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the deer) we went slowly out to meet them as the old man told us the deer did not like to come near the houses where the dogs were. Passing over a moss & lichen covered knoll with various plants filling the interspaces & forming the densest mat of vegetation we had seen in this vicinity we came to a meadow like flat through which ran several small streamlets which keep the vegetation on the meadow bright green and dotted with a few flowers though the latter are few at present. Down through this pretty little valley lying in the heart of the sterile mts - come a herd of about 200 Reindeer their sleek coats glistening in the sunlight. They rambled gently along plucking a mouthful of juicy grasses at intervals or playfully shaking their heads at one another 
Once I saw one rise upon his hind feet & strike at another with both his fore feet. Thus they advanced exactly as so many very tame cows might do until they were directly in front and not over 3 or 4 paces distant and then the young fellows behind came & joined us & the deer began feeding unconcernedly about - I got out my camera & secured 3 plates of the herd. They are beautiful animals their long slender horns, [[strikethrough]] and [[/strikethrough]] gentle eyes and sleek coats of rich dark brown or mottled milky white and brown make a picture strange & rarely handsome. The fawns & all the herd has their horns in velvet though some of them had begun to