Mule- Deer 271 



of the tarsal gland. General colour of pelage of upper-parts some shade of 

 reddish or yellowish tawny in summer, in winter dark brownish or rufous 

 gray, more or less speckled with whitish, darkest on the withers ; forehead 

 usually with a dark brown patch, extending nearly to the eyes, and 

 commonly known as the " horseshoe," a brown patch on each side of the 

 nose, rest of face and throat white ; inner side of buttocks and legs, 

 abdomen, and most of inner surface of ears white or whitish, as is also the 

 tail, with the exception of its terminal tuft, which is black ; rest of under- 

 pays blackish brown. The front border of the ear is black. On the first 

 assumption of the winter coat the colour, according to Mr. Caton, becomes 

 for a short time almost black. 



The large hairy ears, the elongated metatarsal gland, the tufted tail, 

 with its lower surface naked at the base, and the shape of the antlers, form 

 the leading characteristics of this well-marked species. 



Distribution. — The greater part of North America westward of the 

 Missouri River, extending, according to Mr. Caton, over about thirty 

 degrees of latitude, from Cape St. Lucas, at the southern extremity of 

 California in the south, into British Columbia in the north. The range 

 thus includes suitable localities in parts of Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, 

 Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, California, Oregon, 

 Washington, British Columbia, and probably some other States. 



Mr. Caton writes that " the original range of this deer has not been 

 very much restricted since it was first discovered, although it has been 

 driven back from the Missouri River, and has deserted other limited local- 

 ities, where the miners or settlers have driven it away. . . . West of the 

 Rocky Mountains it is met with almost everywhere, though much more 

 abundantly in some places than in others. In the coast range of Northern 

 California it is almost entirely replaced by the Columbian black-tailed deer, 

 while in the coast range of Southern California scarcely any other deer is 

 met with. ... In all of Oregon, in Washington Territory, and in British 

 Columbia, this deer is met with, though much less abundant than the true 

 black-tailed deer, or even the Virginian deer." 



Mr. J. Turner-Turner 1 has published a map showing the present dis- 

 tribution of the mule-deer in British Columbia, from which it appears that 

 the range is now limited to a narrow strip of country running to the north- 



1 Three Years' Hunting and 7 rapping (1888). 



