me has said. "Many a time he came back utterly fagged out and not
a thing to show for his labor. But he never complained, and on the
contrary could generally tell a pretty good story about something he had
seen or had taken note of. In the summer he would examine the nests of
birds and waterfowl with great care, and I have seen him with a horned
frog before him, studying every point of the creature."

Once while on the prairie the young ranchman was caught in a heavy
hailstorm. He was out with a number of others, when, with scarcely any
warning, the sky began to grow dark, and the wind came up in fitful
gusts.

"We must get out of this, and quick too," said a companion. And all
pushed onward as fast as they could. But soon the heavy fall of hail
overtook them, and they were glad enough to seek even the slight shelter
of a deep washout, where men and horses huddled close together for
protection. The hailstones came down as large as marbles, causing the
horses to jump around in a fashion that was particularly dangerous to
themselves and to their owners. The time was August, yet the air grew
very cold, and when the storm was over, some cattle were found
completely benumbed. A few had been killed, and there had likewise been
great slaughter among a flock of lambs that had been driven into the Bad
Lands the year previous.

Mr. Roosevelt tells us that the greatest number of black-tailed deer he
ever killed in one day was three. He is a true sportsman in this respect
and does not kill for the mere sake of killing. Those who go out just to
slaughter all they possibly can are not sportsmen, but butchers. To be
sure, a hunter may have to play the butcher at times, when the meat is
needed, but not otherwise.

On the occasion when the three black-tails were laid low the young
ranchman and his foreman started on the hunt very early in the morning,
when the bright moon was still in the sky. It was late in November and
stinging cold, so they allowed their horses to take their own pace,
which was far from slow.

The course of the hunters was up the bed of a dry creek, along which
they passed the still sleeping cattle and also a drove of ponies. Then
they reached a spot where they left their own steeds, and, rifles in
hand, hurried silently toward a great plateau which lay some distance
before them. Signs of deer could be seen on every hand, and both were
certain that the day's outing would prove a grand success.

Theodore Roosev