Wapiti or Elk 05 



went forth afoot, when the woods were astir with Wapiti. 

 After seeing a large bull scatter a band of small ones he saw 

 a second prime fellow come bugling into the lists, and once 

 they had clashed together Baillie-Grohman came up within 

 thirty yards, knowing, says he, from former experience, that 

 "probably I might have walked close to the stags without 

 interrupting the tussle; but I was afraid that one or the other, 

 or both, might turn against me, as I knew our European Red- 

 deer do during the rutting season, and an Express [rifle] is 

 but a poor weapon at night time. So I kept at a respectful 

 distance, some twenty or thirty yards from cover, and from 

 there I watched the fight for quite half an hour. For several 

 minutes at a time the antlers appeared inextricably locked 

 together, and as one of the stags seemed the stronger, though 

 not the more agile of the two, superior weight would in those 

 moments enable the heavier animal to fling his adversary from 

 side to side, without, however, being able to free his own horns 

 wherewith to do grievous injury to his foe. Before long, one 

 was on his knees, pressed down, apparently by main force; 

 then the other, staggering back, would for a brief moment halt 

 before rushing with deadly intent at his adversary; but by the 

 time he had regained his breath and was ready for the on- 

 slaught the foe was on his legs again and antler crashed against 

 antler with a force that seemed irresistible. The heavier of the 

 two stags appeared to be well aware of the one advantage his 

 superiority in weight gave him, for the tactics just described 

 were repeatedly tried by him, only to be foiled by his agile ad- 

 versary, who invariably managed to regain his feet and receive 

 the charge with lowered head and antlers en garde. The com- 

 batants had moved about the meadow, much as expert boxers 

 would, though after a quarter of an hour's fighting weight had 

 told its tale, and the smaller stag had to retreat more frequently 

 than ever, and the adversaries were fast approaching the edge 

 of the forest at the latter's back. Here a last stand was made 

 by the defeated one, and a ten-minutes' tussle ended by bring- 

 ing both onto their knees; and here, too, the repulsed one 

 received his death wound, though I failed to see exactly how it 



