The Wtttetail Deer 81 



kill it legitimately, as the wapiti and mule-deer are 

 killed, and yet comparatively easy to kill it under 

 circumstances which make no demand for any 

 particular prowess on the part of the hunter. It 

 is far more difficult to still hunt successfully in 

 the dense brushy timber frequented by the white- 

 tail than in the open glades, the mountains, and 

 the rocky hills, through which the wapiti and 

 mule-deer wander. The difficulty arises, how- 

 ever, because the chief requirement is stealth, 

 noiselessness. The man who goes out into the 

 hills for a mule-deer must walk hard and far, 

 must be able to bear fatigue, and possibly thirst 

 and hunger, must have keen eyes, and be a good 

 shot. He does not need to display the extraordi- 

 nary power of stealthy advance which is necessary 

 to the man who would creep up to and kill a white- 

 tail in thick timber. Now, the qualities of hardi- 

 hood and endurance are better than the quality 

 of stealth, and though all three are necessary in 

 both kinds of chase, yet it is the chase of the mule- 

 deer which most develops the former, and the 

 chase of the whitetail which most develops the 

 latter. When the woods are bare and there is 

 some snow on the ground, however, still hunting 

 the whitetail becomes not only possible, but a 

 singularly manly and attractive kind of sport. 

 Where the whitetail can be followed with horse 

 and hound, the sport is of course of a very high 



