Southern (American) Elk. 47 



one*. The hunters call the young Elk, the " calf," 

 as they call the mother, the " cow." 



The Elk has a strong smell, insomuch that some 

 of the hunters pretend, that they know, from the smell, 

 when they enter those districts of country which are 

 inhabited by this animal. The Indians say, this 

 odoriferous perspiration is offensive to the common 

 deer, and that, therefore, the two animals are seldom 

 numerous in the same neighbourhood. It is more 

 probable, I think, that the Elk, by his superior force, 

 compels the deer to keep at a distance from him. 

 Certain it is, that the two species show no peculiar 

 attachment to each other. I believe it is true, as 

 Lawson has asserted, that they never couple with 

 each otherf. 



The Elk is a very timid and retiring animal. His 

 favourite abodes are the thickest forests, and savannas 

 abounding in grasses. In both these situations, he is 

 often seen in company with the buffalo, and sometimes 

 with the carrabou and moose. He seems to delight 

 in the society of the first of these animals. He is fond 

 of wallowing in the mud, like the hog. He is an 

 animal of great fieetness. His gait is a trot, and when 



* Dr. Smith was informed, that the female, " generally brings 

 forth twins ;" and that « it seldom happens but that one is male, 

 and the other female." Medical Repository, p. 172. 



t A New Voyage, &c, p. 123. Speaking of the elk, Lawson 

 says: " Some take him for the red deer of America; but he is 

 not ; for, if brought and kept in company with one of that sort, of 

 the contrary sex, he will never couple." 



