THE ELK. — FORM AND SIZE. 81 



• 



for them to flee to, where they will not hear the report of the 

 hunter's, or the miner's, or the herdsman's rifle. They are now 

 sometimes met with not far west of the Missouri River in secluded 

 places, along the borders of the streams, coming down from the 

 far off mountains, as well as along the broken foot-hills of the 

 Rocky Mountains ; and high up, on the niain ranges, the Elk ai'e 

 still to be found, sometimes singly, and sometimes in considerable 

 bands. In 1870, Dr. Hayden's party killed one, on the head- 

 waters of the east fork of the Yellowstone, at an altitude of 

 more than ten thousand feet above the sea. They will no doubt 

 continue to maintain themselves in the more secluded parts of 

 the country, where this, among the noblest of our game animals, 

 will occasionally reward the hardy hunter, who shall with great 

 energy and toil seek him in his retreat. 



They have been observed quite lately on the Lower Yellow- 

 stone River in greater numbers than in any other place of which 

 I have any account. Lieut. L. B. Carpenter, U. S. A., informs 

 me that he has seen them there in immense droves containing 

 perhaps thousands. I have never heard of so large congregations 

 of the Wapiti in any other place at any time. 



FORM AND SIZE. 



In size the Elk is only less than the moose, but in this regard 

 they vary very much, when adult, as well as in form. The 

 southern Elk attain the largest size, which is exceptional among 

 the deer. The first male Elk I ever had was sent me from the 

 south, and he was the largest I ever owned. When he arrived, 

 he was three years old and weighed six hundred and fifty 

 pounds after having been four days on steamboat and cars. In 

 September, after he was five years old, some reckless or vicious 

 person shot and broke one of his hind legs, when I was obliged 

 to kill him. He was very fat, and the butcher who dressed him, 

 estimated that he would weigh nine hundred pounds live weight. 

 He stood over sixteen hands high, at the withers. As the Elk 

 grows till he is eight or nine years old, had the Elk we are writ- 

 ing about lived his full age I think he would have attained to 

 the weight of ten or eleven hundred pounds. I shall always re- 

 gret the loss of such an opportunity to ascertain, approximately, 

 the greatest weight which the Elk will attain. I have had does 

 that would not weigh over three hundred and fifty pounds at full 

 maturity', and were scarcely more than three and a half feet 



