Huntsville gazette., 1886-12-11
HUNTING THE ANTELOPE
The Fleetest and the Most Grace
full Of Quadrupeds.
Wild Sport for Huntsmen on the Plains OF
Montana-The True Way to Hunt
Them-Getting Between Them
and the Sun.

Western hunters and plainsmen agree
that this is the best season for antelope
that Montana has seen for years.
Where they come from it is hard to tell,
for it was supposed that the herds of
domestic cattle had driven them away
with the buffalo, who few years ago
retired to more remote pastures. 1t is
probable that they have migrated
south from British territory. where the
cold has already set in rather early.
Probably the favorite stamping grounds
of the buffalo at the present writing are
the Saskatchewan Plains, and it is also
probable that the antelope are not far
from the buffalo. Nevertheless, while
but few bison are to be found in Mon
tana this year, the antelope are back
among us in nearly as great numbers
as of yore. Paymaster Whipple, of the
regular army, returning few days
ago from an overland trip to Fort Ma
ginnis, on the Musselshell, reports see
ing numerous bands of antelope along
his route of travel, some of which ran
up into the thousands. All the deer
and antelope bagged this season appear
to be in the very finest condition. Ger
tainly the launches of venison and ribs
of antelope brought into this post by
Indians to sell are exceedingly fat, rich
and juicy.
To hunt the antelope successfully re-
ouires more than ordinary skill. With
the exception of mountain sheep, ante
lope are the most difficult game ami
mails to approach on this continent. A
bear will stand up and actually seek
fight; buffalo bull will run at first,
but once wounded stand-up fight to
the bitter end is the probable outcome;
an elk can be approached and slain
without exercising extraordinary pre-
cautions, and deer is sometimes as
dangerous and as belligerent as a noun
tain lion. On the other hand, the an
telope first, last and all the time de-
pends upon his legs for safety, and it is
fair to say that they are the tleetest, as
they are the most graceful of quadru-
peds. There is no fun in store for the
greenhorn who attempts to hunt this
animal without understanding its ways
and habits. Anybody can hunt and kill
a bison, bear and many of the other
large game animals; but the antelope
demands the most skillful of huntsmen
to compete with its keen senses of sight
and smell, not to speak OF that other
important adjunct, extreme fieetness Of
foot. The power of scent is wonderfully
acute in them, for it seems that
of al
yards and beyond with the most aston
ishing eXactness. Their tenacity OF
life is beyond all conception. ! have
frequently seen antelope with one leg
shot away and hanging by the tendons
alone outrun and escape from the fleet
est plains ponies. Their race is not a
long one (not more than six or seven
miles,, and it is possible that an
American horse might run them down,
but as rule nothing on the prairie can
catch them, and the greyhound is about
the only four-footed beast in existence
that can be depended upon to keep
pace with them and possibly outrun
them.
No animal in the world possesses a
keener sight except the giraffe. In
stalking antelope the principal point is
to keep out of sight, and next to keep
out of smell. Don't imagine because a
band is couple of miles away appar-
emily feeding and all with heads down
that none are on the lookout. The
chances are ten to one that you are
seen first, although they may not move.
Always hunt over broken ground and
undulating prairie. If on horseback,
dismount and skirt the ridge ahead, as
your horses head always comes into
view before you do, and take off your
hat, which becomes visible before you
yourself can see beyond. Do all the
crawling possible. Such is the red
mans method, and he generally bags
three times as much game as any two
white men, unless the latter adopt the
same tactics. Ninety per cent. of all
the game secured by Indians is shot
within three hundred yards. They are
everlasting crawlers and simply no
good at all beyond the three hundred
yard limit. On the other hand, white
man plunges ahead in his natural,
happy -go-lucky fashion, scares the
game, thus giving it good send-otf,
and then blazes away while the animals
are on dead run. l have discovered
many valuable pointers as the result
of long experience, and note few OF
them for tie benefit of those who have
a notion to try their hand at stalking
antelope. When band scents or sees
Won they run across the wind for about
nine hundred or one thousand yards,
and then turn and run straight up the