IRRITATING FLIES 127 



that lie pointed his stick like a guu at them, and the 

 movement caught the eye of the larger hind at once. She 

 threw lip her slender neck, gazed at us intently for a 

 moment, then dashed away, her companion following. 



We went along the meadows for some distance, but 

 saw nothing, and at length put up for the day in the 

 highest clump of pines and birches, on a grassy slope, with 

 a deep watercourse close by. The flies here were an 

 intolerable nuisance ; in a short time I had several wounds 

 on my hands, drops of blood oozed from them, and they 

 became very itchy. The fly was a very tiny one as to 

 body, but he had a large head. I was driven at last to 

 shut up my pocket-book and put on my woollen gloves. 

 While I was lying with my eyes closed, I heard a pitter- 

 patter close behind ; turning round, I discovered that I had 

 been nearly run over by a musk-deer. He came from 

 below, and must have been disturbed by something, as it 

 was the hottest hour of the day, and game never move at 

 this time. I made sure it was the crows who were beating 

 up the forest again for my (and their) benefit. The two 

 had been flying about all the morning in our vicinity, 

 and, when we came to a halt, posted themselves below us, 

 and kept up a loud and disagreeable cawing for several 

 hours. The musk-deer having arrived, the crows followed 

 immediately after. This is the third time in this valley 

 that I have noticed the strange conduct of these birds ; it 

 surely could not be mere coincidence. I could plainly see 

 design in their manoeuvres, and that design was to have 

 animals shot. How disgusted they must have been at my 

 failure ! 



In the evening, on the way back, we discovered a bear's lair 

 at the foot of an enormous pine ; there was a large round 

 depression in the ground, where he had evidently slept for 

 several nights; his droppings round about were plentiful. 



