THE DEER. 



^i 



of these cold and inhospitable regions use their 

 utmost ingenuity to catch and tame them ; for, 

 indeed, they are the only means of their support. 



God has given a particular plant to the barren 

 deserts of the country and its gravelly and sandy 

 fields. This is the lichen, the principal food of 

 the Reindeer. The vast marshes of the country are 

 covered with this plant, and it whitens the black 

 rock in every direction. 



Tlie Laplander is thought a rich man who has 

 a big desert producing this plant. When he sees 

 it whitening over his fields, he knows that there 

 is a winter store for his hungry Deer, and that he 

 need not trouble himself about gathering in any 

 crop of hay. The Deer do not like to eat any 

 dried vegetable ; they grub like Swine for their 

 favorite food under the snow. Sometimes heavy 

 rains set in at the beginning of winter; these 

 freeze on the ground, and form a hard crust over 

 the lichens. Then comes the Reindeer, and if 

 he can, he breaks through the ice, and grazes on 

 the food below. Sometimes it is too thick, and 

 he is starved. It is said that the animal is ver}' 

 fond of eating Mice, called Lemmings. 



In America the Indians huiit the wild ones, 

 sometimes with guns, and sometimes with bows 

 and arrows : or they take them iii traps, ingeni- 

 ously formed of snow and ice. The Indians 

 sometimes cateh them for tlie sake of their 

 tongues alone. To the Laplander the Reindeer 

 is all in all, just as the Camel is fitted for the 

 sandy desert, so the Reindeer is suited to the icy 

 waste. 



The Elk is the largest kind of Deer. He is 

 actually higher in the shoulders than the Horse. 

 His horns sometimes weigh nearly fifty pounds. 

 To support this heavy weight his neck is short 

 and strong. His eyes are deeply sunk in his 



head. He is not so stately or elegant as the Stag, 

 but those who have seen him careering in his na- 

 tive wilds, say that no animal can appear more 

 noble or more majestic. His ears are long, 

 hairy, and something like those of a Donkey. 

 His tail is not more than four inches long. His 

 legs, though very long, are remarkable clean and 

 firm. His hair is coarse and brittle, breaking 

 when bent. He does not leap, but steps without 

 effort over a fallen tree, a gate, or a fence. His 

 flesh is not bad, though touglierthan anyothersort 

 of venison. The trappers like his nose the best, 

 and next to that his tongue, though it is not so 

 juicy and nice as the tongue of the Deer. He is 

 sometimes found feeding with the Buffaloes. 

 The luuiter is obliged to be wary in trying to shoot 

 one of them. He cannot graze on level ground, 

 like other animals, because his legs are so lonor 

 and his neckih so short; so he is obliged to browse 

 on the tops of large plants, and eat the leaves of 

 trees in summer time. But in the winter he 

 feeds on the tops of willows and the small 

 branches of the birch-tree. Some ancient writers 

 thought that the Elk was a sort of mid-way ani- 

 mal between the Camel and the Stag. 



In the accompanying engraving, slowly wend- 

 ing their way among the - passes of the Scottish 

 hills, a number of Red Deer are seeking bettA 

 pasturing ground. The antlered leader of the 

 little band moves carelessly along with lowered 

 head, intent, apparently, only upon the eatable 

 articles he may be able to gather. The more 

 timid Hinds frequently lift their graceful heads, 

 and throwing their pointed ears forward, snuff 

 the breeze in order to detect any danger that may 

 be lurking near. 



So the Deer move on, to incur a danger they 

 are unable, with all their powers of sight to guard 



