OF A RANCHMAN 183 



son they are confined to the bottoms of the 

 rivers and the mouths of the largest creeks, 

 the cover elsewhere being too scanty to suit 

 them. It is very difficult to make them 

 leave one of their haunts during the day- 

 time. They lie very close, permitting a man 

 to pass right by them; and the twigs and 

 branches surrounding them are so thick and 

 interlaced that they can hear the approach 

 of any one from a long distance off, and 

 hence are rarely surprised. If they think 

 there is danger that the intruder will dis- 

 cover them, they arise and skulk silently off 

 through the thickest part of the brush. If 

 followed, they keep well ahead, moving per- 

 fectly noiselessly through the thicket, often 

 going round in a circle and not breaking 

 cover until hard pressed; yet all the time 

 stepping with such sharp-eyed caution that 

 the pursuing hunter will never get a 

 glimpse of the quarry, though the patch of 

 brush may not be fifty rods across. 



At times the white-tail will lie so close 

 that it may almost be trodden on. One 



