166 THE DEER OF AMERICA. 



first to one side and then to the other, to watch the progress of 

 the pursuit, the danger of which was becoming more and more 

 imminent every moment, as the leading doe was already close 

 upon him, and had commenced making desperate passes with her 

 fore feet, any one of which, had it hit him, would have ended a 

 worthless career. But this was in fact his salvation, since by 

 striking too soon the elk lost ground, and just as he was about to 

 receive the fatal blow, he gained the cover and shot into the 

 thicket, where the advantage was all on his side, and thus 

 he escaped ; but I never heard of that dog having been seen in 

 those grounds again. When the does returned, their ears were 

 all thi-own back in a threatening way, as if to challenge any other 

 dog to invade their gi'ounds. All this time, the bucks took no 

 part in the affray, and manifested little interest in the result. 

 They walked down the lawn, elevated their heads and looked 

 earnestly if not wisely, — that was all. The chase began scarcely 

 a hundred yards from where we sat, or rather stood, for in an 

 instant all ran to the window to see the exciting sport, and so we 

 had the best jDossible opportunity to observe the habits of the 

 animal under such circumstances. 



On another occasion, as I was studying the herd in the east 

 park, a large pointer dog found a passage under the fence, and 

 went ranging through the grounds in a characteristic way, when 

 he espied some of the buck elks, which had strayed a little to 

 one side, and started for them with great fierceness. Although 

 their antlers were then hard, the suddenness of the onset fright- 

 ened them at first, and they trotted in towards the herd, laying 

 their ears back. The moment the does saw the dog they charged 

 upon him with impetuosity, upon which that dog admitted that 

 he had no further business in the park, and, aided by the shrub- 

 bery, he succeeded in effecting a safe retreat, which I did not 

 regret. The whole herd of forty or fifty joined in the hunt, the 

 bucks in the rear, but all with their ears forward, as if their only 

 purpose was speed, without a hostile thought ; but the noise they 

 made as they crashed through the brushwood was like the rush- 

 ing of many waters. As is always the case, on such occasions, 

 the hair of the white patches on the rump became elevated like 

 the bristles on the back of a boar at bay. 



The Mule Deer (^Cervus macrotis'), has the largest ear of any 

 of the species on either continent, in proportion to its size ; hence 

 its name. 



The ear of the adult Mule Deer is eight inches in length, 



