486 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[June 15, 1895. 
articles of leather, such as shoes and gloves, as well as 
towels and table linen, whenever she could get at them. 
Another, a most interesting and affectionate doe, was al- 
lowed to run at large in the yard, partly from attachment 
to the family and perforce because no reasonable fence 
could confine her. When the bell rang for meals, if at a 
distance she would come at a gallop, and if allowed to en- 
ter the room would go all around the table begging some 
favor from each one. If the doors were not closed care- 
fully she would go all over the house, upstairs and down, 
seeking for what was to her the greatest of all delicacies, 
hand soap, and when she found it she would proceed to 
devour it with avidity, and as far as we could see without 
any ill effects. Of course, it was too expensive an article 
for us to allow her to resort to it as an ordinary diet, and 
if taken in any quantity no doubt it would have proved 
harmful. But her pilferings were frequent and persist- 
ent. 
On one occasion she was found by the indignant servant 
maid in one of the second-story rooms, regaling herself as 
usual; and thinking the opportunity a favorable one for a 
settlement, the girl closed the door and went at her with 
a riding whip. The punishment was brief and unsatisfac- 
tory, as about the second circuit of the room the deer went 
at a bound out of the window, taking a large portion of 
the glass and sash with her. She reached the ground on 
her feet, and, excepting some cuts on the hide from the 
glass, did not appear to have been injured. 
One not alive to the real facts would be induced to be- 
lieve that, from their frail and delicate appearance, the 
legs of a deer were not capable of sustaining the shock 
accompanying a leap from any considerable height. The 
usual custom of this deer in running, when not closely 
pressed, is to take three or four bounds, and then a long, 
high leap. Any one who has seen them make one of 
these leaps and alight with impunity, even upon a solid 
rocky surface, could well see how they could survive un- 
injured a leap from quite a height. The leg bones of the 
deer are exceedingly dense and hard, and they are braced 
up by sinews equally tough and strong. 
Running. 
The rutting season of these two species begins in western 
Texas generally in the month of October, if the weather 
is cool and bracing, or rainy or cloudy; but if the weather 
should prove close and warm, as it has been mostly during 
the last month, it does not begin until cooler weather pre- 
vails. 
As a general rule the height of the season does not 
come on here until about the last week in November or 
the first week in D cember, and continues through the 
last-named month. But all this depends more or less on 
season and latitude, as further south the running season 
continues even after the new year begins, and of course 
begins later there. These remarks are in allusion to the 
habits of the Cervus virginianus, as the facts attending 
the habits of the other species at this time are not so well 
known. 
Hunters have aptly named this period in the deer's life 
and history "the running season," as "the pursuit of the 
doe by the stag commences before her season has arrived, 
and hence for two or three weeks she remains as secluded 
as possible. He follows her track with his nose to the 
ground, and when started from her bed the race is very 
spirited, but she manages to elude the pursuit by conceal- 
ing herself or by mingling with other deer, and again 
slipping away." Should any one, hunting at this time in 
a good deer range, observe a doe by herself galloping 
along with her tail down, ever and anon looking back as 
if looking for something in pursuit and acting as if she 
were endeavoring to secrete herself, he should lose no 
time in availing himself of the situation. 
Let him hide himself on her track or within gunshot of 
it, and if the conditions of the wind are favorable the 
chances will be that he will not have long to wait before 
the stag will make his appearance following the track 
with the certainty of a hound. 
After the rutting season is over, which in the latitude 
of San Antonio is generally about the end of the year, the 
stags become lean and tough — in fact, unfit for food— and 
lead sometimes a solitary life, but oftener collect in 
bands larger than at any other time of the year. They 
thus remain apart from tha females until the rutting sea- 
son comes around again in the following fall. 
Of all times of the year the commencement of the 
"running season" is the most favorable for hunting these 
auimals. They are then in the prime of condition, and 
to the hunter who loves to "camp out" and seek for them, 
living and sleeping in his tent in the remote wilderness, 
the weather in western Texas has then a charm which no 
other portion of the year offeix 
We have seen in the description given that the Cervus 
virginiamis, or common deer, varies greatly in size, color, 
shape and weight. It is not so large in Texas as it is in 
the East and North, and some naturalists are of the opin- 
ion that the small variety of deer found in Mexico and in 
some few localities in Texas is a permanent variety, and 
have called it Cervus mearkan us. 
