spotted stag is the perfection of elegance, color, strength,
courage and speed. He has a proud and thorough-bred way of carrying
his head, which is set upon his neck with a peculiar grace. Nothing
can surpass the beauty of his full black eye. His hide is as sleek as
satin--a rich brown, slightly tinged with red, and spotted as though
mottled with flakes of snow. His weight is about two hundred and fifty
pounds (alive).

It is a difficult thing to judge of a deer's weight with any great
accuracy; but I do not think I am far out in my estimation of the
average, as I once tried the experiment by weighing a dead elk. I had
always considered that a mountain elk, which is smaller than those of
the low country, weighed about four hundred pounds when cleaned, or
five hundred and fifty pounds live weight. I happened one day to kill
an average-sized buck, though with very small horns, close to the road;
so, having cleaned him, I sent a cart for his carcase on my return
home. This elk I weighed whole, minus his inside, and he was four
hundred and eleven pounds. Many hours had elapsed since his death, so
that the carcase must have lost much weight by drying; this, with the
loss of blood and offal, must have been at least one hundred and fifty
pounds, which would have made his live weight five hundred and
sixty-one pounds.

Of the five different species of deer in Ceylon, the spotted deer is
alone seen upon the plains. No climate can be too hot for his exotic
constitution, and he is never found at a higher elevation than three
thousand feet. In the low country, when the midday sun has driven
every other beast to the shelter of the densest jungles, the sultan of
the herd and his lovely mates are sometimes contented with the shade of
an isolated tree or the simple border of the jungle, where they
drowsily pass the day, flipping their long ears in listless idleness
until the hotter hours have passed away. At about four in the
afternoon they stroll upon the open plains, bucks, does and fawns, in
beautiful herds; when undisturbed, as many as a hundred together. This
is the only species of deer in Ceylon that is gregarious.

Neither the spotted deer, nor the bear or buffalo, is to be found at
Newera Ellia. The axis and the buffalo being the usual denizens of the
hottest countries, are not to be expected to exist in their natural
state in so low a temperature; but it is extraordinary that the bear,
who in most countries inh