42 The Wilderness Hunter 



and small elm or ash. In all such places the black- 

 tail loves to make its home. 



I have not often hunted blacktail in the moun- 

 tains, because while there I was generally after 

 larger game; but round my ranch I have killed 

 more of them than of any other game, and for me 

 their chase has always possessed a peculiar charm. 

 'We hunt them in the loveliest season of the year, 

 the fall and early winter, when it is keen pleasure 

 merely to live out-of-doors. Sometimes we make 

 a regular trip, of several days' duration, taking 

 the ranch wagon, with or without a tent, to some 

 rugged little disturbed spot where the deer are 

 plenty; perhaps returning with eight or ten car- 

 casses, or even more enough to last a long while 

 in cold weather. We often make such trips while 

 laying in our winter supply of meat. 



At other times we hunt directly from the ranch 

 house. We catch our horses over night, and are in 

 the saddle for an all-day's hunt long before the 

 first streak of dawn, possibly not returning until 

 some hours after nightfall. The early morning and 

 late evening are the best time for hunting game, 

 except in regions where it is hardly ever molested, 

 and where in consequence it moves about more or 

 less throughout the day. 



During the rut, which begins in September, the 

 deer are in constant motion, and are often found 

 in bands. The necks of the bucks swell and their 