The deer of the coast islands of Georgia, South Carolina 
and the Florida coasts and keys is much smaller than the 
animal of the main land near by, and differs also in shape, 
being described to the writer by an intelligent friend who 
has hunted them much as small, round-bodied, stockily 
built, and with low, crumpled antlers. 
We have ourselves killed deer in the mountains of the 
upper Nueces with a very much darker general color of 
the body than tho common variety, and this color running 
into a broad black band along the back of the neck, the 
top of the back find the upper part of the tail. We are 
told that these doer are not uncommon in the mountains 
of western Texas. When we first met with them we were 
inclined to think that they might be crosses and estrays 
from the habitat of the mule deer, but upon examination 
there was no increase in the size of the ear to warrant 
such a belief. 
We are of the opinion, from all we can gather upon the 
subject, that these varieties rre not permanent, but are 
properly accidental variations produced by local causes, 
such as aliment, climate and altitude, and which very 
likely would disappear in a few years were the habitats of 
the animals changed. 
Both these two species of deer are provided with glands 
in all the feet. These are situated between the clefts of 
the hoofs running backward and upward, with a small 
aperture leading into them of something more than an 
inch in depth. These glands secrete a waxy, dark-colored 
substance of a disagreeable, strong, musky odor, and are 
less developed in the mule deer than in the other species. 
We are satisfied that it is by the scent emitted from these 
glands that deer are enabled to follow up and find each 
other when separated. No dog possesses a keener sense 
of smell than the deer, and they will follow each other 
when lost or when seeking a companion of the other sex 
hours after the first one has passed by. We have read in 
the effusions of incipient poetasters and tale writers of 
the gentle fawn bleating for its dam, and of the voices of 
does calling for their young. This is all the purest non- 
sense. Of all the wild animals with which we are ac- 
quainted deer are the most silent. They go and come 
like shadows, and even in thick brush, provided they are 
not alarmed, will pass very near one and make no sound. 
They cry out only when in pain, either when caught by 
some carnivorous enemy or sometimes when shot and 
badly wounded. 
In all our experience, extending over about forty years, 
we have never but once heard a deer make use of the 
voice when seeking a lost mate. This occurred when 
upon one occasion, having shot at and scattered a band of 
stags, one of the number, not having seen or scented us, 
turned back, evidently seeking his leader, and passed close 
by, making a low, muttering noise like that sometimes 
uttered by the domestic ram, 
[TO BE CONCLUDED IN THE NEXT ISSUE.] 
THE ABSENCE OF BIRD SONG. 
Ferrisbueqh. "Vt., June 8. — The coming of the birds is 
only made known to me by hearsay, or by their own 
voices, for the most part by the latter means, which is 
really the surer. What I have heard tallies with the 
reports from other parts of the North. 
There were never so few notes of the first spring comers 
— bluebirds, robins and song sparrows — and it is they who 
seem to have suffered most from the severity of the 
Southern winter. 
I have heard but two bluebirds, and that is more than 
some observers report. There seems to be but one pair 
of robins nesting near our house, where there are ordi- 
narily at least a dozen pairs. The absence of their jubilant 
morning chorus is very noticeable. 
There is as marked a scarcity of song sparrows, and I 
have heard but one white-throated sparrow calling Mr. 
Peabody or telling Peverly to sow wheat. The barn 
swallows came a week earlier than usual, but in small 
force. 
The later comers appear to have fared better. The bob- 
olinks came on time, May 8, not the throng that forty 
years ago filled the meadow air with musical medley, but 
perhaps not fewer than last year. 
There is the usual quota of orioles in our elms and those 
of our neighbors, where every day I hear them fill the air 
with melody sad or gay, as the listener's mood interprets 
it. There is a goodly number of vireos and I have heard 
several summer yellow birds, a few thistle birds and two 
wood pewees, and a catbird has apparently taken it upon 
himself to do the singing of all the birds after his fashion. 
I have missed a good deal of our jolliest spring sound, 
the cackle of the high-hole, yet hear it occasionally. 
