THE MULE DEER. 321 



soon, as the fire bad broken out so closely behind us that 

 we were just able to flank it without being compelled to 

 get any nearer the crackling flames than to barely feel their 

 heat, though the smoke was thick and choking enough to 

 make us gag a little, and to bring the tears in streams to 

 our eyes. Had we been a little later in getting away, we 

 should have been forced to leave our horses to their fate, 

 as we could not have ridden them across a chasm that ap- 

 proached our position closely on the left, and which would 

 have obstructed our passage had we not been able to flank 

 it by our timely retreat. 



On reaching the teams, we started for home at our best 

 pace, and arrived there in good time, much to the delight 

 of the housewife. While discussing the events of the morn- 

 ing and our narrow escape, my host said that the fire was 

 undoubtedly caused by a thunder-bolt striking an old tree, 

 and that this soon communicated the flames to the grass 

 and shrubbery, so that a large section of country was in a 

 blaze in a short time. As the Indian camp was evidently 

 one of the first places to catch fire, it was an easy matter 

 to guess at the horrible fate of the two poor wretches 

 who were left there; and this led the host to indulge in 

 the most vigorous denunciation of the inhumanity of the 

 red race. The fire raged for a week or more before its 

 fierceness began to wane, and when I left that section of 

 country a large portion of the forest was still enveloped in 

 clinging clouds of smoke. 



The mule deer, which is known as the burro, or jackass 

 deer, among the Spaniards and Mexicans of California, was 

 formerly so abundant in Montana that out of fifteen hun- 

 dred deer killed by three men in the Judith Basin in less 

 than six weeks, the larger number was supposed to be- 

 long to this species. These were destroyed for their hides 

 alone; and as each hide did not probably realize more than 

 a dollar, one can understand how many valuable animals 

 were slaughtered for a paltry sum. This ruthless destruc- 

 tion is producing the most disastrous results; for where 

 mule deer were so plentiful in 1868 that they could be seen 



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