The Black-Tail Deer 165 



and in the buck they are not too conspicuous, though 

 they are the only parts of his frame which to any 

 eye can be said to take away from his beauty. They 

 give the doe a somewhat mulish look; at a distance, 

 the head of a doe peering out from among twigs 

 looks like a great black V. To me, however, even 

 in the case of the doe, they seem to set off and 

 strengthen by contrast the delicate, finely molded 

 look of the head. Owing to these ears the species 

 is called in the books the Mule Deer, and every now 

 and then a plainsman will speak of it by this title. 

 But all plainsmen know it generally, and ninety-nine 

 out of a hundred know it only, as the Black-tail 

 Deer; and as this is the title by which it is known 

 among all who hunt it or live near it, it should 

 certainly be called by the same name in the books. 

 But though so grand and striking an object when 

 startled, or when excited, whether by curiosity or 

 fear, love or hate, a black-tail is nevertheless often 

 very hard to make out when standing motionless 

 among the trees and brushwood, or when lying 

 down among the bowlders. A raw hand at hunting 

 has no idea how hard it is to see a deer when at rest. 

 The color of the hair is gray, almost the same tint 

 as that of the leafless branches and tree trunks ; for 

 of course the hunting season is at its height only 

 when the leaves have fallen. A deer standing mo- 

 tionless looks black or gray, according as the sun- 

 light strikes it; but always looks exactly the same 

 color as the trees around it. It generally stands or 

 lies near some tree trunks; and the eye may pass 