On the whole, it is evident that the past winter has 
dealt very hardly with the migrant birds, and to make 
amends for the unkindness of nature we must be very 
good to the survivors. Let collecting be honored, this 
year at least, in the breach more than in the observance, 
and a bird in the bush be counted worth two in hand. 
Dr. Webb's pheasants must have become pretty widely 
scattered in this part on the State. We are at least 10 
miles from Shelburne Farms, yet I often hear of the birds 
being seen about here. My son has frequently seen a pair 
this spring near a thicket of pines in our pasture, and 
several others have been seen in the neighborhood. A 
man living at least 4 miles further from Shelburne fed a 
flock of seven near his house during the winter. This 
looks as if they were breeding at large. 
I am told that many dead fish, principally bullheads, 
are^seen afloat in Little Otter Creek. Some think the 
dynamiters are at their knavish tricks, but would they 
not be likely to pick up cleaner after themselves? 
Awahsoose. 
Size of Moose Heads. 
Calais, Maine. — Editor Forest and Stream: In answer 
to yours about moose horns, would say that the 72in. set 
belonged to Mr. Andrew Downes, of Halifax, N. S. I 
wanted to purchase them, but was not able to get them, as 
he wanted them for his own museum. He promised to 
get me if possible as good a set, but I never got them. 
When the Prince of Wales came to Halifax thirty years 
ago, he gave the horns to him; but the officer who had 
charge of the Prince sent Mr. Downes $125. 1 send you a 
photo of a head taken in Halifax, the horns very wide, 
with a spread of 66in. ; also a photo of set of horns, 60in. 
spread, that have nice points, 14in. wide blade, 18 points 
on each side. A friend at Frederickton, N. B., has a set of 
about 6(5in. but the blades are very narrow and not many 
points. 
There is quite a variety of shapes to make the spread ; 
some very cheap looking narrow horns have more spread 
than wide heavy ones. I think a moose when in hjs prime, 
say eight to ten years old, has the best horns. Then the 
points on the upper blades get less every year, and I 
have had some that show no points on the upper blade 
and the animals had very poor teeth. 
Geo. A. Boardman. 
Vinton, la. — We have a man in our town of more than 
average talents and ability. He has been sheriff of the 
county and now holds a lucrative position as traveling 
agent for an important company. He is an all-round 
good fellow, but he can outdo Mrs. Partington in the use 
of words. At one time a tramp was arrested as a vagrant. 
When registering him he said, "I don't believe he gave 
his right name. I have no doubt but he is traveling 
under a consumed name." 
When the income tax law was under discussion some one 
said it was "class legislation." He said it was "unconsti- 
tutional, as it was classical legislation, that was just what 
it was." 
A book agent tried to sell him a cyclopaedia. He said 
he did not want it, would not have it about the place. If 
he caught one of his boys riding one he would lick him. 
El, 
mrp §d$ mid gun. 
STRATEGY WITH THE ANTELOPE. 
One fine day in October, running short in our meat 
supply, I was delegated by the foreman just after dinner 
to take a run over toward the river, some six miles dis- 
tant, and see if I couldn't down a couple of antelope as a 
temporary relief for our meat-craving appetites, or if pos- 
sible perhaps enough to last the outfit until some of the 
boys had the time for a chase after elk in the mountains. 
Appreciating the opportunity, I at once brought in 
Brownie, one of our cow ponies that had been grazing at 
the end of a stake rope near by, and soon had her as well 
as myself ready -for the afternoon's sport. With cowboy 
delight I made a bound for the saddle, accompanying it 
with a yell that started us on a Nancy Hanks gait for 
nearly two miles, when a slow-down was in order on 
nearing Flat Creek, which we forded quietly, emerging 
from the willows on the opposite bank somewhat slowly, 
as I feverishly glanced over the broad flat ahead of me 
for any stray pronghorn that might possibly be so near 
our headquarters. Not seeing anything we again re- 
sumed our journey, allowing the cayuse to take up a 
dog trot, while I kept a sharp lookout along the base of a 
broad bench or plateau that extended in a northerly 
direction to our right. 
A salt spring exists not very far along the bottom of 
this bench in a little hollow which is covered nearly all 
summer with a thick growth of luxuriant grass and at- 
tracts the antelope very much during the early months; 
but the Indians, who do considerable hunting around 
here when they come into the hole in the fall, cause those 
timid creatures to be very shy, and consequently only 
now and then can a few be seen feeding near the place at 
this time of the year. 
