STILL-HUNTING ON OPEN GROUND. 157 



the deer does go upon such ground it is generally 

 for only a portion of the day. Antelope will, how- 

 ever, sometimes go upon ground containing con- 

 siderable brush or scrub timber if it is thin enough 

 to allow them to pass through it without touching 

 it too much, such as the cactus and sage-brush 

 covered parts of plains and deserts. And on such 

 ground the deer may be sometimes found in the 

 company of his handsome cousin. But the open 

 country that is generally worth hunting at all for 

 deer is too brushy for antelope. It is generally cov- 

 ered with brush, long grass, or something from knee- 

 high up to above the height of your head, with plenty 

 of cover in the sloughs, swales, gulches, basins, pockets, 

 and valleys. If cover be wanting on the ridges these 

 sloughs and gulches, etc., must contain it or there 

 will be few or no deer, as the animal will have cover 

 somewhere. 



Upon all such ground that is worth hunting at all 

 there is generally far more cover that can completely 

 conceal the body of a deer than there is in such tim- 

 ber as is worth still-hunting. So that ground which, 

 if timbered, would afford very poor still-hunting may, 

 when open, afford very good; the reason of which we 

 shall see as we go on. But to insure such result the 

 open ground should be quite rolling, even more roll- 

 ing than is necessary to success in timber. Or if it is 

 of the nature of table-land it should be well cut up 

 with brushy gulches, valleys, basins, and pockets, etc. 

 If the ground be too level the deer will have the im- 

 mense advantage of being in cover that conceals all 

 but part of his head when it is upraised, while the 

 whole upper part of your body is often in his plain 

 view. And his head is often so nearly the color of 



