30 THE WILD REINDEER OF NORWAY. 



our progress we distinctly heard the peculiar roar 

 of the stags, and hoped their attention might be 

 sufficiently taken up by their combative intentions 

 to enable us to get within shot. At last, after a 

 long, tedious stalk, we reached a mass of loose 

 stones, under the shelter of which we could 

 approach with comparative ease without being 

 perceived. We soon reached a large rock, from 

 behind the shelter of which we were enabled to 

 watch the deer. Three of the fourteen were fair- 

 sized stags, none of them, however, having fine 

 heads ; one was a young stag about three years old, 

 and the remainder hinds. 



One of the stags evidently had the mastery over 

 the others, and kept walking round and round the 

 hinds, which were huddled up in a mass, and every 

 now and then he would make a dash at any of the 

 other males that ventured to approach them, and 

 drive the aggressor off to some distance. I noticed 

 that one of the stags had a large portion of one of 

 his horns broken off, and I believe this circumstance 

 is far from an unfrequent one, as they fight most 

 desperately. 



We remained for a long time watching the move- 

 ments of the deer, as they were in a most 

 difficult situation, on a large patch of snow, so that 

 it was impossible to approach nearer than 500 yards 

 without being seen. 



