36 Deer and Antelope of North America 



ter, but it was perfectly evident that even at that 

 season the deer must spend their time in the thick 

 timber. There was no chance for them to go 

 above the timber line, because the mountains were 

 densely wooded to their summits, and the white 

 goats of the locality also lived in the timber. It 

 was far harder to get the mule-deer than it was to 

 get the white goats, for the latter were infinitely 

 more conspicuous, were slower in their movements, 

 and bolder and less shy. Almost the only way 

 we succeeded in killing the deer was by finding 

 one of their well-trodden paths and lying in wait 

 beside it very ^early in the morning or quite late 

 in the afternoon. The season was August and 

 September, and the deer were astir long before 

 sunset. They usually, but not always, lay high 

 up on the mountain sides, and while they some- 

 times wandered to and fro browsing on the moun- 

 tains, they often came down to feed in the valleys, 

 where the berries were thicker. Their paths were 

 well beaten, although, like all game trails, after 

 being as plainly marked as a pony track for a 

 quarter of a mile or so, they would suddenly 

 grow faint and vanish. The paths ran nearly 

 straight up and down hill, and even when en- 

 tirely undisturbed, the deer often came down 

 them at a great rate, bouncing along in a way 

 that showed that they have no fear of develop- 

 ing the sprung knees which we should fear for 



