198 Antelope Hunting Thirty Years Ago and To-Day 



White F'awn, October. 



tie herd's position as to bring them into a 

 situation where they could be approached. 



It is but a few years since I had an ex- 

 perience of this kind. A bunch of ante- 

 lope were accustomed to feed in a wide 

 flat at the foot of a considerable mountain 

 near the ranch, and one morning I rode 

 in this direction, and when three-quarters 

 of a mile from the place where the animals 

 were to be looked for, crept up to the top 

 of a ridge, and saw that they were in their 

 usual place. Making a long round I rode 

 under cover of another ridge to a pine- 

 crowned ledge of rock above the ante- 

 lope; but when I crept up to the top of 

 the hill and looked over, I saw that they 

 were far out of range, but feeding undis- 

 turbed. I had the whole day before me, 

 and from my point of concealment I 

 watched their movements. It was inter- 

 esting to see the Uttle band living their 

 every-day hfe. There were se\ eral kids, 

 half a dozen does, and a couple of bucks. 

 They were safe and careless, yet always 

 alert, and always graceful. The little 

 kids were playful and quick, sometimes 

 chasing one another here and there, again 

 nibbling a bite of grass, or perhaps going 

 close to the mother and lying down, only 

 to rise again to their feet to resume their 

 play. Sometimes when one was chasing 

 the other, the one pursued would erect the 



white hairs of the rump, so that the rump 

 spot became much larger than usual, and 

 after a little would let the hairs fall down 

 to their normal position. The erection 

 of the hairs seemed a sign of alarm. 

 Now and then a doe would lie down, fold- 

 ing her slim legs under her very deliber- 

 ately; but most of the animals continued 

 to move about, and if they went a little 

 way from one that had lain down, she 

 stood up and followed them. Several 

 times I thought the whole band were going 

 to lie down well out of rifle shot, but they 

 did not do so, and at last, when the sun 

 began to decline toward the west they 

 began to work nearer to the hill on which 

 I lay. They did this very slowly, and an 

 eager hunter might have grown weary of 

 watching them; but I was well content 

 with what I saw. Usually, the does seem 

 to lead the band, the bucks following along 

 behind, sometimes grazing, sometimes 

 scratching heads and necks against a sage 

 bush, or even pretending to fight it. 



Gradually the old does worked nearer 

 and nearer to where I was, until at last 

 they were all within easy range. The 

 bucks were still a little further than I 

 liked, but after a time they also came 

 within range, and I picked up my rifle, 

 which had been lying by my side, and 

 loaded it. Then I began to debate with 

 myself whether or not I should kill one 

 of these antelope. I had watched them 

 so long that I reallv felt more or less in- 



Young Buck, July. 



