242 Deer of the Pacific Coast 



extent, or slip out of a small patch with head down 

 and noiseless trot, where it may take you too long 

 to untangle the network of tracks so that you can 

 be sure to find the track on which it slipped away. 

 Such a dog is hard to get in training, and harder 

 still to keep on account of the great temptation 

 to let him chase a crippled deer some day when 

 you want venison. Very few dogs can be in- 

 dulged in that amusement without becoming 

 speedily convinced that you "know nothing of 

 hunting, that you are entirely too slow, and that 

 the game is sure to escape your antiquated 

 methods. Especially is this the case on ground 

 where it is expedient to leave the trail for a short 

 cut, or for some better point of view, or to avoid 

 wind, and pick it up farther on. The temptation 

 for the dog to show you he knows better is very 

 great, and if he has the wind of the deer, he is 

 very apt to slip away and find the game at his 

 best pace. Still more apt is he to break away 

 after the first shot, especially if the deer is wounded 

 or is in plain sight upon an opposite hillside. 



Nothing sets a dog more crazy than catching a 

 crippled deer. By allowing this just once in each 

 case I ruined three of the best dogs I ever had 

 — one a Laverack setter, one a hound, and one a 

 Scotch terrier, all trained to point deer and all 

 docile and obedient in all respects until I yielded 

 to the temptation to let them chase a cripple that 



