Oct. 27, 1894,] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
S 3 0 
behind the ridge, and before we could get to the top of 
this ridge the antelope were nearly a half-mile off. Sev- 
eral shots from our Winchesters only made them ruu 
faster, the balls in each case knocked up the dust several 
hundred feet behind them. The ride this morning down 
the bed of a dried up stream was truly grand and pictur- 
esque. Words cannot describe the scenery, nor can it be 
compared to any otber than Rocky Mountain country. 
Whatever nature undertook here was carried on in a bold, 
startling manner and man seemed to be awed into silence 
The sun shone forth brightly, and when we were able to 
ride under the shade of the high and almost perpendicular 
walls of the mighty cafions, we were reminded of Isaiah's 
beautiful sentiment: "The shadows of a great rock in a 
weary land." About noon we drew up our teams at 
' Gardner's ranch, the end of our 101 miles wagon journey 
from the railroad, made in about eighteen hours of driv- 
ing. The remainder of the day was spent in resting, get- 
ting our guns in order, and in a reconnoissance of the 
nearby country. Nothing much was done on Thursday 
and Friday, because of the threatening weather, except 
to secure a guide and make further preparations for a 
hunt to the Big Horn. 
On Saturday live of us got a bright and early start for 
a hunt for antelope and deer, going to Arch Creek and the 
Park, a distance of perhaps eight or ten miles from our 
ranch. Our party soon got separated, and when we 
returned in the evening no man could display any game 
but the writer, who, not wanting to own to a "skunk" 
shot a cottontail. But we had some tales to tell, the one 
of how Billy Fraker did not get his buck was told best by 
the writer, his companion in the disappointment. Billy 
feared the Colonel would cashier him, and could only be 
persuaded to go back to the ranch by sundry promises 
and entreaties too numerous to mention. 
The writer was very thirsty about noon, and to get some 
water, said to be a "little way down the canon," entered a 
pocket of one of the gulches leading into a long and deep 
canon, and going down this gulch a short distance we 
were suddenly surprised to see a fine large buck, having 
live or six prongs to each antler, jump up out of some 
grass on the north side of the gulcn and lope slowly and 
gracefully ahead of us. Billy dismounted and bringing 
his rifle to his shoulder waited for the deer to jump out 
of the gulch at a point ahead of us where the upper wall 
showed a slight depression, and to which the deer seemed 
to be directing his course. He did go out there, and after 
making a long and high leap, stood on the edge and 
turned his full side to us, presenting a full silhouette 
against a clear sky background, which made a picture 
that will not be effaced from memory as long as lite shall 
last. Billy drew such a deliberate bead on him that it 
made me impatient, but finally snap went his gun and off 
jumped the deer from our view in one or two bounds. 
'What in thunder is the matter with your cartridge? " 
said I. Billy meekly replied, "I forgot to pump my gun 
and there was no cartridge in the barrel." 
Circling around to the northward we tried to get 
another chance at our escaped buck, but saw nothing 
more of him, and after a while gave up the search and 
proceeded on our way for water. We rode for about 
three hours and then had to drink out of a water hole in 
a rock from which, after we had quenched our thirst, the 
horses refused to drink. 
We were now at an elevation about of 7,0001't. , and it re- 
quired an open mouth and the greatest effort at inhalation 
to get sufficient breath to supply the lungs of one not ac- 
climated, 
The next day being the Sabbath was generally observed 
about as well as at home, except that none of us went to 
church, owing chiefly to the fact that the nearest house 
of worship was sixty-five miles away. The hospitality of 
those Wyoming ranchmen and their wives was unsur- 
passed in any experience we had ever had before. Our 
hostess and her friend Miss Smith were most estimable 
ladies, and were such horse-women as our grandmothers 
were in the East in the days when there were no car- 
riages. Either of these ladies would saddle and bridle the 
horse kept picketed near the ranch and galloping out of 
sight over toe ridge to the "range" would soon re-appear 
driving a bunch of from twenty to thirty horses, and in- 
closing them in the "corrall" would select such as would 
seem safe and pleasant for a/' tenderfoot" to ride. In 
the evening, Mac, the writer and guide rode over to the 
latter's ranch, a distance of about five miles, preparatory 
to a long talked of hunt on the mountain. 
Monday morning' we got up at 2 o'cljck, and after 
getting breakfast, baking biscuits, etc., etc., and catching 
horses, we got started for a hunt twelve miles away on 
the Big Horn Mountain. We reached our proposed 
camping place at 7 o'clock. Mac, myself and our guide 
(Fraker) each rode a horse, and the guide led one as pack 
norse, on which was our bed, frying-pan,' three tin cups, 
bread, salt and pepper, tea, and pot for steeping same. 
