CHAPTER XVI. 



THE GREAT IRISH DEER AND STELLEr's SEA-COW. 



" And, above all others, we should protect and hold sacred those types, 

 Nature's masterpieces, which are first singled out for destruction on account 

 of their size, or splendour, or rarity, and that false detestable glory which is 

 accorded to their most successful slayers. In ancient times the spirit of life 

 shone brightest in these ; and when others that shared the earth with them 

 were taken by death they were left, being more worthy of perpetuation. Like 

 immortal flowers they have drifted down to us on the ocean of time, and their 

 strangeness and beauty bring to our imaginations a dream and a picture of 

 that unknown world, immeasurably far removed, where man was not : and 

 when they perish, something of the gladness goes out of nature, and the 

 sunshine loses something of its brightness." — W. H. Hudson, in The 

 Naturalist in La Plata. 



Among the extinct animals of prehistoric times the " Great 

 Irish Elk," ^ as it is generally called, deserves special notice, both 

 from the enormous size of its antlers, and from the fact that its 

 remains are exceedingly plentiful in Ireland. 



This magnificent creature, so well depicted by our artist 

 (Plate XXV.), was, however, by no means confined to Ireland; 

 its remains are found in many parts of Great Britain, particularly 

 in cave deposits, and also on the Continent. Some writers think 

 that it was contemporary with men in Ireland ; it may have been 

 so, but at present the question cannot be considered as proved. 

 Mr. R. J. Ussher, who found its remains in a cave near Cappagh, 

 Cappoquin, thinks he has obtained evidence to show that it was 



' The term "Elk" is misleading, for it is not an elk (a/a-j) at all, but a 

 true Cervus (stag). It should be called " the Great Irish Deer." 



