THE RED DEER 
a disreputable appearance. This soon dries, however, and the dirt is shaken 
clean and another bath taken. In October the stags exercise little care for 
their own protection, trusting almost entirely to the noses and eyes of 
the hinds, but individual stags, especially wandering males looking for 
hinds in woods, will hunt for them diligently with their noses, tracking 
along the well -frequented path much in the same way as a hound upon 
scent. I have stood near a path all day in one of the Austrian woods waiting 
for the master stag to come by as he would not roar, and have seen no 
fewer than three young stags, of ages from three to seven, come along 
the trail with noses to the ground, intently following the line of vanished 
charmers. One of these passed me within ten yards without ever looking 
up. The travelling stag is supposed to go great distances in search of hinds, 
and there are instances of individuals that have appeared regularly at 
different seasons in a certain forest that were known to summer fifty 
and sixty miles away. Doubtless they have their tastes for particular places, 
for in the past they have found security and the necessary things in each, 
though these grounds may be widely separated. 
In the spring, shortly before calving, hinds often engage in a game of 
romps. The whole herd will dart off at full gallop and chase one another 
for an hour or more, following small or large circles in the course of their 
games. Even adult Red deer stags will so far forget their age and dignity 
as to play at being children again. I have seen six stags chase each other 
in play for over an hour. They rushed after one another at full speed, 
then one would turn round as if to charge, when another would spring 
into the air, with lowered head, like boys dodging one another at “ pri- 
soner’s base.” 
Red deer walk at a moderate pace, about three miles an hour, and are 
much slower in their paces than reindeer. The usual mode of progression 
when moving fast is a free and graceful trot. They only gallop when much 
frightened, and this pace seems to tire them, yet a hunted stag will gallop 
for hours provided he is not too hard pressed. When lying down they 
drop on their knees, and swing their hindquarters beneath them, and in 
rising they get first upon their knees and then raise their hindquarters 
before throwing out their forefeet. Both stags and hinds rear up and strike 
one another with their forefeet when angry. The ears are dropped parallel 
with the neck and they show the whites of the eyes. They also display anger 
by biting, kicking out behind or forward, and grinding their teeth. Though 
not remarkably keen sighted, deer have their sense of smell and hearing 
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