AV THE FAR WEST. 249 



and with the hunter in plain view, for if it is one of the 

 most vigilant it is also one of the most inquisitive of its 

 family. 



This fine animal, which seems to be the connecting link 

 between the wapiti and the smaller deer, derives its name from 

 the length of its ears and the form of its tail. The ears, 

 which are eight or nine inches long, are well bent forward and 

 are constantly in motion, as if trying to catch every sound ; 

 and the tail, which is about the same length, is rendered 

 conspicuously prominent by the fact that it is thin and rat- 

 like, bare of all hair beneath, but well covered with white hair 

 above, while the outer tip is decorated with a tuft of black 

 hairs two or three inches long. This deer attains a height 

 of from three and a half to four feet, and weighs from 180 

 to about 300 pounds. The body is round, and generally full in 

 outline, and the legs are so long, slender, and graceful that 

 they seem scarcely strong enough to carry the heavy body 

 which they support ; and one would certainly never give them 

 credit for the power they display in making the stupendous 

 bounds which have made the animal famous as the "jumping 

 deer/' I have seen it leap over matted trees and branches 

 which must have been all of twelve or fourteen feet in height, 

 and on one occasion it bounded over a fallen monarch of the 

 forest, a gigantic pine, which we found by measurement to 

 have a circumference of twenty-four feet at the base, and to be 

 elevated four or five feet from the ground by the quantity of 

 soil attached to its roots. Its ability to leap is a favourite 

 theme with old hunters, and some of the tales told by them 

 approach closely on the marvellous. 



Another distinguishing feature in its appeara.i.r is the mag- 

 nificent antlers the staff bears. The lower beams in these- are 



O 



well set back, and the prongs jut straight upwards. The num- 

 ber of points frequently amounts to fifteen or sixteen, but the 

 usual number in an adult is ten, and if it exceeds this they 

 appear clumsy and are irregular in position. When seen from 

 a front view they look very striking and stately, and cause a 

 person to sigh for them and their owner. During the rutting 

 season, which eumniences about the last of October or the first 

 of November, thev are used to good advantage in the cmnbat^ 



