Up the River of Tapirs 141 



buck of the bigger species of bush deer appeared, a very 

 pretty and graceful creature. It stopped and darted back 

 as soon as it saw us, giving us no chance for a shot; but 

 in another moment we caught glimpses of it running by 

 at full speed, back among the palms. I covered an open- 

 ing between two tree-trunks. By good luck the buck 

 appeared in the right place, giving me just time to hold 

 well ahead of him and fire. At the report he went down 

 in a heap, the "umbrella-pointed" bullet going in at one 

 shoulder, and ranging forward, breaking the neck. The 

 leaden portion of the bullet, in the proper mushroom or 

 umbrella shape, stopped under the neck skin on the far- 

 ther side. It is a very effective bullet. 



Miller particularly wished specimens of these various 

 species of bush deer, because their mutual relationships 

 have not yet been satisfactorily worked out. This was 

 an old buck. The antlers were single spikes, five or six 

 inches long; they were old and white and would soon 

 have been shed. In the stomach were the remains of 

 both leaves and grasses, but especially the former; the 

 buck was both a browser and grazer. There were also 

 seeds, but no berries or nuts such as I have sometimes 

 found in deers' stomachs. This species, which is abun- 

 dant in this neighborhood, is solitary in its habits, not 

 going in herds. At this time the rut was past, the bucks 

 no longer sought the does, the fawns had not been born, 

 and the yearlings had left their mothers; so that each ani- 

 mal usually went by itself. When chased they were very 

 apt to take to the water. This instinct of taking to the 

 water, by the way, is quite explicable as regards both deer 

 and tapir, for it affords them refuge against their present- 



