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 very 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 rhoment, 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 
