244 Deer of the Pacific Coast 



In the sense in which success is understood 

 in most parts of the East, driving this deer with 

 hounds can hardly be called such on the greater 

 part of its range, while on much it is quite sure 

 to be a failure. There are places, like The Lake 

 of the Woods or Diamond Lake, where it could 

 no doubt be driven to water. But still-hunting 

 is there so much better, it would be foolish to 

 take dogs so far. In parts of northern California 

 dogs are often used to drive deer out of heavy 

 brush. If this is in a basin surrounded by ridges 

 on which men can be posted so as to have a fair 

 view of the proceedings, this will do very well. 

 But on the greater part of the Pacific coast, deer 

 have no regular runways as in many parts of the 

 East. Though they prefer open places when not 

 in haste, when they are in haste they go any- 

 where. In dodging into unsuspected ravines, 

 twisting around big rocks, and dashing over big 

 logs, the blacktail is equalled only by the mule- 

 deer. In heavy brush and rocks the mule-deer 

 can far surpass him, but on most ground the 

 blacktail is as much ahead of the Virginia deer 

 in this respect as the latter is in flirting his snowy 

 tail over some distant ridge at the first crackling 

 of a dry twig under the hunter's foot. 



On the southern part of its range hounding the 

 blacktail becomes even more difificult in many 

 places on account of the scarcity of water. When 



