1904 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



253 



PRONGBUCKS. 



around the head of the gully, and, mov- 

 ing cautiously, but in plain sight, came 

 closer and closer until I was within 

 twenty yards, where I sat down on a 

 stone and spent certainly twenty minutes 

 looking at them. They paid hardly any 

 attention whatever to my presence 

 certainly no more than well-treated 

 domestic creatures would pay. One of 

 the rams rose on his hind legs, leaning 

 his fore-hoofs against a little pine tree, 

 and browsed the ends of the budding 

 branches. The others grazed on the 

 short grass and herbage or lay down 

 and rested, two of the yearlings several 

 times playfully butting at one another. 

 Now and then one would glance in my 

 direction without the slightest sign of 

 fear, barely even of curiosity. I have 

 no question whatever but that with a 

 little patience this particular band could 

 be made to feed out of a man's hand. 

 Major Pitcher intends during the com- 

 ing winter to feed them alfalfa, for game 

 animals of several kinds have become so 

 plentiful in the neighborhood of the Hot 

 Springs and the Major has become so 

 interested in them that he wishes to do 

 something toward feeding them during 

 the severe winter. After I had looked 

 at the sheep to my heart's content I 

 walked back to my horse, my departure 

 arousing as little interest as my advent. 



Soon after leaving them we began to 

 come across black-tailed deer, singly, in 

 twos and threes, and in small bunches 

 of a dozen or so. They were almost as 

 tame as the mountain sheep, but not 

 quite that is, they always looked alertly 

 at me, and though if I stayed still they 

 would graze they kept a watch over my 

 movements and usually moved slowly 

 off when I got within less than forty 

 yards of them. Up to that distance, 

 whether on foot or on horseback, they 

 paid but little heed to me, and on sev- 

 eral occasions they allowed me to come 

 much closer. Like the bighorn, the 

 black-tails at this time were grazing, 

 not browsing, but I occasionally saw 

 them nibble some willow buds. During 

 the winter they had been browsing. As 

 we got close to the Hot Springs we came 

 across several white-tail in an open, 

 marshy meadow. They were not quite 

 as tame as the black-tail, although with- 

 out any difficult}* I walked up to within 

 fifty yards of them. Handsome though 

 the black-tail is, the white-tail is the 

 most beautiful of all deer when in mo- 

 tion, because of the springy, bounding 

 grace of its trot and canter and the way 

 it carries its head and white flag aloft. 



Before reaching the Mammoth Hot 

 Springs we also saw a number of ducks 

 in the little pools and on the Gardiner. 



