WESTERN WILD SPORTS. 
173 
Professor Emmons observes, * It is only a few years since this 
animal appeared in the northern parts of Vermont and New 
Hampshire, from which it is not unreasonable to infer, that in 
earlier times it may have passed still farther south.’ Its grega¬ 
rious habits, and unsuspicious character, would seem to ensure 
its speedy destruction, when placed within the range of man.”— 
DeKay's Natural History of New- York. 
THE AMERICAN DEER. 
CERVUS VIRGINIANUS. 
Hama Virginiana; Ray , JLyn. Quad. p. 86. Cervus Virginia 
anus; Harlan , Fauna Amer. p. 239 ; Godman , Am. Nat. 
Hist. vol. ii., p. 306. Mazama Id; Hamilton Smithy Griffith's 
Cuv. vol. iv., p. 127, and vol. v. p. 315. Cervus (Mazama) 
Mexicanus et Claratus; Hamilton Smithy ih., p. 315. Fallow 
Deer; Emmons , Mass. Reports , 1840, p. 81. 
“ Characteristics. —Reddish or bluish gray, according to the 
season. Young, spotted with white; horns moderate, curving 
forward, with the concave part in front, with from one to six 
points, occasionally palmated. 
"Description .—Head long and slender; muzzle pointed ; eyes 
large and lustrous, the lachrymal pits consisting of a slight fold 
of the skin ; tail moderate, depressed ; legs slender; a glandu¬ 
lar pouch concealed by a thick tuft of rigid hairs inside of the 
hind legs, odoriferous, and connected with the sexular appetite. 
The horns of the adult male vary so much in’ shape, that 
scarcely any two are alike, appearing to depend upon age, sea¬ 
son, and abundance or scarcity of food. In the first season they 
are simple, cylindrical, and pointed, and in this state they are 
known as Spike Bucks; in the following season they have a 
short straight antler, and the number increases until the fourth 
season, when the following is the most usual condition of the 
