THE VIRGINIA DEER 123 



before I was ready to shoot the stag snorted in alarm, 

 turned tail, and ran rapidly and safely away, although 

 I disregarded his flag of truce. Our guide, who left 

 camp at the same time that I did, went on foot to a 

 little hill and located several deer feeding. He selected 

 one that was easy to approach and furnished the veni- 

 son for our dinner. I have still-hunted the white-tail 

 in the woods with this same guide and he was, I think, 

 the most skilful man I ever saw on game. One day 

 he approached a white-tail feeding in a large, open 

 glade. He stopped frequently, and when he moved, 

 moved so slowly, hardly a half-step at a time, that the 

 deer remained entirely unaware of his presence. He 

 did not tr)' to approach very close, but at long range 

 slowly raised his rifle and at the report the deer fell 

 dead. 



I have fired a second shot at a deer before it ran 

 away, when they were not wild, and had never heard 

 a gun, but the deer of to-day more often does not wait 

 for the first. 



I have referred to the camera-hunting of Mr. George 

 Shiras, of Pittsburg, in Michigan. He secured a re- 

 markable series of pictures of single bucks, does and 

 fawns, and groups containing two deer or a deer and 

 fawns. The pictures were made from a canoe at night 

 with the aid of a flash-light and they are all excellent. 

 The skies are of course black, but the deer and fore- 

 grounds are well lighted — from below, however, since 

 the light was reflected up from the water instead of 

 coming from the sky. One of these photographs con- 

 tains a deer and a porcupine — the latter jumping in 

 alarm from a log, while the deer stands with his ears 



