IN THE FAR WEST. 283 



large party, to bag some, and if one has his wits about him 

 he may score three or four in a day sometimes. 



Two other varieties of deer are found in Oregon and 

 Washington Territory, but they are most numerous on 

 \Vhidby Island in the latter region. These are undoubtedly 

 hybrids; but they are, nevertheless, the prettiest specimens of 

 their family, and are great favourites with the inhabitants, 

 who frequently keep them as pets about the house. Even the 

 unromantic skippers of the small trading-vessels that ply on 

 Puget Sound have one aboard very often, and its bright and 

 prominent colours contrast strongly with the woods or vege- 

 tables that cover the deck of the craft. 



The most abundant variety boasts many dillereut hues, and 

 this fact has given it the name of the spotted deer. Some 

 that I saw had reddish cheeks and a white face ; the sides 

 were sprinkled over with large patches of brownish-red and 

 white ; the under parts and tail were white ; the legs below 

 the knees were of a chestnut colour, tipped with white, and 

 the muzzle was very black. The fact that nearly all had 

 white tails caused me to think it was an albino of the white- 

 tailed species ; hence I classified it as C. leucurns, variety 

 variatus, and this classification was adopted by the Museum 

 of Natural History in Portland. I learned from a very com- 

 petent authority that these animals were the prevailing type on 

 \Vhidby Island ; that they associated together and produced 

 their young spotted like themselves ; and from this I deduced, 

 though perhaps without sufficient authority, that the variety 

 was permanent, and therefore worthy of being distinguished 

 from its kindred by a varietal name. 



I saw several eases of albinoism in the countrv, but the 

 specimens differed from the preceding in their markings. One 

 captured on a range of hills in Oregon had the front part of 

 the face, near the antlers, of a pure white, while that near the 

 nose was a dark chestnut tipped with grey. The cheeks were 

 white; the ears were white inside and a reddish-brown outside ; 

 the sides were a dark chestnut mixed with greyish-white; the 

 belly and flanks, and the legs, as far as the knees, were a pure 

 white; the lower portions of the limbs were rufous; and a 



