The Deer of the River Bottoms 125 



carefully examined, for any deer that come to drink, 

 and the glades should be searched through for any 

 that may be feeding. In the soft mud, too, a fresh 

 track can be followed as readily as if in snow, and 

 without exposing the hunter to much probability of 

 detection. If a shot is obtained at all, it is at such 

 close quarters as to more than counterbalance the 

 dimness of the light, and to render the chance of a 

 miss very unlikely. Such hunting is for a change 

 very pleasant, the perfect stillness of the place, the 

 quiet with which one has to move, and the constant 

 expectation of seeing game keeping one's nerves 

 always on the stretch; but after a while it grows 

 tedious, and it makes a man feel cramped to be 

 always ducking and crawling through such places. 

 It is not to be compared, in cool weather, with still- 

 hunting on the open hills ; nevertheless, in the furi- 

 ous heat of the summer sun it has its advantages, 

 for it is not often so oppressingly hot in the swamp 

 as it is on the open prairie or in the dry thickets. 



The white-tail is the only kind of large game for 

 which the shot-gun can occasionally be used. At 

 times in the dense brush it is seen, if at all, at such 

 short distances, and the shots have to be taken so 

 hurriedly, that the shot-gun is really the best weapon 

 wherewith to attempt its death. One method of 

 taking it is to have trained dogs hunt through a 

 valley and drive the deer to guns stationed at the 

 opposite end. With a single slow hound, given to 

 baying, a hunter can often follow the deer on foot 

 in the method adopted in most of the Eastern States 



