HABIT AND DOMESTICATION. 293 



him, and so he is allowed to struggle till he is fairly exhausted. 

 A man then goes in and throws the noose of a long rope over an 

 antler. Tlie gate is now opened quickly and he is dragged out 

 and the gate closed on the remaining Elk. So soon as this is 

 done the man at the rope snubs it around a post or a tree, while 

 those at the lasso pull away till he is fairly stretched out and is 

 perfectly lielpless, when all is made fast. In this condition two 

 men will stand upon the antler which lies upon the ground, when 

 a cord is attached to the loose hind foot, which is drawn up and 

 tied to the opposite fore foot. The other hind foot is now drawn 

 up by the lasso and securely tied to the other fore foot. A stout 

 halter is now put upon the head ; first one and then the other 

 antler is sawed off just above the burrs. He is then rolled about 

 to see if he can be induced to make another struggle, but never 

 struck or hurt more than is necessarily involved in this unpleas- 

 ant operation. When he has completely submitted to his fate, 

 the open end of the cage is brought up, the fall of the halter 

 passed through it, the head is raised and put into the cage as far 

 as it will go, when the feet are loosened, and as he rises the men 

 at the halter pull him in, and by the time he is fairly on his feet 

 he is completely within his prison. The open end is now closed, 

 the halter tied to the cage, and the job is done. After this treat- 

 ment I have never known oiie to make a struggle, though the 

 cage be tipped and carried about as it must necessarily be in 

 being put into a wagon or car. In short, they are fairly sub- 

 dued, acknowledge their weakness, and resign themselves to what- 

 ever may come. Generally in a few minutes after they are in 

 the cage they will go to eating hay and corn as if nothing had 

 happened. 



Last fall I directed a female Elk to be caught and caged. The 

 men caught her by the hind leg, as described, and when they 

 supposed she was well worried, one went into the yard to throw 

 a noose over her head, when, in a great struggle, the lariat which 

 held the hind foot broke. She made no attempt to run away, 

 but went for the man in a way that left no mistake as to her 

 purpose. He showed unwonted agility in dodging behind the 

 trees, and leaping to the upper rail of the fence, and so escaped. 



The most prominent instinct in the young fawn, is that of de- 

 ception, I have several times come across fawns evidently but 

 a few hours old, left by the mother in supposed security. They 

 affect death to perfection, only they forget to shut their eyes. 

 They lay without a motion, and if you pick them up, they are as 



