BY THEODORE ROOSEVELT WORKS STANDARD LIBRARY EDITION 8 vols., 8% illustrated. Each $2.50. Per set, $20.00 THE WINNING OF THE WEST Four volumes. Each volume is complete in itself, and is sold separately. 8, cloth, with maps. Each, $2.50 HUNTING TRIPS OF A RANCHMAN Sketches of Sport on the Northern Cattle Plains. With 27 full-page wood engravings and 8 smaller engrav- ings, from designs by Frost, Swain Gifford, Beard, Fannie E. Gifford, and Sandham. 8 . . $3.00 THE WILDERNESS HUNTER With an Account of the Big Game of the United States, and its Chase with Horse, Hound, and Rifle. With illustrations by Remington, Frost, Sandham, Eaton, Beard, and others. 8 .... $3.00 THE NAVAL WAR OF 1812 Or, The History of the United States Navy during the Last War with Great Britain. 8th edition. 8, $2.50 AMERICAN IDEALS And Other Essays, Social and Political. I2mo, gilt top $1.50 New Library Edition, reset, uniform with " The Win- ning of the West " $2.50 ADDRESSES AND PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGES 1902-1904 With Introduction by Henry Cabot Lodge. Standard Library Edition. 8 $2 OO Popular Edition. 12 ..... 1.50 THE DEATH OF THE GRIZZLY. Frontispiece (see page 305) Stan&arfc library Edition The Wilderness Hunter An Account of the Big Game of the United States and its Chase with Horse Hound, and Rifle BY Theodore Roosevelt Author of "Hunting Trips of a Ranchman," "The Winning of the West" "American Ideals," "Naval War of 1812," etc. Illustrated G. P. Putnam's Sons New York and London ZTbe Ifcnicfeerbocfeer press MCMIX COPYRIGHT, 1893, BY G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS Entered at Stationers' Hall, London BY G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS Ubc fmicfcerbocfcer t>rea0, "Hew TO E. K. R 241488 " They saw the silences Move by and beckon ; saw the forms, The very beards, of burly storms, And heard them talk like sounding seas . . . They saw the snowy mountains rolled And heaved along the nameless lands Like mighty billows ; saw the gold Of awful sunsets ; saw the blush Of sudden dawn, and felt the hush Of heaven when the day sat down And hid his face in dusky hands." Joaquin Miller. " In vain the speeding or shyness ; In vain the elk takes to the inner passes of the woods . . . . . . where geese nip their food with short jerks, Where sundown shadows lengthen over the limitless prairie, Where herds of buffalo make a crawling spread of the square miles, far and near, Where winter wolves bark amid wastes of snow and ice-clad trees . . . The moose, large as an ox, cornered by hunters, plunging with his fore- feet, the hoofs as sharp as knives . . . The blazing fire at night, the sweet taste of supper, the talk, the bed of hemlock boughs, and the bear-skin." Walt Whitman, CONTENTS. PREFACE CHAPTER I. THE AMERICAN WILDERNESS ; WILDERNESS HUNTERS AND WILDERNESS GAME. The American wilderness Forests, plains, mountains Likeness and unlike- ness to the old-world wilderness Wilderness hunters Boone, Crockett, Houston, Carson The trappers The buffalo hunters The stockmen The regular army Wilderness game Bison, moose, elk, caribou, deer, antelope Other game Hunting in the wilderness ..... 1-19 CHAPTER II. HUNTING FROM THE RANCH ; THE BLACKTAIL DEER. In the cattle country Life on a ranch A round-up Branding a maverick The Bad Lands A shot at a blacktail Still-hunting the blacktail Its habits Killing a buck in August A shot at close range Occasional un- wariness of blacktail ......... 