her death-wound.

This is cruel sport, and can only be justified when meat is scarce,
which is very frequently the case in the Indian's larder.

It does not always comport with a man's feelings of security,
especially if he happens to be a little nervous, to sound the
deer-bleat in a wild region of country. I once undertook to experiment
with the instrument myself, and made my first essay in attempting to
call up an antelope which I discovered in the distance. I succeeded
admirably in luring the wary victim within shooting range, had raised
upon my knees, and was just in the act of pulling trigger, when a
rustling in the grass on my left drew my attention in that direction,
where, much to my surprise, I beheld a huge panther within about twenty
yards, bounding with gigantic strides directly toward me. I turned my
rifle, and in an instant, much to my relief and gratification, its
contents were lodged in the heart of the beast.

Many men, when they suddenly encounter a deer, are seized with nervous
excitement, called in sporting parlance the "_buck fever_," which
causes them to fire at random. Notwithstanding I have had much
experience in hunting, I must confess that I am never entirely free
from some of the symptoms of this malady when firing at large game, and
I believe that in four out of five cases where I have missed the game
my balls have passed too high. I have endeavored to obviate this by
sighting my rifle low, and it has been attended with more successful
results. The same remarks apply to most other men I have met with. They
fire too high when excited.

THE ANTELOPE.

This animal frequents the most elevated bleak and naked prairies in all
latitudes from Mexico to Oregon, and constitutes an important item of
subsistence with many of the Prairie Indians. It is the most wary,
timid, and fleet animal that inhabits the Plains. It is about the size
of a small deer, with a heavy coating of coarse, wiry hair, and its
flesh is more tender and juicy than that of the deer. It seldom enters
a timbered country, but seems to delight in cropping the grass from the
elevated swells of the prairies. When disturbed by the traveler, it
will circle around him with the speed of the wind, but does not stop
until it reaches some prominent position whence it can survey the
country on all sides, and nothing seems to escape its keen vision. They
will sometimes stand for a long time and look at a man, provided he
does not move or