134 THE DEER FAMILY 



entirely too soon. While moving about in the woods 

 on foot or in a canoe there is a chance of stumblingf on 

 a deer, for some reason less wild than the others, and of 

 potting him without the exercise of much skill. Such 

 chances are uncommon, however, to-day. 



It pays when rambling in the Adirondack woods to 

 push on up to the top of a mountain and take the view. 

 From the higher peaks one may look over blue pine- 

 clad ranges of hills and small mountains, which fade 

 away into lighter blue at the horizon, and down into 

 the valleys where the streams feed and empty many 

 lakes. 1 have forgotten now how many lakes we saw 

 from the top of Whiteface — there were very many and 

 all were beautiful. 



The sportsman from the central States will find 

 many deer in Wisconsin and Michigan and Minne- 

 sota; the northern parts of Minnesota are perhaps 

 the best grounds. Here again are the many small 

 lakes and streams, and there are more large fish and 

 more grouse than in the Eastern States. West Vir- 

 ginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee have some very good 

 deer-grounds, and in the last two States they still use 

 the hounds to chase the deer to the run-ways. There 

 is a very large preserve in West Virginia where they 

 have good shooting and good fishing. My invitation 

 to shoot there was accompanied by the statement that 

 I was sure to get some good fishing. I notice this is 

 nearly always the case. They don't tell you with any 

 great confidence that you will get a deer. The prom- 

 ise is always for fishing. They have, however, lots of 

 deer in West Virginia, and I am inclined to think that 

 the promise of good fishing indicates simply a knowl- 



