148 SHOOTING IN CHINA 



really an annoyance at times. During the 

 day they seek the tall grass for resting 

 places and will not get up unless almost 

 stepped upon, and then they run as fast as 

 they can, diverting the bird dog from his 

 work and frightening away the pheasants. 

 These deer are brown colored with thick 

 hair and rather coarse, but the meat is very 

 good to eat. They are easily killed, and the 

 ordinary load of No. 5 shot is ample enough 

 to bring one to bag. Very few have any 

 horns at all, and such as do grow are quite 

 short. There is nothing about them to 

 remind one of the broad antlers and the 

 majestic step of the American forest deer. 



I do not know if there is any reason for it, 

 but the pheasants are found almost ex- 

 clusively on the right bank of the Yangtze 

 river. Both sides of the river are cultivated, 

 but from some cause they prefer the right, 

 and the shooters who have shot on the left 

 bank have never made very large bags. 



The shooter must be careful in the selec- 

 tion of his houseboat for the Yangtze. 

 There he will soon experience that his boat 

 should be more sea-worthy, as the prevailing 

 winds on the river are strong at times and 

 the current swift and turbulent. The lower 



