296 SrORTINO ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST: 



two at a birth; and while they are in their infancy the 

 mother keeps them concealed in the most inaccessible 

 thickets, in order to protect them from hungry foes. She 

 remains with them until the commencement of the next 

 rutting season, then leaves them to shift for themselves, 

 while she goes careering and whistling through the woods 

 in search of lovers. The cry of the females and the defi- 

 ant snorts of the males may then be heard in the usually 

 silent forest; and these sounds give it an air of life and 

 animation most pleasing to the lurking hunter. Should 

 he then be engaged in "fire-hunting" during the night, 

 he may feel assured of bagging many a stately stag and 

 graceful doe, as their whistling makes their position known; 

 and they are attracted so much by the blazing torches or 

 gleaming jack-lamp that they may be approached from the 

 leeward to within a few feet, and killed as easily as cows 

 in a farm-yard. Aim is always taken between the large, 

 soft, and glistening eyes ; and as the bullet goes crashing 

 into the brain, death is the immediate result. 



The mule deer is seldom, so far as I could learn, hunted 

 with hounds in the Far West, owing to the rugged char- 

 acter of its haunts, and its habit of dashing for the moun- 

 tain peaks and concealing itself, if possible, in rocky ravines 

 or steep precipices. It always selects the most stony and 

 difficult ground it can find, and where the scent cannot lie 

 well ; hence it escapes in the majority of cases. When the 

 bucks isolate themselves to grow their horns, they assem- 

 ble in small groups occasionally, and frequently use the 

 same bed several nights in succession, especially if they are 

 not hunted much. Thinking I could avail myself of this 

 characteristic to bag some, I tried to run them with hounds 

 on one occasion, but soon found I could do nothing, as they 

 separated at the first signal of the dogs, and ran in differ- 

 ent directions toward the summit. Presuming some would 

 return on what I supposed to be a regular run-way, I post- 

 ed myself there, but I waited in vain, for none came near 

 me; as they kept a straight course, and led the pursuers 

 a merry race among rocky pinnacles, where the line was 



