THE MULE DEER OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 177 



the native vegetation; and when the hills are not too rough 

 or bushy, the labor required to find a Deer is often reduced 

 to the lowest point possible in Deer-hunting, while the cer- 

 tainty of a shot rises to the highest point possible in that 

 uncertain amusement. 



No boy ever knows better when he is doing mischief 

 than this Deer does; hence it visits the vineyard only at 

 night, entering after dark, and leaving with the first gray of 

 dawn. Sometimes, Deer may be shot in the vineyard at 

 night; but they are then so extremely watchful that they 

 can hardly ever be approached, unless with fire, as in regu- 

 lar fire-hunting, while lying in wait involves an amount of 

 silence and frequent disappointments that is far more 

 annoying than a vain search in the hills by day. 



A more certain and pleasant plan for a good hunter is to 

 take, in the morning, fresh tracks of their departure from 

 the vineyard, and follow them back into the hills, where 

 they have gone to spend the day. This generally requires 

 tracking upon bare ground, a thing difficult enough, but 

 on the whole vastly more easy than it is represented by 

 some writers, who would have us believe that the Indian 

 alone can do it. But the strong probability of finding 

 fresh tracks at once, and overtaking the Deer that made 

 them if you can only follow them, more than compensates 

 for all difficulties. 



One of the most pleasant hunts of this kind that I ever 

 had was at a vineyard near Bear Valley, in the county of 

 San Diego, California, It covered some twenty acres of 

 bottom-land in a little valley surrounded by low hills, 

 forming a perfect amphitheater" of which nearly all parts 

 were visible from the ranch-house a large adobe house of 

 the olden time, standing on the rising ground, by a spring, 

 upon one side of the valley, and well-filled with comfort, 

 hospitality, and good-cheer. 



On a bright November morning, my friend S and I left 



the house after breakfast and went to the vineyard to begin 

 our hunt. Everywhere upon the soft ground were abun- 

 dant tracks of Deer; tracks of every night for the past week 

 12 



