82 THE NATURAL HISTORY 



at Goodwood ; but was greatly disappointed, when I 

 arrived at the spot, to find that it died, after having 

 appeared in a languishing way for some time, on the 

 morning before. However, understanding that it was 

 not stripped, I proceeded to examine this rare quadruped: 

 I found it in an old green-house, slung under the belly 

 and chin by ropes, and in a standing posture ; but, 

 though it had been dead for so short a time, it was in so 

 putrid a state that the stench was hardly supportable. 

 The grand distinction between this deer, and any other 

 species that I have ever met with, consisted in the strange 

 length of its legs ; on which it was tilted up much in the 

 manner of birds of the grallse order. I measured it, as 

 thejf do an horse, and found that, from the ground to the 

 wither, it was just five feet four inches ; which height 

 answers exactly to sixteen hands, a growth that few horses 

 arrive at : but then, with this length of legs, its neck was 

 remarkably short, no more than twelve inches ; so that, 

 by straddling with one foot forward and the other back- 

 ward, it grazed on the plain ground, with the greatest 

 difficulty, between its legs : the ears were vast and lopping, 

 and as long as the neck ; the head was about twenty inches 

 long, and ass-like ; and had such a redundancy of upper 

 lip as I never saw before, with huge nostrils. This lip, 

 travellers say, is esteemed a dainty dish in North America. 

 It is very reasonable to suppose that this creature 

 supports itself chiefly by browsing of trees, and by wading 

 after water-plants ; towards which way of Uvelihood the 

 length of leg and great lip must contribute much. I have 

 read somewhere that it delights in eating the nymhpeea, 

 or water-lily. From the fore-feet to the belly behind the 

 shoulder it measured three feet and eight inches : the 

 length of the legs before and behind consisted a great 

 deal in the tibia, which was strangely long ; but in my 

 haste to get out of the stench, I forgot to measure that 



