ATTITUDE OF WILD ANIMALS TOWARDS MAN 241 



snow-peaks. At the time I had set for myself I peered round 

 the edge of the rock very carefully — as slowly as one peers when 

 one is observing the movements of a gaggle of Scotch grey-lags. 

 Imagine my surprise when there, not ten yards away, appeared 

 the face of the doe, her gaze fixed upon mine ! On seeing me 

 thus suddenly she ran back to the shelter of the undergrowth 

 from which she had originally emerged, and from which the buck 

 during the interval had not stirred. The shades of evening were 

 fast falling, and I was obliged to make an end of my watching for 

 lack of light. 



But undoubtedly the most remarkable example of the natural 

 lameness of the huemul occurred on May 9. I was in the same 

 £anadon, and on this occasion had the luck to secure a photo- 

 graph of the doe as she went away. It was about noon that I, 

 being on my way up the canadon in a northerly direction, heard 

 a stick break in a thicket near by, and a moment afterwards a 

 huemul buck came into view. Fortunately I had not caught 

 his eye, and he remained looking out from a patch of bushes, 

 wondering, I suppose, what strange animal this could be that was 

 coming towards him. Pretending that I had not observed him, I 

 threw myself down among the high grass and waited for develop- 

 ments. The buck snorted twice or thrice and advanced to within 

 thirty yards of where I lay. He stood upon the side of a hummock, 

 flanked by his two hinds. They were shortly joined by a third, 

 which came up out of the hollow behind them. I lay perfectly 

 still. The buck halted, but the hinds came on till within a few feet 

 of me. The buck now approached on the right ; he was a four-pointer. 

 The does had winded me. Two of them were mature, the third 

 a half-grown hind. Before five minutes were over the hinds had 

 come so near as to be almost touching me. Presently the half- 

 trrown hind sniffed my boot and started back, taking the other 

 three with her. They drew nearer a second time, the buck coming 

 within a yard of me, and dropping his horns as though to turn me 

 over. I did not quite like the action, as it might have meant more 

 than a mere push, and therefore raised myself gently to a sitting 

 position. The deer retreated about thirty yards, and there stood, 

 not taking their eyes. from me for a considerable time. Seeing 



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