ANOTHER KIND OF OPEN GROUND. 197 



moments with none of your head in sight lower than 

 your eyes, You could not only have seen anything if 

 it should try to leave the basin, but would undoubt- 

 edly have seen in a minute or two more the deer that 

 you saw first. It had only turned a little so as to 

 conceal the white of its buttocks and cast a different 

 shade of color from its side. And you might easily 

 have seen that big buck that stood by a bush a few 

 yards farther on. Remember now that deer are just 

 about as hard to see in such a place as they are in the 

 woods, and do not throw away another such oppor- 

 tunity just by a trifle too much haste to get a better 

 view. 



And now we must seek another deer or set of deer. 

 For it would be quite useless to follow these into that 

 chapparal whither they have gone so rapidly bound- 

 ing. Remember that even here, where there is neither 

 house nor ranch in sight, though you can see many a 

 mile around, deer are not found in every bush. In this 

 whole range of hills, some three miles long, there are 

 probably not over twenty. But that is enough to 

 make fair sport if you are careful and know how to 

 manage them. Move along, but keep as near this 

 elevation as you can. Stop at every good point of 

 observation and after making a thorough search with 

 the naked eye, especially of the ground near to you, 

 take your glass and sweep carefully the lower, higher, 

 and farther ground. 



Nearly half a mile beyond where we saw the last 

 deer is a comfortable rock on a high point command- 

 ing an extensive view of slopes, ridges, ravines, etc. 

 Let us take a seat and spend ten or fifteen minutes. 

 Yes; call it laziness if you choose, we will not dispute 

 about terms; but we will nevertheless sit. Now search 



