SHOOTING ROE-DEER 



a chain, which seemed strong enough and heavy enough to hold 

 and weigh down an elephant. Pitying the poor animal, an 

 exile from his native land, I asked what reason they could have 

 for ill-using him by putting such a weight of iron about his 

 neck. The keeper of the place, however, told me that small as 

 the roebuck was, the chain was quite necessary, as he had 

 attacked and killed a boy of twelve years old a few days 

 before, stabbing the poor fellow in fifty places with his sharp- 

 pointed horns. Of course I had no more to urge in his behalf. 

 In its native wilds no animal is more timid, and eager to avoid 

 all risk of danger. The roe has peculiarly- acute organs of 

 sight, smelling, and hearing, and makes good use of all three in 

 avoiding its enemies. 



In shooting roe, it depends so much on the cover, and other 

 local causes, whether dogs or beaters should be used, that no 

 rule can be laid down as to which is best. Nothing is more 

 exciting than running roe with beagles, where the ground is 

 suitable, and the covers so situated that the dogs and their 

 game are frequently in sight. The hounds for roe-shooting 

 should be small and slow. Dwarf harriers are the best, or good- 

 sized rabbit-beagles, where the ground is not too rough. The 

 roe when hunted by small dogs of this kind does not make 

 away, but runs generally in a circle, and is seldom above a 

 couple of hundred yards ahead of the beagles, stopping every 

 now and then to listen, and allowing them to come very near, 

 before he goes off again, in this way giving the sportsman a 

 good chance of knowing where the deer is during most of thq 

 run. Many people use fox-hounds for roe-shooting, but gener- 

 ally these dogs run too fast, and press the roebuck so much 

 that he will not stand it, but leaves the cover, apd goes straight- 

 way out of reach of the sportsman, who is left to cool himself 

 without any hope of a shot. Besides this, you entirely banish 

 roe from the cover if you hunt them frequently with fast hounds, 

 as no animal more delights in quiet and solitude, or will less 

 put up with too much driving. In most woods beaters are 

 better for shooting roe with than dogs, though the combined 

 cunning and timidity of the animal frequently make it double 

 back through the midst of the rank of beaters ; particularly if 

 it has any suspicion of a concealed enemy in consequence of 

 having scented or heard the shooters at their posts, for it prefers 



