VIRGINtAN DEER, 65 
c>f deer is not so well haunched nor so active as 
the English ; neither is the venison by any means 
so good. In summer they feed on the grass which 
the savannas afford, and during the winter on the 
lichen which hangs from the trees, They are very 
fond of salt, and generally leave the marks of their 
tongues wherever the earth is impregnated with it. 
Great numbers of them may be seen assembled 
about these Saline spots, which have been named 
licking-places by the hunters, who are sure of finding 
the deer there : indeed, they are so much pleased 
with the relish, that although they are often driven 
away they will return to the spots again. 
Mr. Pennant has collected some interesting par- 
ticulars respecting the singularities observed by the 
hunters in the chase of these animals. He ob- 
serves that the deer are of the utmost importance 
to the savages, and says that as far back as 17b4^ 
25,027 skins were imported from New York and 
Pennsylvania. The skins, in fact, form the greatest 
branch of their traffic, by which they procure from 
the colonists, by way of exchange, many of the ar- 
ticles of life. When cut into small pieces, and 
dried by a gentle fire, it is said to form their prin- 
cipal food ; and as it is very portable, and will keep 
for a great length of time,* it is particularly calculated 
for a people whose pursuits oblige them to be almost 
constantly from home. 
Hunting is more than an amusement to the sa- 
vages, They give themselves up to it not only 
VOL. I, r 
v 
