The Black-Tail Deer 163 



it may be a rather formidable antagonist. In my 

 own experience I have never known a wounded 

 buck to do more than make a pass with his horns, 

 or, in plunging when the knife enters his throat, 

 to strike with his forefeet. But one of my men 

 was regularly charged by a great buck, which he 

 had wounded, and which was brought to bay on 

 the ice by a dog. It seemed to realize that the dog 

 was not the main antagonist, and knocking him over 

 charged straight past him at the man, and as the 

 latter had in his haste not reloaded his rifle, he 

 might have been seriously injured had it not been 

 for the dog, a very strong and plucky one, which 

 caught the buck by the hock and threw him. The 

 buck got up and again came straight at his foe, 

 uttering a kind of grunting bleat, and it was not 

 till after quite a scuffle that the man, by the help 

 of the dog, got him down and thrust the knife in 

 his throat. Twice I have known hounds to be killed 

 by bucks which they had brought to bay in the 

 rutting season. One of these bucks was a savage 

 old fellow with great thick neck and sharp-pointed 

 antlers. He came to bay in a stream, under a bank 

 thickly matted with willows which grew down into 

 the water, guarding his rear and flanks, while there 

 was a small pool in his front across which the hounds 

 had to swim. Backing in among the willows he 

 rushed out at every dog that came near, striking 

 it under water with his forefeet, and then again 

 retreating to his fortress. In this way he kept the 

 whole pack off, and so injured one hound that he 



