HOMING INSTINCTS OF WOUNDED DEER 125 
After seeing the stag safely put on the pony in 
charge of the gillie, the stalker and I set off 
towards the farther end of the beat in the hope of 
getting a second stag. Not far from the march, 
on precipitous ground covered with rough 
boulders of rock, we spied a good stag with a 
large number of hinds. The deer were in an 
awkward position, and we found that it was 
impossible to get nearer to them than about 
200 yards. The day was getting late, therefore 
this was probably our only chance. The stag was 
moving about and might very soon be over the 
march, so that there was no time to be lost. 
Getting quickly into the best position I could, 
I fired, and evidently hit the stag very hard. 
Directly I fired the deer disappeared as if by 
magic. The stalker said he was quite certain 
the stag could not go far. On reaching the spot 
on which the stag had been standing when I 
fired we found marks of blood, and had no diffi- 
culty in following these for some 50 yards, by 
which time we were close to the march, and in 
full view of a large corrie and other ground, all 
of which was in the neighbouring forest. We 
saw what were evidently some of the hinds making 
off across the march, but the stag and the rest 
