A DAY IN THE TABLE-LANDS. 183 



runs toward another valley nearly parallel with this. 

 That one contains no water, and even if it did deer 

 would be quite likely to travel from one to the 

 other. In so traveling they are quite certain to go 

 up a gulch or canon like this branch if it leads in that 

 direction. 



There is a bright-looking spot of pretty fresh dirt 

 along the water-course at the bottom of the gulch 

 where something has broken down the dirt along its 

 edge. It seems to have been done by a hoof, and 

 done, too, this morning. A few yards farther on, 

 plain as the stamp of a die upon lead, appears the 

 track of a three-year-old buck, the smaller track of a 

 two-year-old or a doe we cannot tell which and the 

 track of a yearling or two. They are marching in 

 Indian file right up the center of the gulch on one side 

 of the dry sandy water-course in the center, occasion- 

 ally crossing it, but generally keeping pretty close to it. 



Now you will notice there is little of the heavy 

 bright green sumac or other shady bushes in this 

 gulch. It is also narrow at the bottom, is exceed- 

 ingly warm, and does not look very inviting as a 

 place for deer to lie down in during the heat of the 

 day. Moreover, deer when at all wild are not apt to 

 lie down very near water, but go half a mile or a 

 mile away. Therefore it is highly probable that they 

 are not in this gulch at all. We can therefore climb 

 up to the top and walk along the level ground to the 

 head of this gulch feeling an almost positive assurance 

 that we shall find the tracks of our deer emerging upon 

 the table-land at the head of it. But on the way let 

 us not forget that the deer delights in abusing the 

 confidence of the hunter. Therefore, since it will 

 be just as easy to take on our way an occasional 



