THE MULE-DEER 109 



extra jumps, that I made a fine double. My shots at- 

 tracted the attention of our soldiers and had the de- 

 sired effect of sending the deer through the camp, and 

 as the men grabbed their rifles and opened fire the 

 picture was worthy of the brush of a Detaille or 

 De Neuville. 



The soldiers were shooting the old-fashioned powder, 

 and clouds of smoke overhung the camp, but the mule- 

 deer bounded safely on, and the last I saw of them was 

 when they turned an angle in the canyon bucking and 

 jumping as if they enjoyed the fusillade. I am inclined 

 to believe that the mule-deer are less likely to try to 

 hide now than formerly. It would be well if the shoot- 

 ers who go to the woods to-day would use the caution 

 displayed by Colonel Dodge when in doubt about 

 what the object is before their rifles. 



Sheep are one of the main causes for the decrease 

 of black-tail in many localities. The deer have a 

 strong antipathy to sheep, and Colonel Dodge says 

 that when a herd is driven into any locality the deer 

 leave with as much precipitation as if the sheep were 

 hounds. 



Next to man, the chief enemies of the mule-deer are 

 the wolves and cougars.* 



Colonel Dodge, who knew all of our game-animals, 

 well regarded the mule-deer as the best, and said 

 its pursuit possessed for him a fascination which he 

 found in no other game. He says this deer must be 

 stalked with more caution than the red deer, since his 



* Deer are the customary prey of the couf^ar, bucks, does and fawns 

 beinji killed indifTerently. — Roosevelt, "With the Couf^ar Hounds," 

 Scribner's Magazine. 



