THE WHITETAIL DEER 199 



scattered over them what are called " islands " of firmer 

 ground overgrown with timber. In this locality the deer 

 live in the same neighborhood all the year round, just as, 

 for instance, they do on Long Island. So on the Little 

 Missouri, in the neighborhood of my ranch, they lived in 

 exactly the same localities throughout the entire year. 

 Occasionally they would shift from one river bottom to 

 another, or go a few miles up or down stream because of 

 scarcity of food. But there was no general shifting. 



On the Little Missouri, in one place where they were 

 not molested, I knew a particular doe and fawn with 

 whose habits I became quite intimately acquainted. 

 When the moon was full they fed chiefly by night, and 

 spent most of the day lying in the thick brush. When 

 there was little or no moon they would begin to feed early 

 in the morning, then take a siesta, and then what struck 

 me as most curious of all would go to a little willow- 

 bordered pool about noon to drink, feeding for some time 

 both before and after drinking. After another siesta they 

 would come out late in the afternoon and feed until dark. 



In the Adirondacks the deer often completely alter 

 their habits at different seasons. Soon after the fawns 

 are born they come down to the water's edge, preferring 

 the neighborhood of the lakes, but also haunting the 

 stream banks. The next three months, during the hot 

 weather, they keep very close to the water, and get a large 

 proportion of their food by wading in after the lilies and 

 other aquatic plants. Where they are much hunted, they 

 only come to the water's edge after dark, but in regions 

 where they are little disturbed they are quite as often 