This is a full and complete list of all we had, no meat, 
flour, or anything more, and for our dinner we would 
nave only tea and dry bread unless we could kill some 
game. We unpacked our L horses and picketed the pack 
horse so he might get grass, and then commenced our 
Uuut in earnest, each one still riding, and as I had ridden 
very little for the past fifteen yeHrs, I soon began to feel 
the truth of the old saying, "Seldom rides," etc. We 
had not gone a quarter of a mile until we saw a bunch of 
seven mountain grouse, but we all had rifles only, and 
fearing we might scare away larger game refrained from 
shooting at the grouse. We, now ever, rode close to 
where they were feeding and got within 25 or 30ft. of 
them without making them rise or seemingly to disturb 
them. 
I think it would have been an easy, matter for us to 
have killed at least Ave of them, and you may depend 
that we regretted not doing it afterward. 
We pushed on, and just at 9 o'clock, as we came to the 
top of a divide, saw to our left a bunch of eighteen ante- 
lope quietly feeding. We got back out of sight quickly 
without their having seen us and without disturbing 
them, and dismounting, crawled up along the side hill 
behind the timber and rocks to within about 1,200yds., 
where we were securely hidden and yet could see the 
antelope plainly. It was a beautiful sight and we watched 
them a good wnile ; but they seemed to be feeding away 
from us, and getting impatient, we planned to drive 
them so that two of us might get a reasonably fair shot 
at them as they ran by. 
They were, however, too sharp for us, and although 
we shot at them several times, it was too great a distance 
to do them any harm. We followed them up for two or 
three miles, made a circle and^came up within 50yds. of 
the leader as we were crossing another divide. But the 
meeting was a surprise to both parties, and before we 
could gallop up to the top of the hill the antelope had 
turned and were out of reasonable gun-shot. All we saw 
of the leaders, an old doe, was her big ears as she looked 
at us over the top of the hill. We did not follow them 
further, but after seeing a badger, coyote arid some 
ground hogs, came to some water about a mile from camp 
at 11 o'clock and concluded that we were hungry and that 
we would have to make our dinner on dry biscuits and 
tea. But as we came a little nearer to camp we came 
into a large bunch of sage-hens and shot three of them 
in the heads with our rifles. These Mac very quickly and 
neatly prepared for cooking by skinning and cutting out 
the breast from each side of the bone and the legs off, 
and being very hungry we ate as though it was as good a 
meal as we ever enjoyed anywhere. 
Mac got a headache in the afternoon, and I was very 
tired; so we concluded that Fraker should go out for meat 
alone. He, somewhat superstitious, changed horses and 
started southward, saying that he would not be back 
until after dark unless he got meat sooner, that we should 
stay about camp and keep up the fire and not wander off 
far lest we should get lost, for the country thereabouts 
looked all alike to one not accustomed to it. 
I gave Mac some sugar pills; he felt better in about an 
hour, and we concluded to strike out on a short expedi- 
tion on our own account. We crossed over the first divide 
to the southeast and got into a pocket that seemed to 
promise favorable for grouse. I took one side and Mac 
the other and we soon got interested. 
Mac shot a large rattlesnake and I got on to a fresh 
deer trail. Soon the pocket closed into a gulch and then 
to a canyon, and as we traveled on down the sides grew 
so deep that we could not get out. After riding an hour 
and a half down this canyon and not striking the running 
stream of water on which our camp was located, and 
which we had expected to find long before, we concluded 
that we would have to go back as it was half -past five, 
and allowing the same time for returning that was re- 
quired coming down, it would be almost dark by the 
time we would get to camp, not allowing anything for 
mishaps which are very likely to occur under such cir- 
cumstances. 
After returning up the canyon quite a distance, after 
much effort we climbed out by leading our horses up a 
slope steeper than the roof of a house. Indeed it was so 
steep and rough that one could scarcely crawl up. But 
getting fairly out of the canyon we came on to a "park," 
where we found fairly good riding. And just as the sun 
was going down there crossed our path a beautiful, big, 
six-pronged buck. He was, however, too far off for us to 
shoot, and so dismounting from my horse I made for him 
as best I could. He did not see us, and as the wind was 
favorable, could not scent us, but as the light was too 
strong for us he got away without my getting a shot. 
We soon mounted our horses and made as fast as we 
could in the direction we thought our camp was. In a 
few minnutes we saw the buck again about 800yds. off 
across a "pocket." We got down off our horses a,nd each 
saluted him, both firing about the same time and cutting 
the dust so close under him as to make him strike a gait 
that carried him out of our sight before you could say 
"Jack EobinsOn." 
