DEER-STALKING. To stalk or steal up to game under cover is an attractive spurt, with many varMtions of method in different countries, and even different parts of the same country; seeing that the deer ranges in North America alone, from the arctic circle of northern Canada to the bayous of the Mexican Gulf. The term 'stalking' is derived from the Scottish Highland method of hunting the deer in the so-called Scot tish forests, which are not forests at all, hut bare hill-tops and rugged glens, upon man;‘, of which even a rabbit would find it hard to live, much less a deer. Large tracts of land in Scot land, barren and otherwise useless, are left to the deer, with profit to the owners, who let the ranges for sporting purposes. The deer are lo cated by a careful reconnaissance of the district. in which operation woodcraft and hunting skill are the prime essentials. For instance, their probable location will depend upon the weather; on fine, warm days the big stags will be on the highest hills, and on wet or stormy days they are usually on the lower land. In the morning they will be feeding and moving, and by mid day will be lying down. When a suitable stag has been located, the difficulty will be to get within shouting distance without his seeing. bearing, or smelling the hunter; consomently the direction of the wind is the first considera tion. There is practically no chance of success unless the hunter stalks 'up wind,' or across the wind in a position to insure that scent of him will not alarm the deer. Then again. the deer may be feeding, iu which case they will move up wind at a fairly good rate. and the hunter has to calculate where his path and theirs will cross, by the time he can secretly approach them. These points determined, he takes a well-screened path, and cautiously approaches the point he has settled on from which to get a shot. In the last stretch of this, he may have to crawl up-hill flat on his stomach, pull himself along on his elbows, or he may have to creep down-hill, feet foremost, for deer seldom look up-bill when feeding. When the deer is again sighted, the problem is to guess his distance, concerning which a very successful authority has laid down the following rules: "Up to 80 yards, the deer's eye is to be seen distinctly, at 100 yards the shape of the eye is no longer discernible, but only the dark line is visible. Cp to 150 yards the cars are plainly to be seen. but at 200 yards they are well-nigh Prac tice a lone w ill tell the hunter how far to 'hold' in front of a walking, running, or galloping deer: but the following instructions are safe: At a walking liver aim straight at the heart; at a slowly trotting one, at the front of the shoulder: when on a Amick trot. just see daylight in front. of him: and for a galloping one, give two or three feet, grace. The red deer of Scotland vary in weight from 200 to 400 pounds.
In America the method of stalking varies with the kind of deer and the locality. The method of following the Canadian caribou and Maine deer through thick forests and deep snow of necessity varies from those adapted to the black tail of California and the deer of Louisiana. In the extreme northern forests it is not possible to place or locate the deer with a field-glass-, their track most be found, and in the snow it is the more easily detected. The hunter, clad in loose woolens bead to foot, threads among the beech and birch, and balsam and hemlock. until lie comes across the sign. This lie interprets from experience, for nothing else will teach him. In what direction and at what pace was the deer going? Was it a single stag? flow long since had it passed ? These and runny other ques tions must be settled before he begins his quest on his snow-shoes; and even then he will have need of all his wits, for the deer is keenly alert to the slightest indication of danger. To baffle
the hunter, lie will double back on his track and jump sideways, apparently disappearing into the earth. Ile will rout up another deer and use him as a catspaw, or, better still, mix with a number of others until all individuality is apparently lost ; or he will follow the slot of another deer. or take to the water, or make for a swamp of shell ice and eraekling cedar-brush. In the forest covered hills of northern California, a guide takes a pair of dogs (shepherd dogs, for pref erence) into the woods, who hunt until they jump a deer. The hunters dismount and spread out, each taking a position known to the the dogs drive the deer out of the brush. and that hunter who is most favorably situated gets the shot, In Louisiana the deer are hunted by a pack of hounds, some dozen or so of the large black-and tan Louisiana deerhounds, with long, drooping ears, low, pendent dewlaps, deep chests, and straight tails. They are taken to the scene of the hunt in a wagon. The huntsman finds the track in the soft soil on the edge of the live-oak wood: the dogs are put on the trail and dis appear within its gloomy, moss-hung recesses. The gunners form a skirmish line across from marsh to marsh, and, as the deer is chased within range, lie is shot and given the coup de gracc, or the dogs will eventually pull him down and kill him. In other parts of the South the deer is 'fire-hunted,' or 'shined.' in which under taking the hunters go through the woods at night hearing a blazing light in front; presently its glare strikes the eyes of a deer. which, fasci nated by it, stands and stares curiously fur some lime. during which interval the hunters eau approach and shoot, it. In the East Cen tral and Northern States the deer are 'hounded the hunter picks out a promising runway. for deer have a well-known fondness for certain routes, and on this he releases the dogs and posts the guns at selected points to await the coming of the deer. When they are 'still-hunted.' the hunter sets out alone without dog or guide, pick ing out the track, reading all its lessons, and fol lowing it through all its sinnosities, until success rewards him. is nearer to the Scottish stalking than any other form used in America. In the Caneashin Thmulains of Russia the deer are 'called,' i. e. the call of the female is imitated by the hunter, and the deer. at tracted by it, or the challenpr of defiance of one stag to another, brings them to a place where t he hunter has an opportunity to shoot them. In the province of Bombay a very simple practice is followed by the natives: Deer are located and watched until they have eaten their fill, and he down to chew the cud. As soon as they are com pletely settled, the native will very gently break a stick, making just enough noise to rouse the deer and unsettle them, so that they get up and move off. As soon as they lie down once more he makes a like noise, and the deer rise again. Ile continues this. increasing his disturbance, until the food in the deers' stomachs, not being properly digested, begins to trouble thcin, and they become so swollen and uncomfortable that they cannot run, when the hunter shows himself and shoots them. Consult: Van Dyke, Tile Red Deer (New York, 1596) : Van Dyke, The Still Hunter York, 1882) ; Serope, Days of Deer Stalking (London, 1838) ; Grimblc, High land Sport (London, 1800).