THE BLACK-TAILED AND VIRGINIA DEER. 331 



between them being very slight is known as the long-tail- 

 ed, the white-tailed, and the valley deer. Its range on the 

 Pacific slope extends from the Rocky Mountains to the 

 ocean. In the interior basins lying between the Cascade 

 and Sierra Nevada Ranges and the above mountains, it is 

 distributed geographically over the same area as the mule 

 deer; but west of the Sierra Nevadas the latter is com- 

 paratively scarce, while the other is abundant. It has, in 

 fact, the same range over the Far West that the Virginia 

 deer has in the East, and the habits of both are almost 

 identical. 



When pursued with hounds, it does not head for the hills, 

 and double and twist, as its black -tailed congener does, 

 but dashes straight for rivers or lakes, let them be even 

 several miles distant. It always follows one of the numer- 

 ous trails which leads to its watering-places; and should 

 it be checked on its route, it will sometimes turn back 

 and run until it is caught by the hounds. Its jumps are 

 shorter and quicker than those of the black-tail, and it also 

 seems to tire more readily, for I have known it to be capt- 

 ured by rather slow dogs in a run of three or four hours. 



This species is so abundant in many parts of the North- 

 west as to be also considered a nuisance, and ranchers are 

 often compelled to scatter poison over a portion of their 

 young crops to keep it away, especially if their farm is 

 situated in the dense woods, and the animals are not hunt- 

 ed much. During the rutting season the male becomes 

 very bold, and does not hesitate a moment to leap over 

 a fence to lead his chosen mate to the dainty young ce- 

 reals that the pioneer has planted near his house. It de- 

 stroys these very frequently ; hence those persons who live 

 close to forests have to keep dogs to drive the intruders 

 away. I knew a man in Washington Territory to kill sev- 

 eral one evening with a rifle from his bedroom window, 

 and I have shot three myself in a garden within an hour 

 on a moonlight night. 



When its numbers become less, some pioneers in that 

 country will be glad of it, for at present many consider it 