We started again for camp, no little alarmed, fearing 
we were in for a stay out all night without our bed to 
keep us warm. In a few minutes we saw a large buck 
antelope, and again dismounting we gave him a volley 
that made the mountain ring and the antelope "get up 
and dust," but with all his bones whole and no lead in his 
skin. 
The excitement of seeing game made us forget our 
fears of being lost, and after some more observations of 
our compass and a hard ride of about quarter of an hour, 
we came to the pocket that we had first entered three or 
four hours before. From this point we had no difficulty 
in locating camp. When we came to our pasture we saw 
"Old Ned," the pack-horse, and thus knew that Mr, 
Fraker was in camp, and said one to the other that 
Fraker must have gotten some meat or he would not 
be in yet. When we got down to the stream near the 
camp we met Fraker, who told us that he had not gotten 
any deer or antelope. 
But upon our getting close to him we remarked about 
the blood on his hands, when he said that if we would 
come up to the camp he would show us a sight we had 
never seen before. At the camp we saw a doe Rocky 
Mountain sheep and her buck kid lying side by side. 
Well, you may suppose that we were rejoiced at his suc- 
cess, and particularly pleased when we smelled the savory 
sirloin f rying in the pan. I ate a big supper, but Mac's 
ride had been too much for him and he went to bed at 
once without any supper. After smoking and swapping 
yarns with the guide for an hour I turned into our bed, 
with the beautiful, starry, moonlit canopy t of heaven 
covering us, and soon fell asleep hoping for such a stroke 
of good luck for myself on the morrow. 
In the morning we were off for another hunt. When 
we got near the place where we had seen the antelope the 
day before, it was arranged that I should go around to 
the right and Mac and the guide should go to the left, 
and, after covering certain ridges and valleys, should meet 
at an agreed point. I felt pretty sure of being able to 
find the way, and so started off hopefully. After riding 
and walking about for perhaps two hours, I saw Mac and 
his companion about half a mile off, and, attracting their 
attention, I rode rapidly to meet them. They had seen a 
small bunch of mountain grouse and had gotten one. I 
had not seen anything. 
After riding for a half hour more, and visiting the 
place where Fraker had shot his two sheep the evening 
before, I began to be somewhat tired and discouraged, 
and thought that this hunt was likely to end as all my 
others had, and I should go home saying I had hunted 
deer in nine different States and not shot one yet. 
The guide proposed that we should strike off to the 
north three or four miles to points we had not been before 
to try our luck again for antelope. We had not gone 
200yd8. before he said, "See that deer there lying down 
in the timber?" It was but the work of a moment for us 
to dismount, and it was agreed that as Mac was the oldest 
he should have first shot. The deer was about 125yds. 
from us and lying among the timber behind a log, and 
we could only see his head. His ears stood up straight 
and 1 saw his small antlers close to his head. Mac walked 
cautiously up to a pine tree obliquely toward the deer, 
but instead of stopping at the tree went on toward another 
nearer to the deer and further up the hill (he afterward 
explained that when he got to the first tree the deer was 
entirely hid from him), and just as he got up to his second 
tree and had rested his rifle against it the deer got up and 
shook himself, presenting a full Bide view. Mac cracked 
away, and behold four other deer rose up all around 
where the first one had lain. The guide and I were 
standing by our horses, and after Mac shot we each fired, 
but I am of opinion that none of these shots took effect. 
The deer seemed to be rattled and did not run more than 
150yds. or so, then stopped at the top of a little rise. Two 
of them were standing pretty close together, with their 
buttocks toward us; one was a nice buck and the other I 
thought to be a doe. I took quick aim at the rear end of 
the back and pulled; the buck made a plunge toward us, 
and I knew that I had hit him hard, and took off my hat 
and threw it up, shouting, "Hurrah for my first deer!" 
The guide said, "Shoot him again; he'll get away!" but I 
said, "No, don't you do it, for I don't want to have his 
head spoiled." But as he still plunged heavily, but all the 
time getting nearer us, and seeing Fraker aiming at him, 
I said, "Let her go," and we each shot at him again. By 
this time the buck had got caught in an old pine treetop 
and lay quietly, and another was plunging around as if 
wounded. Mac pulled on this one and hit him above the 
eye, knocking off one antler. The guide and I ran on 
down alongside of the hill, and seeing another large buck 
fired at him. Fraker followed this fellow and got another 
shot. We were now sure of two fine deer, and you may 
know that I "cut up high." The whole affair did not last 
over three minutes. Mac shot three times, Fraker four, 
and I got off eight, so you may imagine that there was a 
lively time. 
