68 Deer and Antelope of North America 



markation between the ranges of the whitetail and 

 the mule-deer. This belt of broken country may 

 be only a few hundred yards in width ; or it may 

 extend for a score of miles before it changes into 

 the open prairies, the high plains proper. As 

 soon as these are reached, the prongbuck's do- 

 main begins. 



As the plains country is passed, and the vast 

 stretches of mountainous region entered, the river 

 bottoms become narrower, and the plains on which 

 the prongbuck is found become of very limited 

 extent, shrinking to high valleys and plateaus, 

 while the mass of rugged foot-hills and mountains 

 add immensely to the area of the mule-deer's 

 habitat. 



Given equal areas of country, of the three dif- 

 ferent types alluded to above, that in which the 

 mule-deer is found offers the greatest chance of 

 success to the rifle-bearing hunter, because there 

 is enough cover to shield him and not enough 

 to allow his quarry to escape by stealth and 

 hiding. On the other hand, the thick river bot- 

 toms offer him the greatest difficulty. In conse- 

 quence, where the areas of distribution of the dif- 

 ferent game animals are about equal, the mule-deer 

 disappears first before the hunter, the prong- 

 buck next, while the whitetail holds out the best 

 of all. I saw this frequently on the Yellowstone, 

 the Powder, and the Little Missouri. When the 



