Deer of the River Bottoms. 1 1 1 



are most dainty pets. One which we had round the 

 house answered well to its name. It was at first fed 

 with milk, which it lapped eagerly from a saucer, sharing 

 the meal with the two cats, who rather resented its 

 presence and cuffed it heartily when they thought it was 

 greedy and was taking more than its share. As it grew 

 older it would eat bread or potatoes from our hands, 

 and was perfectly fearless. At night it was let go or 

 put in the cow-shed, whichever was handiest, but it was 

 generally round in time for breakfast next morning. A 

 blue ribbon with a bell attached was hung round its 

 neck, so as to prevent its being shot ; but in the end it 

 shared the fate of all pets, for one night it went off 

 and never came back again. Perhaps it strayed away 

 of its own accord, but more probably some raw hand at 

 hunting saw it, and slaughtered it without noticing the 

 bell hanging from its neck. 



The best way to kill white-tail is to still-hunt carefully 

 through their haunts at dusk, when the deer leave the 

 deep recesses in which their day-beds lie, and come out to 

 feed in the more open parts. For this kind of hunting, 

 no dress is so good as a buckskin suit and moccasins. 

 The moccasins enable one to tread softly and noislessly, 

 while the buckskin suit is of a most inconspicuous color, 

 and makes less rustling than any other material when 

 passing among projecting twigs. Care must be taken to 

 always hunt up wind, and to advance without any sudden 

 motions, walking close in to the edge of the thickets, and 

 keeping a sharp look-out, as it is of the first importance to 

 see the game before the game sees you. The feeding- 



