GAIT. . 271 



and ears erect, and looks with great earnestness at the object 

 which startled it. If, however, it is pursued by a dog, for in- 

 stance, it runs at great speed, with a low, long gallop, entirely 

 omitting the high leaps, which but impede his progress. These 

 are never repeated when the deer is running at speed. In a 

 large majority of cases, in all of these paces, the Virginia Deer 

 elevates its tail, all the hairs of which are radiated, or spread 

 out, so as to form a veiy conspicuous white object as it wags 

 from side to side, but at high speed the tail is less elevated, and 

 the wagging motion is less observed than when at a more mod- 

 erate pace, and quite often when running the tail is carried close 

 down, and all hunters know that, when a deer is wounded, it will 

 drop its tail and switch it from side to side when it runs away, 

 and by this means they judge whether the game is hit or not, as 

 has been already explained. 



In addition to the gaits above specified, this deer has a slow, 

 quiet walk, and a leisurely short trot, as for instance, when he 

 sees corn in my hand which he is invited to come for, or falls a 

 little behind his fellows, and wishes to overtake them. He rarely 

 goes out of a walk when passing from one part of the grounds to 

 another of his own volition. 



There is another step taken by the Virginia Deer which displays 

 a graceful elasticity, which must be mentioned to complete the 

 description of its locomotion. When standing at a little distance 

 from a passer-by, and staring with a timid look, as if suspicious, 

 but not really alarmed, it will quickly raise one fore foot, suspend 

 it for a moment, the foot itself pendent, and then quickly drop it 

 to the ground with a threatening stamp, and then repeat the 

 same motions with the other foot, again bringing it to the ground 

 with a stamp in a threatening way, as if to try the courage of 

 the exciting object. This motion may terminate with a stand 

 still and an earnest gaze, or in the graceful trot above described, 

 or he may rush away with a loud whistle or snort. 



The gaits of the Acapulco Deer and of the Ceylon Deer are 

 the same as those of the Virginia deer, only they are less grace- 

 ful and agile. When they run the back assumes more of a con- 

 vex curvature. They run, however, with great speed, especially 

 the Ceylon Deer. I have no observations indicating whether they 

 are capable of maintaining this high speed for a great length of 

 time. Their shorter legs and shorter, thicker bodies explain the 

 want of that graceful elasticity observed in the Virginia deer. 



There is nothing graceful or attractive in any of the paces of 