20-36 CHAPTER III. THE WHITETAIL DEER ; AND THE BLACKTAIL OF THE COLUMBIA. The whitetail Yields poor sport Fire hunting Hunting with hounds Shoot- ing at running game Queer adventure Anecdotes of plainsmen Good and bad shots A wagon trip A shot from the ranch-house verandah The Columbian blacktail 37~54 tii v;ii Contents. CHAPTER IV. ON THE CATTLE RANGES | THE PRONG-HORN ANTELOPE. Riding to the round-up The open plains Sights and sounds Gophers, prairie dogs, sharp-tail grouse, antelope The cow-camp Standing night guard Dawn Make an antelope hunt An easy stalk A difficult stalk Three antelope shot The plains skylark The meadow lark The mocking-bird Other singers Harsher wilderness sounds Pack rats Plains ferret, Its ferocity The war eagle Attacks antelope Kills jack-rabbit One shot on wing with rifle 55-73 CHAPTER V. HUNTING THE PRONG-BUCK ; FROST, FIRE, AND THIRST. Hunting the prong-buck Long shots Misses Winter weather A hunt in December Riding in the bitter cold The old hunter's tepee A night in a, line camp An antelope herd Two bucks shot Riding back to ranch The immigrant train Hunting in fall Fighting fire A summer hunt Sufferings from thirst Swimming cattle across a swollen stream Wagon trip to the Black Hills The great prairies A prong-buck shot Pleasant camp Buck shot in morning Continue our journey Shooting sage fowl and prairie fowl with rifle 74~99 CHAPTER VI. AMONG THE HIGH HILLS ; THE BIGHORN OR MOUNTAIN SHEEP. A summer on the ranch Working among the cattle Killing game for the ranch A trip after mountain sheep The Bad Lands Solitary camp The old horse Manitou Still-hunt at dawn Young ram shot A hunt in the Rocky Mountains An old bighorn stalked and shot Habits of the game . 100-110 CHAPTER VII. MOUNTAIN GAME ; THE WHITE GOAT. A. trip to the Bighole Basin Incidents of travel with a wagon Camp among the mountains A trip on foot after goats Spruce grouse Lying out at night A climb over the high peaks Two goats shot Weary tramp back A hunt in the Kootenai country Hard climbing among the wooded mountains Goat shot on brink of chasm Ptarmigan for supper Goat hunting very hard work Ways and habits of the goats Not much decrease in numbers 111-130 Contents. ix CHAPTER VIII. HUNTING IN THE SELKIRKS J THE CARIBOU. A camp on Kootenai Lake Travelling on foot through the dense forests Exces- sive toil Water shrew and water thrush Black bear killed Mountain climbing Woodchucks and conies The Indian Ammal Night sounds A long walk A caribou killed A midwinter trip on snow-shoes in Maine Footprints on the snow A helpless deer Caribou at ease in the deep drifts I3I-I55 CHAPTER IX. THE WAPITI OR ROUND-HORNED ELK. A hunt in the Bitter Root mountains A trip on foot Two bull elk fighting The peace-maker All three shot Habits of the wapiti Their bugling A grand chorus Shooting a bull at sunrise Another killed near the ranch Vanishing of the elk Its antlers The lynx Porcupine Chickarees and chipmunks Clarke's crow Lewis' woodpecker Whisky-jack Trout The Yellowstone canyon 156-176 CHAPTER X. AN ELK-HUNT AT TWO-OCEAN PASS. In the Shoshones Travelling with a pack-train Scenery Flowers A squaw- man Bull elk shot in rain while challenging Storm Breaking camp in rain Two-Ocean Pass Our camp A young ten-pointer shot The moun- tains in moonlight Blue grouse Snow-shoe rabbits Death of a master bull The Tetons Following a bull by scent 111 luck Luck changes Death of spike bull Three bulls killed Travelling home Heavy snowstorm Bucking horse Various hunts compared Number cartridges used Still- hunting the elk 177-202 CHAPTER XI. THE MOOSE ; THE BEAST OF THE WOODLAND. The moose of the Rocky Mountains Its habits Difficult nature of its haunts Repeated failures while hunting it Watching a marsh at dawn A moose in the reeds Stalking and shooting him Travelling light with a pack- train A beaver meadow Shooting a big bull at dawn The moose in summer ; in winter Young moose Pugnacity of moose Still-hunting moose Rather more easy to kill than whitetail deer At times a dangerous antagonist The winter yards Hunting on snow-shoes A narrow escape A fatal encounter .......... 