440 WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS CHAP. 



Japanese variety is not palmated, but round, like those of the red- 

 deer ; they have four points upon each horn, i.e. the brow, and two 

 tines in addition to the extreme point. I have several specimens 

 in my possession which I procured in Japan, but I did not myself 

 shoot them, although I accompanied the native hunters among the 

 mountains bordering Lake Biwa upon several occasions. 



The country is very precipitous, and the habits of this variety 

 induce it to cling closely to the protection of the woods, where deep 

 ravines and overhanging precipices afford a secure asylum. The 

 only method of shooting in such a country is by driving ; either 

 by beaters, or by disturbing the forest with dogs, and posting guns 

 in well-known passes where the deer will probably run through. 



There were eight or ten Japanese hunters with me, one of whom 

 was an enthusiastic old Nimrod of seventy, who prided himself 

 upon his activity and the sureness of his aim. All these people 

 were armed with matchlock rifles, exhibiting a step in advance of 

 the Indian shikaris, whose matchlocks are generally smooth-bores. 



They were indefatigable fellows, and we worked from daybreak 

 until after sunset ; upon one occasion we did not return until two 

 hours after dark. 



When I saw the thoroughness of these native hunters, and their 

 intimate knowledge of the mountains, and habits of the game, I 

 could not help wondering that any deer remained. Nevertheless 

 we always found, and no beat was ever blank. Several times I 

 saw deer rushing through a valley when I was perched upon a rock 

 out of distance, but nothing came towards my position. The cracks 

 of native rifles showed that they had posted their guns in the 

 proper passes, but with all their good intentions, fortune did not 

 favour me. Several deer were killed, and had it not been for the 

 difference in the horns, I should not have distinguished them from 

 fallow-deer, as they were the same in size and colour. The summer 

 coat is prettily spotted, but in winter the stags are a russet brown. 



In the northern island there are great quantities of these deer ; 

 but I was informed that it is by no means a sporting country, 

 being generally a mass of forest, in which no shooting could be 

 obtained without a great number of beaters ; these could not be 

 procured. There are large black bears in Yezzo ; these also are 

 impossible to discover by any stranger, who is not thoroughly con- 

 versant with the forests and the language of the inhabitants. I 

 saw two live specimens of the bears in Tokio ; they appeared to 

 be exactly similar to the black bear of North America. 



When in China, I saw tame deer similar to those of Japan. 

 These had been brought from the interior. I have also seen deer 



