ASSOCI- 



Mule-deer 133 



Again and again I have had my attention attracted to rird 

 lurking Deer by the bluejay and wiskajon. Every hunter ates 

 tells the same story, but it seems that it works both ways. 

 These birds are as likely to betray the hunter as the game, and 

 many times they warn the Deer of the approaching hunter. 

 What good these busybodies get by their interference I cannot 

 comprehend. The case is of a kind that is widely known in 

 all game countries. 



Every hunter learns, and every wild animal seems to know freez- 

 instinctively, the value of "freezing," that is, becoming still 

 as a frozen thing, when a stranger is discovered in the woods. 

 The motionless object escapes notice and is better placed to 

 notice others. The Mule-deer is an adept at freezing. 



On September 3 I met a young buck some 40 yards off 

 in the woods. We both froze at the same time. He kept his 

 pose for half a minute, then turned and bounded off. 



On the evening of September 6, 1901, my wife and I took 

 a walk from camp, near Pagoda Peak, Col. A hundred yards 

 away, in an open glade, was a Deer. It raised its head, gazed 

 at us, and froze. It was in shadow and we were against the 

 sky. We gazed at each other for a minute, then I whispered, 

 *'Let us see how long by the watch it will keep on," and cau- 

 tiously opened my watch. After one and one-half minutes 

 my companion said, "Why, that is no Deer, it's a stump." 

 She raised her hand and the Deer bounded off. 



But the most interesting case was noted next day. 



As I went through the woods at sundown I came on a doe. 

 She was walking through an open place about 60 yards away, 

 but she saw me just as I saw her. In fact, we met face to 

 face. At the same moment we both froze and stood gazing, 

 each waiting for the other to make the first move. 



I waited three or four minutes at least, but she did not 

 stir. Then it occurred to me to time her. I very slowly slid 

 my hand up to my watch and stood as before, the Deer still 

 watching me. 



One minute — two minutes — five minutes went by, and 