203-229 Contents. CHAPTER XII. THE BISON OR AMERICAN BUFFALO. Extermination of the bison My brother and cousin take a hunting trip in Texas Hardships Hunting on the Brazos Many buffalo slain Following four bulls A stampede Splitting the herd Occasional charges A Comanche war party Great herds on the Arkansas Adventure of Clarence King The bison of the mountains At the vanishing point A hunt for mountain bison A trail discovered Skilful tracking A band of six Death of the bull A camp in the canyon . 230-254 CHAPTER XIII. THE BLACK BEAR. Habits of the black bear Holds his own well in the land The old hunters Hunting bear with dogs General Hampton's hunting Black bear at bay A bear catching mice and chipmunks Occasional raids on the farm yard Their weight Those I have killed 255-264 CHAPTER XIV. OLD EPHRAIM, THE GRISLY BEAR. The king of American game Varieties of the grisly Worthlessness of old hunters' opinions Grisly contrasted with black bear Size Habits in old times Habits nowadays Hybernating Cattle killing Horse killing Range cow repels bear Bear kills sheep and hogs Occasional raids on game Killing bison, elk, and moose Eats carrion Old he's sometimes kill cubs Usually eats roots and vegetables Fondness for berries Its foes Den Fond of wallowing She's and cubs Trapping bears Hunting them with dogs Ordinarily killed with rifle 265-295 CHAPTER XV. HUNTING THE GRISLY. Camp in the mountains After the first snow Trailing and stalking a big bear His death Lying in camp Stalking and shooting a bear at a moose car- cass Lying in wait for a bear by a dead elk He comes late in the evening Is killed A successful hunting trip A quarrel I start home alone Get lost on second day Shot at a grisly His resolute charge and death Danger in hunting the grisly Exaggerated, but real Rogers charged Dif- ference in ferocity in different bears Dr. Merrill's queer experience Tazewell Woody's adventures Various ways in which bears attack Ex- amples Men maimed and slain Instances Mr. Whitney's experience A bear killed on the round-up Ferocity of old-time bears Occasional unpro- voked attacks A French trapper attacked Cowboys and bears Killing them with a revolver Feat of General Jackson .... 296-334 Contents. xi CHAPTER XVI. THE COUGAR. Difficulty of killing the cougar My own failures Kill one in the mountains Hunting the cougar with hounds Experience of General Wade Hampton_ and Col. Cecil Clay " Hold on, Penny " What the cougar preys on Its haunts Its calls Rarely turns on man Occasionally dangerous In- stances 335-347 CHAPTER XVII. A PECCARY HUNT ON THE NUECES. A trip in southern Texas A ranch on the Frio Roping cattle Extermination of the peccary Odd habits Occasionally attacks unprovoked We drive south to the Nueces Flower prairies Semi-tropical landscape Hunting on horseback Half-blood hounds Find a small band of peccaries Kill two How they act when at bay Their occasional freaks . . 348-360 CHAPTER XVIII. HUNTING WITH HOUNDS. Old-time hunters rarely used dogs The packs of the southern planters Cours- ing in the West Hunting with greyhounds near my ranch Jack-rabbits, foxes, coyotes, antelope, and deer An original sportsman of the prairies Colonel Williams' greyhounds Riding on the plains Cross-country riding Fox-hunting at Geneseo A day with Mr. Wadsworth's hounds The Meadowbrook drag hounds High jumping A meet at Sagamore Hill Fox-hunting and fetishism Prejudices of sportsmen, foreign and native Different styles of riding 361-385 CHAPTER XIX. WOLVES AND WOLF-HOUNDS. The wolf Contrasted with coyote Variations in color Former abundance The riddle of its extermination Inexplicable differences in habits between closely related species Size of wolf Animals upon which it preys At- tacking cattle ; horses ; other animals ; foxes, dogs, and even coyotes Runs down deer and antelope Coyotes catch jack-rabbits Wolves around camp A wolf shot Wolf-hunting with hounds An overmatch for most dogs Decinating a pack Coursing wolves with greyhounds A hunt in the foot-hills Rousing the wolves The chase The worry Death of both wolves Wolf hounds near Fort Benton Other packs The Sun River hounds Their notable feats Col. Williams' hounds .... 