CARIACUS VIRGINIANUS. 
31 
very monotonous, and finally even the flies fail to keep up the ex- 
citement. The drowsy hunter nods, his eyes close, and his head 
hangs heavily upon his breast. Suddenly an owl, on a low limb 
overhead, utters one of his loudest and most startling cries. The 
affrighted sportsman cocks both barrels of his gun, expecting to 
detect the crouching form of a panther preparing for the fatal 
spring. On being assured of the harmless nature of his imaginary 
foe he cannot suppress a groan of mortification and disgust while 
he endeavors to regain his equanimity. Beads of cold sweat 
mingle with the oil upon his forehead as he solemnly and silently 
vows that floating is a diversion into which he will never again be 
beguiled. He feels chilly, and wonders if this is really a sample 
of Adirondack sport, or if his guide has been playing him a trick. 
While his mind is occupied with these meditations they have 
reached the lake, and the guide, anxious not to return empty- 
handed, has put the boat into a shallow bay and is working it 
slowly ahead amongst the lily-pads. The sportsman, now too cold 
to sleep, feels the boat slacken its headway and stop. He wonders 
if the guide has dropped off in a doze and is about to turn and in- 
vestigate when the word “ shoot,” uttered in a low whisper, falls 
upon his ears. He doesn’t see anything to shoot, but on looking 
more closely, discovers, partly hidden behind a bush, the form of 
a Deer, as motionless as a statue, gazing inquiringly at the light. 
Raising the gun nervously to his shoulder he fires. A desperate 
leap, a wild plunge ahead, a heavy fall, and a noble buck lies dead 
upon the bank. 
Driving consists in chasing a Deer with hounds, and killing it, 
if possible, when it takes to water. A Deer is not much afraid of 
a dog, and when the latter commences to bay on the track does 
not start off at once, but waits till sure that the hound is really 
chasing it. It then moves away at a brisk pace, rapidly distancing 
its pursuer, and is apt to run several miles, circling through valleys 
and over hills, before taking to water. If now a stream of any 