When we came to examine the deer my buck had in 
him but one shot, fair in the rear between the hams, and 
the second one was shot almost similarly, but with the 
additional hole above the eye, and one antler gone. 
We packed them to camp, and after a hearty dinner of 
choice sirloin of venison, tea and biscuit, started for home 
with three horses packed down heavy with game and 
camp equipage and one horse for the three to ride. My 
feet got sore, some nails in the soles of my boots making 
trouble by working through, and by the time I had 
walked eight miles and we were back to Fraker's place, 
you may suppose that I was tired, After supper we 
started for our ianch. five miles away, each riding a 
horse and leading one packed with about as much game, 
etc. , as he could carry. Our party gave us a warm recep- 
tion when we pulled up at the ranch. 
The next day we started homeward, stopping at North 
Fork to fish for trout. In this we met our ouly disap- 
pointment, not seeing nor catching a single trout, nor 
even getting a bite. Thursday, the 13th, we pulled up 
stakes and started for home. T. M. N. 
TEXAS AND THE SOUTHWEST. 
Again the buffalo herd; once more Val Verde county. 
This time it is Dr. J. B. Taylor, of San Angelo, who , 
swears to the existence of a herd of buffalo in the West 
Texas canons. Dr. Taylor is a sportsman who is well 
known throughout the West and Southwest. Hearing of 
the existence of the bisons in Val Verde county, he im- 
mediately organized an expedition to find, and if within 
the range of possibilities, capture the animals. The herd 
was trailed to and across the Rio Grande and into the 
mountains of the Mexican frontier, where the search was 
abandoned. Application will immediately be made to 
Gov. Diaz, who is an ardent sportsman himself, for per- 
mission to invade the Mexican territory on the part of the 
searching party, and there is no doubt that the Mexican 
government will readily grant the permission. 
A New Duck Fake. 
My friend A. B. Critzer, the proud possessor of the only 
24-gauge gun in the State, of whose shooting much has 
been written both in prose and verse, is also an inveter- 
ate duck killer. As a committee of one to stimulate the 
shooting of waterfowl on the great San Antonio preserve 
he has immortalized himself, and his name will go down 
kerslap on the pages of history that is usually set aside 
for men that reach the high perch of distinction on which 
my friend is at present reposing. 
As soon aB the generous J. Pluvius had poured his tub- 
fuls of wet water on the favorite bottom known as 
Mitchell's Lake, the tule, fly and water lilies began to do 
business as of yore. The senna beans (a fine duck cover) 
opened up shop, and when the next rain came along the 
ent're system of vegetation joined hands and with a sky- 
ward bound covered the bottom of the lake until the 
eager tips parted the waters and shot away into the air. 
On the vegetation grew until it now hides the water. 
Here is where Mr. Critzer fully developed. 
In consultation with Charley Hummeli one day, Mr. 
Critzer evolved the idea that the reason there were not 
more ducks feeding on the lake was because the traveling 
webfeet could not see the water through the weeds, and 
both he and Charley have been advocating the adoption 
of such a system as would call the attention of the oirds 
to the dampness that placidly awaited the feverish pad- 
dlers. Accordingly, an army of Mexicans was hired to 
cut away a few hundred acres of cover, and the ducks 
will now have a chance to see "where they are at." Some 
of the most wicked duck hunting members of the club 
advocated the purchase of 500 little balloons. They could 
be anchored to Mother Earth by means of 200yds. of 
chalk line each, and turned loose with pungent legends 
attached, such as the following: 
Mallards ! Water below. Plenty feed. Keep off the grass. 
Blue and green wing teal 1 Good puddling. For further particulars 
apply to Spoonbill & Co. 
Ducks! 1 Get a move on you or Scolopax will clean out the worms. 
Look out for mud hens 1 
But then Messrs. Critzer & Hummel don't like the sign 
idea, and say that the balloon suggestion is nothing but an 
airy windy. 
Plenty of Snipe. 
I took an evening and morning hunt at Mitchell's Lake 
last week, and found excellent shooting. . We could have 
killed much more game than we did, but then a few of us 
down here have come to adopt the beautiful idea handed 
out by Forest and Stream and Mr. Hough of "Chicago 
and the West," that one can have just as much fun in 
killing 10 birds as if one killed 100, so we contented our- 
selves with a half-dozen teal per man and a dozen snipe 
to the gun for the day. The snipe are plentiful and tat 
