THE CARJACOU, OR VIRGINIAN DEER. 569 
THE elegant and graceful Carsacou, or Vrrcintan Durr, is found in great numbers in 
North America, and is not only interesting to the naturalist on account of the beauty of its 
form, and the peculiarity of its habits, but is most valuable to the white and red hunters, as 
affording them an unfailing supply of food and clothing. 
The Carjacou may be known by the peculiar shape of its horns, which, in the adult male, 
are of moderate size, bent boldly backwards, and then suddenly hooked forwards, the tips 
being nearly above the nose. There is a basal snag on the internal side, pointing backward, 
and several other snags on the posterior edge. The color of this animal is extremely variable, 
being of a light reddish-brown in spring, slaty-blue in autumn, and dull brown in winter. The 
abdomen, throat, chin, and inner faces of the limbs are white. The fawn is a remarkably 
pretty little creature, the ruddy-brown fur being profusely decked with white spots, arranged 
in irregular lines, and 
sometimes merging into 
continuous stripes. The 
height of the adult ani- 
mal is five feet four 
inches, measured from 
nose to root of tail. 
It is a timid animal, 
and so easily seared 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 skirts 
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 
CARJACOU, OR VIRGINIAN DEER.—Cervus virginianus. 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 displays 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. 
Audubon 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 the surface of the water, near an old tree, not ten steps 
from us. The half-closed eye of the buck was upon us; 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, we turned our eyes another way and commenced a careless whistle, as if for 
