DEER. 389 



goes on foot, and the deer knows man as its enemy only when he is mounted and 

 armed with the bolas." 



The male of the pampas deer possesses an unpleasant and penetrating effluvium, 

 which, as we can personally attest, can be detected at a distance of several 

 miles. During the day these deer generally lie concealed among the tall pampas- 

 grass, coming out to feed at sunset, and continuing throughout the night. Their 

 speed is very great, and it is only by the very best horses they can be ridden down, 

 while even then, if they have any considerable start, they are pretty sure to escape. 

 The fawns are born in the winter and spring, and it does not appear that there is 

 ever more than one at a birth. Both parents aid in protecting their young, and 

 the doe is especially clever in aiding the escape of her fawn, as the following 

 narrative by Mr. Hudson shows. " When the doe with fawn is approached by a 

 horseman," writes this observer, "even when accompanied by dogs, she stands 

 perfectly motionless, gazing fixedly at the enemy, the fawn motionless at her side ; 

 and suddenly, as if at a preconcerted signal, the fawn rushes directly away from 

 her at its utmost speed ; and going to a distance of six hundred to a thousand yards 

 conceals itself in a hollow in the ground, or among the long grass, lying down very 

 close with neck stretched out horizontally, and will thus remain until sought by 

 the dam. When very young, if found in its hiding-place, it will allow itself to be 

 taken, making no further effort to escape. After the fawn has run awaj 7 , the doe 

 still maintains her statuesque attitude, as if resolved to await the onset, and only 

 when the dogs are close to her side she also rushes away, but invariably in a 

 direction as nearly opposite to that taken by the fawn as possible. At first she 

 runs slowly, with a limping gait, and frequently pausing, as if to entice her enemies 

 on ; but as they begin to press her more closely, her speed increases, becoming 

 greater the further she succeeds in leading them from the starting-point." The 

 alarm-cry of the pampas deer is a low, whistling bark, but this is never uttered 

 when the doe has a fawn by her side. 



The marsh, or guazu deer (C palustris) is a somewhat larger 

 species, found in South Brazil, Paraguay, Rio Grande do Sul, 

 and Uruguay; its westerly range being limited by the Parana River. The 

 antlers of this deer, of which an example is represented in the figure on p. 385, are 

 larger and more complex than those of the pampas-deer, both prongs of the main 

 fork being strongly developed, and each again subdividing; the hinder prong 

 being also generally rather the heavier of the two. In contrast to the pampas- 

 deer, the marsh-deer seeks out swamps and lakes, where it delights to enter the 

 water or wallow in the mud. 



The last main group of the American deer is typically repre- 

 sented by the well-known Virginian deer (C. virginianus), with its 

 numerous varieties, and includes the largest representatives of the genus, as well as 

 the whole of those found in the northern half of the continent. The group is 

 distinguished by the large size and complexity of the antlers, which differ from 

 those of the other groups by the presence of a larger or smaller sub-basal snag 

 (c of the figure on p. 385), and likewise by the absence of tusks, in the upper jaw, 

 and the spotted coat of the fawns. 



The Virginian deer occurs typically in eastern North America, but the so-called 



