42 Life-histories of Northern Animals 



tlons of the "Great Stag that was of the bigness of a 

 Horse,'* and whose numbers were so great, in the high 

 country, that their trails through the woods were convenient 

 ways of travel. 



Thus Mark Catesby, in 1731, remarks" on "the Stag 

 of America. * * >}; They usually accompany the Buffa- 

 loes, with whom they range in droves in the upper and 

 remote parts of Carolina, where, as well as in our other 

 colonies, they are improperly called Elks. The French in 

 America call this beast the Canada Stag. In New Eng- 

 land it is known by the name of the Gray Moose, to dis- 

 tinguish it from the preceding beast, which they call the 

 Black Moose." 



In 1777 Erxleben recognized the Wapiti as a new animal 

 and gave it the distinctive name of Canadensis. 



In March, 1806, Dr. B. S. Barton published^^ "An 

 account of the Cervus Wapiti or Southern Elk of North 

 America." He remarks: "As the Elk has not to my knowl- 

 edge been described by any systematic writer on Zoology, 

 I have assumed the liberty of giving it a specific name. I 

 have called it Wapiti^ which is the name by which it is 

 known among the Shawnese or Shawnees Indians. * * * 

 This animal is generally known in Pennsylvania and in 

 other parts of the United States by the name of Elk." 

 {Loc. r/>., p. ^j.) 



This is the first use in print of the word "Wapiti," so far 

 as known, and should settle several old disputes as to the origin 

 and application of the name. 



Life-history. 



RANGE Map 4 sets forth sufficiently the range of the various 



forms of Wapiti. It is founded on the records of over three 

 hundred travellers and historians, and compiled with assist- 

 ance from the Biological Survey of the United States De- 



'* Catesby, Nat. Hist. Car., Flor. and Bah. Ids., 11, 1731-43, p. xAuii. 

 "Phila. Med. and Phys. Journal, March, 1806, Art. VII, pp. 36-55. 