However, I waB not going to overlook this particular 
spot at any rate, whether its allurements had enticed 
any of the fleet-footed game prior to my arrival or 
not, and if nothing should be there at present a passing 
glance at its surroundings on my return this evening 
would not be very much out of the way either, especially 
if luck had been against me. 
Approaching the neighborhood we soon came to the ac- 
customed halting place by the side of another soft-water 
spring near the lick, when Brownie seemed to take in the 
situation by stopping about where she generally hai 
stopped before when I wished to dismount. Taking her ad- 
vice I slipped from the saddle gun in hand, and began 
the same old tactics that I was wont to assume in days 
agone, by stooping over, or crawling, if necessary, as the 
case might be, and advancing as near as I could without 
being seen. Having obtained this much of an advantage 
I slowly, very slowly, raised my uncovered head and 
peeped over the intervening rise in the ground ahead, ex- 
pecting to see, as I did so, a tail or two disappearing over 
another ridge beyond, or a little bunch of antelope calmly 
feeding, perchance basking in the noonday sun, uncon- 
scious of an approaching fiend. 
Not being able to discern anything though at the first 
good look, I continued the process of elevation until I 
stood erect, when a view of the whole place failed to 
show up any signs of life, barring a few songsters that 
flitted by among the willows. Going over to the lick, 
an examination of the ground thereabout revealed no 
tracks that could have been made since early morning, 
if as late as that; 60 I returned, straddled my pony and 
started back for the cow trail again, which I followed 
through the gap as far as trapper Jack's cabin on the 
bench, near the head of Spring Gulch. He himself was 
now in the mountains for the winter, and the man who 
occupied the shack during his absence had evidently 
gone off somewhere for the day, as no one responded 
to my friendly "halloo" on coming up. 
Riding around to the corral, a circular affair, which 
helped to improve the appearance of this lonely horse 
ranch, with its low white sheds and deserted aspect, I took 
a stand that gave me a grand view of the flat as it 
stretched on toward the river, nearly three miles away to 
the west, and a corresponding scope of double the dis- 
tance both right and left. 
I can't very well remember ever looking over this level 
plain without having seen at least a few of the nimble 
cabree as they calmly wended their way to and fro be- 
tween the river bottom and the big buttes, or perhaps 
going in the direction of the rolling hills to the northeast 
for a change wf habitat. Though presently none seemed 
to materialize before my searching gaze upon this broad 
expanse of prairie splendor, I nevertheless called to mind 
how often it had appeared to me the same on previous oc- 
casions, and directly after, as the shadow of a passing 
cloud in the blue heavens above softly glided by, o'er the 
waving grass and dusty sagebrush, a whole band of ante- 
lope, heretofore unnoticed, would come within my range 
of vision, as they fed along their oft-frequented trails in 
silent content. 
So I continued feasting my eyes on the great panorama 
in front of me for about half an hour longer, when the 
scene itself became one of monotony for the time being, 
as no game hove in sight, and the afternoon wore on, tell- 
ing me I had better be on the move if success was to be 
obtained. Considering which course might prove the 
best, I finally decided to cross the flat on a line with some 
horses that I discovered about a mile off to the left, and, 
should nothing turn up, enter the river bottom near the 
foot of a tall butte, where a big bunch of cattle appeared 
to be grazing. Acting on the impulse, I immediately 
gave rein to my pony, but not deeming it advisable to go 
faster than a walk at present, we took it easy, While I 
threw my eyes about in anticipation of making out a form 
or two of the Anliloeupra americana on the horizon. 
This was apparently a hard thing to do, so I allowed my 
attention to be directed toward a great string of wild 
geese which were forming all kinds of imaginable figures 
as they sailed back and forth over the immense cotton- 
woods that flanked the river on both sides. They also 
soon disappeared, leaving me to resume the thoughts of 
my mission. 
After covering some distance, we made a short halt 
while I turned round in my saddle to scan the rear, espe- 
cially taking a good look among the young quaking asp 
timber that grew in patches here and there, and formed 
many pretty little parks o'er the face of the hills, wherein 
during the hot days of summer a cool and refreshing shade, 
with some protection from the great fly pest, was afforded 
the antelope. 
