THE CARJACOU, OR VIRGINIAN DEER. 



569 



THE elegant and graceful CARJACOU, or VIRGINIAN DEER, is found in great numbers in 

 North America, and is not only interesting to the naturalist on account of the beauty of its 

 form, and the peculiarity of its habits, but is most valuable to the white and red hunters, as 

 affording them an unfailing supply of food and clothing. 



The Carjacou may be known by the peculiar shape of its horns, which, in the adult male, 

 are of moderate size, bent boldly backwards, and then suddenly hooked forwards, the tips 

 being nearly above the nose. There is a basal snag on the internal side, pointing backward, 

 and several other snags on the posterior edge. The color of this animal is extremely variable, 

 being of a light reddish -brown in spring, slaty -blue in autumn, and dull brown in winter. The 

 abdomen, throat, chin, and inner faces of the limbs are white. The fawn is a remarkably 

 pretty little creature, the ruddy-brown fur being profusely decked with white spots, arranged 



in irregular lines, and 

 sometimes merging into 

 continuous stripes. The 

 height of the adult ani- 

 mal is five feet four 

 inches, measured from 

 nose to root of tail. 



It is a timid animal, 

 and so easily scared that 

 the sight of a child fills 

 it with alarm, and urges 

 it to seek refuge by 

 flight. Yet, with a sin- 

 gular inconsistency, it 

 hangs about the skirts 

 of civilization, and re- 

 fuses to be driven from 

 its favorite spots by the 

 presence of man, or even 

 by the sound of fire- 

 arms. Like the ourebi, 

 it has a strong attach- 

 ment to certain local- 

 ities, and if driven from 

 its resting-place on one 

 day, it will surely be 

 found on the next day 

 within a few yards of 



the same spot. Sometimes it chooses its lair in close proximity to some plantation, and, 

 after feasting on the inclosed vegetables, leaps over the fence as soon as its hunger is sati- 

 ated, and returns to the spot which it had previously occupied. The animal, however, does 

 not often lie in precisely the same bed on successive nights, but always couches within the 

 compass of a few yards. 



That the Carjacou is a good leaper has been already seen, and the experience of many eye- 

 witnesses shows that it displays equal prowess in the water. It is a good swimmer, and is in 

 the habit of venturing to the water-side in the warm weather, and immersing itself in the 

 stream, in order to rid itself of the persecuting ticks and mosquitoes. In the work of Messrs. 

 Audubon and Bachman is a rather amusing anecdote. 



"We recollect an occasion, when on sitting down to rest on the margin of the Santel 

 River, we observed a pair of antlers on the surface of the water, near an old tree, not ten steps 

 from us. The half-closed eye of the buck was upon us ; we were without a gun, and he was 

 therefore safe from any injury we could inflict upon him. Anxious to observe the cunning he 

 would display, we turned our eyes another way and commenced a careless whistle, as if for 



CARJACOD, OR VIRGINIAN DEER. Cerma vtrglnianvt. 



