The Mule- deer 45 



dwell on the plains and those that dwell in the 

 densely timbered regions of the Rockies further 

 to the northwest. In the summer time they lived 

 high up on the plateaus of the Big Horn, some- 

 times feeding in the open glades and sometimes 

 in the pine forests. In the fall they browsed on 

 certain of the bushes almost exclusively. In win- 

 ter they came down into the low country. South 

 of the Yellowstone Park, where the wapiti swarmed, 

 the mule-deer were not numerous. I believe that 

 by choice they prefer rugged, open country, and 

 they certainly care comparatively little for bad 

 weather, as they will often visit bleak, wind-swept 

 ridges in midwinter, as being places where they 

 can best get food at that season, when the snow 

 lies deep in the sheltered places. Nevertheless, 

 many of the species pass their whole life in thick 

 timber. 



My chief opportunities for observing the mule- 

 deer were in the eighties, when I spent much of 

 my time on my ranch on the Little Missouri. 

 Mule-deer were then very plentiful, and I killed 

 more of them than of all other game put together. 

 At that time in the cattle country no ranchman 

 ever thought of killing beef, and if we had fresh 

 meat at all it was ordinarily venison. In the 

 fall we usually tried to kill enough deer to last 

 out the winter. Until the settlers came in, the 

 Little Missouri country was an ideal range for 



