y scarce. We had to content ourselves
with the dried meat which we had brought from the settlements. We were
in the deserts of the artemisia. Now and then we could see a stray
antelope bounding away before us, but keeping far out of range. They,
too, seemed to be unusually shy.

On the third day after leaving the caravan, as we were riding near the
Cimmaron, I thought I observed a pronged head disappearing behind a
swell in the prairie. My companions were sceptical, and none of them
would go with me; so, wheeling out of the trail, I started alone. One
of the men, for Gode was behind, kept charge of my dog, as I did not
choose to take him with me, lest he might alarm the antelopes. My horse
was fresh and willing; and whether successful or not, I knew that I
could easily overtake the party by camping-time.

I struck directly towards the spot where I had seen the object. It
appeared to be only half a mile or so from the trail. It proved more
distant--a common illusion in the crystal atmosphere of these upland
regions.

A curiously-formed ridge, a _couteau des prairies_ on a small scale,
traversed the plain from east to west. A thicket of cactus covered part
of its summit. Towards this thicket I directed myself.

I dismounted at the bottom of the slope, and leading my horse silently
up among the cacti plants, tied him to one of their branches. I then
crept cautiously through the thorny leaves towards the point where I
fancied I had seen the game. To my joy, not one antelope, but a brace
of those beautiful animals were quietly grazing beyond; but, alas! too
far off for the range of my rifle. They were fully three hundred yards
distant, upon a smooth, grassy slope. There was not even a sage bush to
cover me, should I attempt to approach them. What was to be done?

I lay for several minutes, thinking over the different tricks known in
hunter-craft for taking the antelope. Should I imitate their call?
Should I hoist my handkerchief, and try to lure them up? I saw that
they were too shy; for, at short intervals, they threw up their graceful
heads and looked inquiringly around them. I remembered the red blanket
on my saddle. I could display this upon the cactus bushes; perhaps it
would attract them.

I had no alternative, and was turning to go back for the blanket, when,
all at once, my eye rested upon a clay-coloured line running across the
prairie beyond where the animals were feeding. It was a break