386-411 xii Contents. CHAPTER XX. IN COWBOY LAND. Development of archaic types of character Cowboys and hunters Rough vir- tues and faults Incidents Hunting a horse-thief Tale of the ending of a desperado Light-hearted way of regarding " broke horses" Hardness of the life Deaths from many causes Fight of Indians with trappers The slaying of the Medicine Chief Sword-Bearer Mad feat and death of two Cheyenne braves 412-447 CHAPTER XXI. HUNTING LORE. Game which ought not to be killed Killing black bear with a knife Sports with rod and shotgun Snow-shoeing and mountaineering American wri- ters on out-door life Burroughs Thoreau Audubon, Coues, etc. Ameri- can hunting books American writers on life in the wilderness ; Parkman, Irving Cooper on pioneer life American statesmen and soldiers devoted to the chase Lincoln, Jackson, Israel Putnam A letter from Webster on trout-fishing Clay Washington Hunting Extracts from Washington's diaries Washington as a fox-hunter 448-464 APPENDIX 465-468 INDEX .*... 469-472 PREFACE. FOR a number of years much of my life was spent either in the wilderness or on the borders of the settled country if, indeed, " settled" is a term that can rightly be applied to the vast, scantily peopled regions where cattle-ranching is the only regular industry. During this time I hunted much, among the mountains and on the plains, both as a pastime and to procure hides, meat, and robes for use on the ranch ; and it was my good luck to kill all the various kinds of large game that can properly be considered to belong to temperate North America. In hunting, the finding and killing of the game is after all but a part of the whole. The free, self-reliant, adven- turous life, with its rugged and stalwart democracy ; the wild surroundings, the grand beauty of the scenery, the chance to study the ways and habits of the woodland creatures all these unite to give to the career of the wil- derness hunter its peculiar charm. The chase is among the best of all national pastimes ; it cultivates that vigor- ous manliness for the lack of which in a nation, as in an individual, the possession of no other qualities can possibly atone. xiii Preface. No one, but he who has partaken thereof, can under- stand the keen delight of hunting in lonely lands. For him is the joy of the horse well ridden and the rifle well held ; for him the long days of toil and hardship, resolutely endured, and crowned at the end with triumph. In after years there shall come forever to his mind the memory of endless prairies shimmering in the bright sun ; of vast snow-clad wastes lying desolate under gray skies ; of the melancholy marshes ; of the rush of mighty rivers ; of the breath of the evergreen forest in summer ; of the croon- ing of ice-armored pines at the touch of the winds of winter; of cataracts roaring between hoary mountain masses ; of all the innumerable sights and sounds of the wilderness ; of its immensity and mystery ; and of the silences that brood in its still depths. THEODORE ROOSEVELT. SAGAMORE HILL, June, 1893. ILLUSTRATIONS PACB THE DEATH OF THE GRIZZLY . . . Frontispiece Drawn by A. B. Frost BLACKTAIL BUCKS (From Photograph by A. S. Bennett) ... 28 A SHOT AT A BLACKTAIL 32 Drawn by Henry Sandham A STARTLED FAMILY (From Photograph b y A. s. Bennett) ... 36 A SHOT FROM THE VERANDAH 52 Drawn by Henry Sandham EAGLES ATTACKING A PRONG-BUCK 70 Drawn by Henry Sandham FIGHTING FIRE .86 Drawn by A. B. Frost HEAD OF MOUNTAIN RAM