Hunting the Savannah Deer. 
43 
105. In the course of the forenoon we climbed the bleak top of 
Kuipaiti, which we had already seen from Tenette. Kuipaiti appears to 
be the collective term for all hills constilu'.ing blocks of ranges covered 
with but scanty vegetation, because we met this name in connection with 
a large number of other mountains. The base of the hill consisted of 
granite and gneiss : a more than l,UUy ft. long stone mound about 5U to 
60 feet in height stretclied away from Its southwesterly slope. The view 
from tlie top which belonged to a more recent formation was delightful 
and much more extensive than that from Tenette. The summit might 
be about 500 ft. above the savannah. The Mountains of the Moon, the 
Kai-irite of the Wa])isianas, towered up towards the South-West, while 
the distant Cauuku Range stretched like a dark band along the northern 
liorizon that was here and there torn by dark masses of cloud apparently 
resting on its back, while the Takutu, hemmed in with green bushes and 
giant trees meandered in thousands of bends through the savannah to our 
feet and received the waters of the Curati in the South West. After a 
short absence the hunters who had been sent out returned to camp at the 
same time as we did: they were heavily laden, seven lovely deer being 
the magnificent result of their efforts*. All hands were now busily 
occupied. Boucans for smoking •w'ere set up over there, the deer were 
disembowelled and cut up over here: and within scarcely an hour and 
a half a portion of the booty, tliat only shortly before was S]iort(ing in 
the grass, had been already devoured. The entrails, but particularly the 
paunch, seemed a great tit-bit to the Indians, for they always ate tliese 
portions first. Tlie women were certainly not too very particular al)0ut 
cleaning them, and their request for us to join them as guests fell u])on 
deaf ears, particularly as we wei'e not without meat when tliey were 
enjoying their favourite düsli. The Makusis call the savannah deer 
Walking, the Colonists Begu. To all appearances it forms tlie connecting 
link as it were between two species. It is constantly found alone, very 
rarely in company and then always only from tliree to at most five 
individuals together on the savannah. The female must throw her young 
in INIarch or April because we found amongst our lot four specimens 
very advanced in pregnancy: l)ut as I have killed deer in a similar con- 
dition during September or October, they must either throw twice a yeai', 
or else they are not usually limited to any fixed breeding season. Tlie 
deer is never present in the forests. As the savannah has but little, or 
hardly any, scrub along which the hunter can sneak onto the deer, it is 
extremely interesting to watch him' on the chase. As soon as the ci'ea- 
ture is noticed and bends down to graze, he is on tlie move, creeps 
for-ward like a cat, keeping tlie animal continually in view, liowever, 
and instantly remains as immovable as a statue when it raises its 
head again. Xotliirig can tire his patience in approaching to witliin 
arrow or gunsliot by this means, even should two or tliree liours l)e 
necessary for the purpose, and when about 100 paces close to tlie 
inoffensive creature, the call of tlie buck is imitated l)y him in the 
cleverest manner. The deer is all attention, pi'icks up its ears, 
stamps it>s forefeet and, whother or not owing to some deficiency in 
keenness of sight or scent, it at any rate comn^ences circling round the 
