320 OUR SEARCH FOR A WILDERNESS. 



ated with three lines of spots, every one of which was perfectly 

 reflected in the water. Suddenly with a snort and a stamp the 

 mother took one leap over a bush, her eyes staring in terror 

 at me, then turned and vanished. In some way she had 

 infused the spirit of fear into her offspring, for with a bleat 

 which was almost a shriek the little fellow galloped madly, 

 awkwardly after her, tripping every few steps as he turned 

 his head to see if this awful thing was pursuing. I never 

 saw such an instantaneous change from confidence to fear 

 in any creature. The most remarkable thing was that the 

 mother and fawn had not taken fright at the roar of the guns 

 in their very ears. The very loudness and proximity must 

 have had a numbing effect on the organs of hearing. I 

 found that Francis had seen the second deer after shooting at 

 the first, and had lain flat while she walked so near him, that, 

 as he showed me by her tracks, he could have reached out 

 his hand and touched her as she passed. 



We know but little of the deer of this region, and I took 

 some notes on this first Savanna Deer (Odocoileus savan- 

 narum) which we obtained for the mess. It was a male 

 without horns, and of a uniform rich rufous above with 

 grayish-brown head, and the legs up to the hock mouse- 

 color. The tip and under side of the tail and inner thighs 

 were white, while the rufous color was continuous around 

 the breast and belly. The deer stood 24! inches high at the 

 shoulder and weighed 70 pounds. It had been feeding on 

 leaves and on a great number of seeds of the Kakaralli tree, 

 much like the mora. The seeds look like nutmeg in the 

 mace, and two grow in each husk. 



The skill and rapidity with which Francis prepared the 

 animal for carrying was remarkable. He removed eight- 

 foot strips of bark from a small tree which he called Mahoo 

 and stripped off the tough pliable inner layer. With this he 

 bound the legs and head together, then tied a broad band of 



