Tin: CARJACOU, OR viin;i\i\\ 



569 







THK elegant and graceful CAIUACOD, or VII:..IM.\\ DECK, Is found in great numbers in 

 North America, and is nut onh interesting to the naturalist on account ..f ill.- U-auty of ito 

 fonn, and the |M-i-iiliarit\ (if its habit*, l.ul is IM..-I \aluable to tin- whit.- ami n-d hunters, M 

 affording them an unfailing supply of food and clothing. 



The C'arjarou may IH- known l-\ ih.- |M>nilinr shape of ita horns, which, in tlie adult male, 

 are of moderate >i-, U-nt lioldly backwards, and then Middenly li.H.k.-d foiwanK the tips 

 being nearly above the HOM-. Then- !> a l.a.sul snag on the internal side, p-.inting backward. 

 and s.-venil <.tli.-r snags on the potiterior edge. The color of this animal i- .\tivmely variable, 

 U-iii- )f a litrlit i.ildish-brown in Mprin^, nlaty-blue in autumn, and dull brown in winter. The 

 abdomen, thnwt, rhin. and inner fao-s of the limbs ore white. The fawn is a remarkably 

 liretty little n-eatiire. the ruddy-brown fur being profn ly deckel with white .sjiois. arningcil 



in irregular linen, and 

 sometimes merging into 

 continuous st rijK's. The 

 height of the adult ani- 

 mal ia five feet four 

 inches, measured from 

 nose to root of tail. 



It is a timid animal, 

 and HO 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 skirt* 

 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 di-plays 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. 

 Andubon 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 tin- surface of the water, near an old tree, not ten steps 

 from us. The half -closed eye of the buck was upon as ; 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, w turned our eyes another way and commenced a careless whistle, as if for 



CAUAOOO. on vmamiAX 



