106 Deer and Antelope of North America 



own keen senses and speed for its safety. All 

 the deer are fond of skulking ; the whitetail pre- 

 eminently so. The prongbuck, on the contrary, 

 never endeavors to elude observation. Its sole 

 aim is to be able to see its enemies, and it cares 

 nothing whatever about its enemies seeing it. Its 

 coloring is very conspicuous, and is rendered 

 still more so by its habit of erecting the white 

 hair on its rump. It has a very erect carriage, 

 and when it thinks itself in danger it always 

 endeavors to get on some crest or low hill from 

 which it can look all about. The great bulging 

 eyes, situated at the base of the horns, scan the 

 horizon far and near like twin telescopes. They 

 pick out an object at such a distance that it would 

 entirely escape the notice of a deer. When sus- 

 picious, they have a habit of barking, uttering a 

 sound something like " kau," and repeating it 

 again and again, as they walk up and down, 

 endeavoring to find out if danger lurks in the 

 unusual object. They are extremely curious, and 

 in the old days it was often possible to lure them 

 toward the hunter by waving a red handkerchief 

 to and fro on a stick, or even by lying on one's 

 back and kicking the legs. Nowadays, however, 

 there are very few localities indeed in which they 

 are sufficiently unsophisticated to make it worth 

 while trying these time-honored tricks of the long- 

 vanished trappers and hunters. 



