I 



The Commo7i Deer, — Cervns Virginianus. 91 



«pceJ. The long liaii-s of its tail are bristled up sudden-y, like tlirsc of a call 

 «t the sight of a dog. The animal for a distance of two or three huhdrcd 

 yards proGJcd3 by lofty bounds, alighting at each spring upon tiirce of its 

 feet, upon one side and then upon the othr. This gives to the body and tail, 

 which is held erect, and expanded into a tall white brush, a rocking motion 

 "which cannot b^ well understood until seer.. Soon, however, the prodigious 

 bounds subside into lengthened leaps, and the animal stretches out, lies down 

 as it were to the work, and is soon out of sidit. 



On the open plains, however, a well mounted horseman or a grey hound 

 will easily run dov/u a deer. I'his method of pursuing them has been prac- 

 tised in the Southern States where there arc large plains. 



The female brings forth in May or June, mid conceals her fawns in a 

 clump of bushes, where they rem lin coiled up while she feeds at no great 

 distanc3. They will sometimes v/hen found where placed by the dam, lie 

 perfectly stili, and sailer tliemselveslo be taken withoutattempting to escape. 



The horns of the buck fall ofl in January or February. They cprout 

 again in the latter end of May, and in September the velvet is rubbed oft. 



The flesh of this animal is excellent, and the skin is famous for its dura- 

 bility and pliancy. The Indians soak the hide and scrape off all the hair, 

 then smear it with the brains of the animal v/hich have been preserved for 

 that purpose, and by repeatedly rubbing and pulling, reduce it to a 

 cufScieut degree of softne?s. It is then hunsr over a fire of rotten wood and 

 smoked, a process which is said to prevent the leather from becoming hard 

 «,fter being v/et. 



The Indians in the "West consume every part of the deer, even to the 

 contents of the stomach. It is said that the half digested vegetables in the 

 stomach of a deer are not unpalatable, even to a white man. We should, 

 liowever, prefer performing the process of mastication for ourselves. 



Tiiis deer is easily domesticated, but makes a troublesome pet. 



G EOGRAPIIICAL DISTRIBUTION. 



Cervns Virginianus ranges from the Gulf of the St. Lawrence across 

 the British provinces, and the United States to the Rocky Mountains. — 

 West of the Rocky Mountains it is unknown, except in I'^Iexico. "We have 

 not ascertained its existence on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, below 

 Qui;bec. AVest of Montreal it is found througliout Upper Canada. In the 

 tract of hilly country lying north of the Great River, Ottawa, it extends 

 150 miles north of that stream ; and indeed some of the fur traders informs us 

 that it is found rarely near the height of land between Canada ae.d the Hud- 

 eon's Bay Territory. In the country around Lakes Nippissing and Tc-mis- 

 .camang, isolated bands of this deer are occasionally met with. In the County 

 of Renfrew, on the rivers Madawaska and Bonnecherc, it is at present very 

 abundant, although twenty-five years ago it was rarely seen in that part of 

 Canada. It ranges over the v/liole of the United States, being more common 

 in some of the States than in others. It is very abundant in Texas and 

 Kew Mexico. It is not found in Oregon or California, being there replaced 

 bj other species. 



