of me. My
rifle was equal to this range, and I prepared to fire. The leader was
nearest, and him I selected as the victim.

Taking sight I pulled trigger.

As soon as the smoke cleared off, I had the satisfaction of seeing the
buck down upon the prairie, in the act of giving his last kick. To my
surprise, none of the others had been frightened off by the report, but
stood gazing at their fallen leader, apparently bewildered!

I bethought me of reloading; but I had incautiously risen to my feet,
and so revealed my form to the eyes of the antelopes. This produced an
effect which neither the crack of the rifle nor the fall of their
comrade had done; and the now terrified animals wheeled about and sped
away like the wind. In less than two minutes, they were beyond the
reach of vision.

The next question that arose was, how I was to get across the barranca.
The tempting morsel lay upon the other side, and I therefore set about
examining the chasm in order to find a practicable crossing.

This I fortunately discovered. On both sides, the cliff was somewhat
broken down, and might be scaled, though not without considerable
difficulty.

After once more looking to the security of my horse's trail-rope, I
placed my rifle where I had slept, and set out to cross the barranca,
taking only my knife. I could have no use for the gun, and it would
hinder me in scaling the cliffs.

I succeeded in reaching to the bottom of the ravine, and commenced
ascending on the opposite side where it was steeper; but I was assisted
by the branches of the trailing cedar that grew among the rocks. I
noticed, and with some surprise, that the path must have been used
before, either by men or animals. The soil that laid upon the ledges
was "paddled" as by feet, and the rock in some places scratched and
discoloured.

These indications only caused me a momentary reflection. I was too
hungry to dwell upon any thought but that of eating.

At length I reached the scarp of the cliff, and having climbed out upon
the prairie, soon stood over the carcass of the prong-horn. My knife
was out in a trice, and next moment I was playing the part of the
butcher.

You will no doubt fancy that the next thing I did was to go in search of
something to make a fire for the purpose of cooking my breakfast. I did
nothing of the sort ate my breakfast without cooking. _I ate it raw_;
and you been in my situation, delicate as you are, you would have done
th