2i8 THE STORY OF A BIRD LOVER 



tied by a thong fastened around one of his legs. 

 He became very tame, and would come to call. 

 Very soon he began to associate my excursions 

 with something to eat, and before we had been 

 in the mountains a month, he always accompanied 

 me when I started away from the house with a 

 gun. I found out that the easiest way to get rid 

 of him was to kill as soon as possible a squirrel 

 or lizard. Otherwise he would continue with me, 

 and the first bird which I collected, no matter 

 how rare, would be pounced upon and carried off 

 to the nearest tree. At such times he would not 

 answer the customary call, and it was impossible 

 to get the specimen from him, whether bird or 

 other animal. 



During the summer one of the miners killed a 

 deer not far from the house, which had a new-born 

 fawn, perhaps some two or three weeks old, con- 

 cealed in the grass near by. This little foundling 

 I took to the house, where it became a member 

 of the family, remaining with us until our return 

 to the East, when I gave him to a neighboring 

 ranchman. The buck was then over three years 

 old, and nearly full grown, with a fine set of horns 

 indicative of his age. At first he was a tiny brown 

 fawn, spotted all over with white, beautiful and 

 gentle, and after a few hours, very tame. Like the 

 hawk, the fawn was never confined in an enclosure. 

 When old enough to ramble away, he did so at 



