158 THE STILL-HUNTER. 



the brush that it is hard to see, and it will be gener- 

 ally too small a mark to hit if you do see it. 



The daily life of a deer in such ground varies little 

 from his life in the woods. He is, however, more apt 

 to lie in valleys and under an occasional tree along an 

 open hill-side than when in the woods, and will often 

 take denser brush to lie down in. But as a rule, deer 

 will move from their feeding and watering ground to 

 higher, rougher, and more brushy ground to lie down 

 on. And much hunting will surely drive them to 

 higher and rougher ground and thicker brush. 



Upon such ground deer are much more apt to 

 travel in paths. In the Spanish-American States and 

 Territories there are numerous cattle-trails which 

 deer are quite -certain to travel; on which tracking is 

 mere play as long as they keep the trail; and where 

 there are no cattle they are apt to make trails or run- 

 ways of their own up the bottom or along the sides of 

 valleys and across or along the ridge between two 

 valleys. In open ground one can still-hunt often in 

 summer and early fall, while in the woods he would 

 have to await the falling of the leaves for good suc- 

 cess. 



Here, too, water is often much scarcer than in 

 timber, and often the water-holes are the very best 

 places to go to first to find the direction deer have 

 taken. Sometimes this kind of ground will have bush 

 acorns, but if there are none the deer will find food 

 enough in the leaves and twigs of the brush; so that 

 if there is enough green bush in sight you need not 

 allow the question " What is there for them to live 

 on ?" to trouble you in the least. But should there be 

 any groves of oaks or other nut or fruit bearing trees, 

 the fruit of which deer love, such groves will be quite 



