traits. In the spring 

 months surface water is plentiful and the 

 buck antelopes range wide and free ; where- 

 as the females, selecting some coulee conve- 

 nient to a watering place, hold their ground 

 until kidding unless disturbed, frequently 

 in company with their 2 yearlings. While 

 enjoying the bracing air, the freshness of 

 the grasses, the note of the prairie birds as 

 they rise at his approach, and all those 

 sights and sounds that produce the inde- 

 scribable exhilaration which comes to one 

 riding over the open plains, our hunter is 

 watchful, 



As each roll of the prairie is attained he 

 takes heed to his surroundings. In hunting 

 pronghorns a good deal of ground may be 

 covered, and the most zealous sportsman 

 mey get careless ; so it is .not strange that 

 the rider on passing over a rise at an un- 

 lucky trot sees in the coulee below him a 

 good buck lying comfortably. The hand- 

 some beast rises slowly, staring at the in- 

 truder, but when once on his feet seems 

 electrified, wheeling and starting like a 

 quarter-horse, and with head thrown for- 

 ward passing up the opposite slope. 



"Luck! luck! what a head!" exclaims our 

 man, as he checks his horse and pulls at 

 his gun at the same instant. The coolest 

 hands are sometimes faulty, and before the 

 ground is attained and the rifle extended 

 the quarry shows up strong and fast on the 

 top of the ridge. 



"I might spike him. 'Twould only spoil 

 meat, though," is his mental ejaculation. 

 Then^ as he regains the saddle, he phil- 

 osophizes a little. 



"I reckon if I want an even break on 

 this hunt I'd better keep that gun handy 

 and not under my leg." 



Following a veteran antelope that has 

 been once jumped is not a profitable move 



unless a considerable detour can be made 

 and the game approached from an opposite 

 direction ; so our ranchman, getting con- 

 cerned about his weekly supply of meat, 

 changes his course and with rifle resting 

 conveniently in front of him is determined 

 that the next animal sighted shall not es- 

 cape. It is not long before his quick eye 

 catches the familiar red and white object 

 resting in a grassy pocket at the base of a 

 distant butte. If it is only a buck its death 

 is certain, for ground and wind favor an 

 approach within easy range. The glasses 

 are quickly resorted to but even their aid 

 fails to determine the fact to a certainty. 

 As another long and cautious look is taken 

 a diminutive form rises from the grass 

 near the larger animal and then another. 



"Ah ! pappoose ! That settles the ques- 

 tion. You're safe from me, old lady. If 

 only some bloody Indian doesn't take you 

 in!" 



A doe and 2 fawns have proved to be 

 the game in sight and with the above hu- 

 mane soliloquy the hunt is resumed, though 

 the approaching sunset soon compels a re- 

 turn in the direction of the ranch. Dis- 

 satisfied and evidently out of luck the 

 horsemen jogs along, thinking he will have 

 to go another week on bacon straight, as 

 he will be too busy to go out again. To 

 add to his discomfiture 2 proud old bucks 

 look up from their grazing in a shallow 

 sag on the broad bench land he happens 

 to be crossing, and after coolly surveying 

 their enemy from a safe distance, gallop 

 leisurely away. To be a successful hunter 

 one must think quickly and be of ready 

 resource ; at times take desperate chances. 

 Our hunter is of this class and in this in- 

 stance his intimate knowledge of the coun- 

 try and prompt action illustrate the point,. 



"If they go off the bench as they are 

 headed and do not turn down the big draw 

 they will pull for the gap between the red 

 hills. I believe I can head them yet." 



His thoughts are rapid but his move- 

 ments unchanged, following slowly the 

 retreating game. The instant, however, 

 that the hindmost buck pitches off the bank 

 the pony is turned and told to hit the 

 breeze, which he does with astonishing 

 vigor. His experienced eye has also seen 

 the antelope disappear and he seems to 

 know that the moment for a quick move 

 has arrived. Down the bench slope he goes 

 at a rate not warranted by his spring knees 

 and little, splinty legs. The base of a long 

 ridge separating them from the route of 

 the^ quarry is traversed at frantic speed 

 until, a full thousand yards away, at its 

 terminal point, a large bill is reached be- 

 tween which and a companion butte lies the 

 pass through which it is expected the bucks 

 may go. Riding as far around the foot of 

 the hill as he dare, the anxious hunter 



