ANTELOPE HUNTING IN WYOMING. 



257 



quits his horse and hurriedly advances for 

 a favorable position. 



"The devil! they're right here! On a 

 lope too ! Now, my boy, cool your nerve 

 and down one ! You'll get no more 

 chances." 



Such are his mental utterances as he 

 steadies himself for a running shot. The 

 wily animals have made for the gap at a 

 gallop, intending to reach the more open 

 and safer prairie beyond, and catching sight 

 of danger they show prodigious speed, but 

 continue, with a fatality peculiar to their 

 species, the same course, one directly be- 

 hind the other. As they come abreast of 

 the hunter at 120 yards the first chance is 

 taken ; no easy one at that range and pace. 

 A little cloud of yellow dust over and be- 

 yond the foremost buck shows a clean 

 miss. Close, though; and animating the 

 fleeing beasts to further effort. Terrified 

 by the passage and shock of the ball, they 

 describe a wonderful side curve and then 

 straighten on the same line. Once more 

 the hunter checks his breath and with a 

 feeling that he must not fail, again throws 

 down on the leader. 



"Good leather! A broken neck! I'll 

 gamble on it." 



A complete somersault and a long slide 

 in full career of the animal shot at justi- 

 fy the exclamation. Casting a second 

 look to see that the work is fatal the 

 sportsman hurries to his horse, returning 

 to bleed and dress the game. 



Some men can not resist the temptation 

 to continue firing as long as anyching re- 

 mains in sight. Not so our ranchman. 

 No needless slaughter can be laid at his 

 door. Approaching the prostrate antelope, 

 gasping in its final struggles, he marks the 

 fatal neck wound and opened jugular, the 

 most desirable shot that can be made 

 on large game. As he touches the knife 



on the steel, preparatory to dressing, he 

 can not help pausing a moment to note the 

 changing expression of the creature's eye,. 

 The wonderful prominence of this organ 

 with its wild and lustrous qualities call 

 up a compassionate thought at the untimely 

 fate of so magnificent an animal and prove 

 a sportsman's heart. The acts of disem- 

 bowelling and of unjointing the legs at 

 knee and hock is skillfully performed and 

 the head, a good one, is cut off close to 

 the shoulders. 



"Now, Crow-fly-high, step up and take 

 your load." 



The pony thus addressed is led to the 

 carcass, where after one enquiring glance 

 and sniff, to assure humself it is only a 

 dead antelope, he stands quietly to be 

 packed. The body, thrown behind the sad- 

 dle and lashed fast by knee and hock joints 

 to the hind cinch rings, is of itself an ample 

 load ; but the added weight of the rider 

 and his gun does not seem to discourage 

 the little brute as he steps off bravely for 

 camp in the gathering dusk. Arrived at 

 the ranch the spoils are hung up to cool 

 over night. At dawn they are skinned, 

 quartered and placed in sacking in the 

 shade to avoid flies. Each night at sun- 

 down the meat is exposed and at sunrise, 

 when still cool, re-sacked. By that treat- 

 ment it may be kept untainted a fort- 

 night during summer in that wonderful cli- 

 mate. 



Such used to be a common incident in 

 the life of the Wyoming rancher, whose 

 table required wild meat after the buffalo 

 had departed. Unfortunately there are 

 many times when a less skillful and hu- 

 mane method tends toward the ultimate 

 extermination of the pronghorn. The mod- 

 erate demand and sportsmanlike dealing 

 illustrated in this article would never bring 

 about the extinction of American game. 



AMATEUR PHOTO BY GEO. C. EMBODY. 



YELLOW BELLIED SAPSUCKER. 

 One of the 226. Prize Winners in Recreation's 7th Annual Photo Competition. 



