272 THE DEER OF AMERICA. 



the Mule Deer, according to iny appreciation, though less so in tlie 

 wild state than in semi-domestication. It has an awkward and 

 shambling walk, and its trot is still less to be admired. Mollie, 

 an old doe, was fond of following me around the grounds when I 

 was riding in a buggy, and when she had to trot to keep up, she 

 presented so ludicrous an object as to be quite laughable. I 

 never saw her or any other adult of the species in my grounds at 

 full speed, but I have seen the wild deer in the mountains when 

 fleeing fi'oni danger. Then it is that the gait exactly resembles 

 that of the musk deer (^Moschus moschiferus, Linn.), of the Him- 

 alayas. It is not a leap but a bound, all the feet leaving and 

 striking the ground at the same time. These bounds display 

 wonderful elasticity for a time, but after a while they seem to 

 become fatiguing, and the stride becomes less, and the speed 

 slackens. It is evident that this motion is less adapted to a long 

 and rapid flight than the long, leaping gait of the Virginia deer. 

 The fawns, when started, from their concealment in my grounds, 

 would spring up with a high bound, alighting on all the feet at 

 once, and bound away with astonishing swiftness in the same way 

 as the adults. The walk, the gallop, the trot, and the bound, as 

 above described, are the only paces I have observed practiced by 

 the Mule Deer. The three first are always performed in a lazy, 

 leisurely way, and the last is resorted to only in alarm and ex- 

 citement. 



The same description may be given to the gait of the Colum- 

 bia Black-tailed Deer, except that the walk may be a little 

 slower and more deliberate, and the trot is less awkward and less 

 frequently practiced. Notwithstanding this apparent want of 

 elasticity in the motions of these two species as compared with 

 the Virginia deer, they are much more inclined to leap fences. 

 Mollie would leap a fence four feet high into a yard, the gate of 

 which was open, as soon as go six feet further to pass through 

 the gate, and Albert, the Black-tailed buck, would climb up four 

 feet upon the hay which had been left against the fence, eight 

 feet high, and jump into the road, appearing as indifferent to the 

 drop of eight feet upon the frozen ground, as if it were but two 

 feet. Their strong bony legs seem to stand them well in hand 

 on such occasions. I have seen the Black-tailed buck at full 

 speed. When I was quietly standing near the edge of the bluff in 

 the North Park, he came rushing up the steep hill at a fearful 

 rate, and was about to pass me when I spoke to him. He at 

 once stopped his tremendous bounds, and walked up to me, not 



