CONTEST WITH STAG. 179 



down, leaving the two to carry on their comhat unwit- 

 nessed. After wheeling round more than once, and 

 well-nigh getting rid of his antagonist, the deer began 

 to show signs of distress. His open mouth and 

 heaving flanks told plainly that death was at work, and 

 the poacher, suddenly springing forward, leaped upon 

 his back, and throwing his arms round the animal's 

 neck, remained so immoveably fixed that by no efforts 

 could it dislodge him. And now the other poacher 

 again rose, expecting that by this time the struggle 

 must have terminated. But on seeing how matters 

 were, he forgot his caution, and stepped forward to aid 

 in the contest. As he approached, the wearied animal 

 made one desperate and prolonged attempt to unseat 

 his rider, which he was just on the point of effecting 

 when the poacher, drawing his knife, by an immense 

 effort succeeded in plunging it to the hilt in the 

 animal's breast, and as his comrade came up, the 

 victor and the vanquished sank down together. 



Notwithstanding the extraordinary powers of sight, 

 smell, and hearing with which the deer is endowed, he 

 may occasionally be taken by surprise, the very acuteness 

 of those organs at times serving to betray him into a 

 false feeling of security. Instance the following : A 

 shepherd, in his rambles among the hills, once came 

 upon a deer, taking his morning meal in a snug retreat 

 in the most unfrequented part of the mountain, where 

 doubtless he had many a time fed before without dis- 

 turbance. So utterly regardless of danger was the 

 animal, that the shepherd, removing his shoes, cau- 

 tiously walked in upon him from behind, and struck 

 him a hard blow on the back before his presence was 

 discovered. Had the man but carried something 

 heavier than a light staff, he might have slain or dis- 



