200 LETTERS TO YOUNG SPORTSMEN. 



just as, later on, was the chauffeur. Nowadays, the shooter 

 and the car-owner like to know the why and the wherefore. 

 But the increased numbers of deer (I am writing of con- 

 ditions before the war, and before the casualties of the 

 present winter had occurred), combined with the greater 

 accuracy and longer range of modern rifles, have tended to 

 make the younger generation of stalker much less careful 

 in his methods. The difficulties condensed into those last 

 hundred yards can be cut out altogether : a lying stag can 

 be " taken " in the neck, without the weary wait till he 

 rises : the report no longer clears a whole countryside, as 

 in the days of black powder : less time need be spent on 

 care, for failure can be subsequently atoned for. But, for 

 all his faults, or the faults of his age, the modern stalker 

 has advantages for his raw pupil : he does not treat the 

 latter as a fool, incapable of learning that certain causes 

 are followed by certain effects, and recognises the fact that 

 most of us are willing to make ourselves uncomfortable 

 if furnished with a reason for doing so. But do not let these 

 observations deter you from obeying instructions for which 

 no reason is forthcoming. Take the reason for granted : 

 there is not always time for explanations. For instance, 

 when " crawling in " to the firing-point, under orders to 

 imitate the stalker's ventre-d-terre advance, do not, just 

 because you see the backs of the deer, feeding and unsus- 

 picious, raise your head to get a glimpse of the stag. Ten 

 to one, there is a hind on sentry duty, and your premature 

 curiosity will result in your being " picked up," and all your 

 toil and time wasted. 



Remember that, on the hill, no episode is self-contained 

 nor isolated, nor barren of results. One hind rashly disturbed 

 may ruin your beat for the day. Effects of disturbance are 

 terribly cumulative. Though the wind is the medium on 

 which deer chiefly rely for news, the eyesight of individual 

 deer is far keener than some people suppose. The glint of 

 a rifle-barrel or glass is detected at incredible distances. 

 Sounds, also, e.g., of falling stones or crowing grouse, arouse 

 suspicions which even time and patience fail <to allay. 

 Perhaps the most trying moments, or hours, in a day's 

 stalking are those spent in inaction. The tedium of a long 



