The Mule- deer 223 



plainly of the stubby-tailed variety ; and the uni- 

 formity of their tails is so great that the difference 

 between them and the tail of the other can hardly 

 be attributed to age or accident. All of them 

 are misrepresented by the great American artist. 

 They do not have great calf snouts, but fine black 

 noses, and they do not stand with their mouths 

 open and antlers laid back, screaming at each 

 other. They can do some effective fighting at 

 times, though half a dozen bucks may, during 

 rutting time, be on such friendly terms that one 

 who is cool can bag them all without leaving his 

 tracks. They do not snort as much as the Vir- 

 ginia deer, and when they do the snort lacks 

 most of the hollow whistling sound of the latter. 

 One seeing the feed on most of their range 

 would imagine that the mule-deer of the south 

 of California would rarely make good venison. 

 It is quite the reverse, and an animal entirely 

 devoid of fat is both tender and juicy, provided 

 it is not emaciated from sickness. Yearlings and 

 does, unless barren, rarely have any fat on them, 

 and the best three-year-old buck rarely has 

 enough to brag of. None ever get as fat as the 

 Virginia deer in the East, but they are all good 

 venison just the same. The proportion of bucks, 

 too, that are musky in rutting time is far less 

 than on the Atlantic coast. Most large deer 

 with necks swelled to the greatest capacity are 



