46 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE RED DEER 



largely upon the assistance of the powerful hounds 

 whose strength and courage were relied upon to 

 serve their master in the moment of need, as when 

 a wounded hart stood at bay with head lowered in 

 proud defiance of the horse and his rider. Whether 

 the Celts excavated pitfalls, into which deer could be 

 driven with the assistance of hounds, is a point upon 

 which I am unable at present to pronounce a positive 

 opinion. Certainly the use of pitfalls is common to 

 many uncivilised nations ; nor is it among savages 

 alone that we find evidence that pitfalls are in 

 favour for hunting purposes. The Chinese and the 

 Japanese both make frequent use of covered pits to 

 capture wild animals. The modern Japanese are 

 adept at capturing deer, which they do in more ways 

 than one. For example, a light is sometimes em- 

 ployed to attract deer within shot. In this case the 

 hunters betake themselves to the mountains in the 

 evening, carrying a peculiar kind of torch. This 

 consists of a long bamboo, which bears a sort of wire 

 cage, filled with resin and fine chips of wood. When 

 this is lighted in a forest glade, any deer that happen 

 to be in the vicinity gather round the mysterious light 

 and are shot by the ambushed Japanese. 



A similar device is to build a rude hut, in a line 

 with which a dried bamboo is planted in the ground. 



