THE VIRGINIA DEER. 



187 



it is sometimes observed on exceptional antlers of the Mule Deer and the 

 Columbia Deer. 



The Virginia Deer is the wildest, shyest, shrewdest, and 

 the most difficult to hunt, successfully, of all the species of 

 CervidcB on this continent, and though many thousands of 

 them are killed every year, yet many thousands more 



On Guard. 



escape the hunter's rifle where, under like conditions, either 

 the Mule Deer or the Columbia Black-tail would have 

 been successfully stalked and killed. Few naturalists, even, 

 who are not sportsmen as well, realize the difficulty of 

 approaching this animal; and no one who has not hunted 

 it can realize the degree of patience and skill that the man 

 must possess who, generally speaking, can go into the forest 



