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spotted with white only. Occasionally, however, a deer is killed whose 

 coat is almost entirely white, and such specimens are prized highly by the 

 fortunate hunters who secure them, and are almost invariably mounted. 

 During the past season several reports have been received of the killing of 

 white deer. 



John Soper, of Malone, killed a yearling buck weighing ninety pounds 

 near Ragged Mountain that was all white except a few brown spots on the 

 head and back. This specimen was peculiar in that its under jaw was 

 fully an inch shorter than the upper, and its feet were as large as those of an 

 old deer, showing it to be a freak in other respects as well as in color. It 

 had no antlers. It was mounted for the Junction Hotel at Malone. 



E. C. Manzer, of Warrensburg, killed a buck near West Stony Creek 

 which had a white coat containing a few brown and black spots. It had a 

 good set of antlers, and was remarkable for its short legs, short neck and 

 stubby nose, which resembled that of a sheep. It weighed 225 pounds. 

 This animal had been seen for some time in the Harrisburg country, and 

 bore the marks of rifle bullets. It was also mounted for exhibition. 



A §lac^ Deer 



Earlv in December Chief Protector John B. Burnham was advised that 

 several reliable men had seen a black deer in the northern part of Essex 

 county. One of his informants was Supervisor J. D. Richards, of Lewis, 

 and others were Augustus Goff and Augustus Cross, of Lewis, Charles Gay, 

 of Reber, and Arthur Edwards, of Clintonville. The animal was seen at 

 various times during the hunting season in the years 1903, 1904 and 1905. 

 In the country around Mount Fay and Sugar Loaf Mountain, in the north 

 part of the town of Lewis and the west part of the town of Wilsboro, the 

 hunters stated that the deer was of a jet black color, and that all efforts to 

 capture it had failed. Prof. C. Hart Merriam, Chief of the Biological Sur- 

 vey, when asked about the matter, wrote: " I do not remember any refer- 

 ence in the books to a black deer. At the same time melanism is common 

 among mammals, and black individuals are likely to crop out now and then 

 in any species." Col. W. F. Fox, the Superintendent of Forests, is of the 

 opinion that the " black deer " may have been an elk, and says that the cow 



