CHAPTER IV. 



WAPITI HUNTING. 



OVER two centuries ago, when white men first penetrated the 

 continent of North America, they found a magnificent deer, akin to, 

 yet far larger and finer than the Scotch! red deer. To this animal 

 they erroneously gave the name of elk, by which it is still often called. 

 The proper name is wapiti, for the word elk applies to the large deer 

 with palmated horns of Scandinavia. 



In certain areas of North America, wapiti swarmed in countless 

 thousands, but in time the ruthless, destroying hand of the white 

 settler well nigh swept them out of existence. 



For a long time it was supposed that deer belonging to this 

 type were only to be found in this continent, excepting of course 

 the red deer in Europe, but within the last few decades Europeans, 

 who have succeeded in reaching the vast almost uninhabited wilds 

 of Central Asia have discovered deer, almost as fine, and every whit as 

 sporting as the American animals, in the Thian Shan, Siberian and 

 Manchurian wapitis. 



In still more recent times several species of wapiti have been dis- 

 covered within the confines of the Middle Kingdom, and to-day those 

 who can afford the time may stalk this lordly deer in his native haunts 

 in Kansu, Szechuan and North 1 Shansi. 



Much discussion has taken place as to the status of the different 

 Asiatic species hitherto described, but it is now almost universally 

 agreed that there are at least thfe following ten distinct species: 

 The Kashmir Stag, (Cervus hanglu or cashmirianus) from Kashmir. 

 The Bactrian Wapiti (Cervus bactrianus) from Turkestan. 

 The Yarkand stag (Cervus yarcandensis) from Eastern Turkestan., 

 The Sh-ou (Cervus affinis) from South Thibet and North Eastern India. 

 Thorold's Deer (Cervus albirostris) from Thibet, North' of Lhassa. 

 The Siberian Wapiti (Cervus asiasticus) from Siberia. 

 The Thian Shan Wapiti (Cervus songaricus) from the Thian Shan. 

 The Kansu Wapiti (Cerv\us Ttansuensis) from Kansu. 

 The Szechuan Wapiti (Cervus macneilli) from North-western Sze- 

 chuan. 

 The Manchurian Wapiti (Cervus xanthopygus) from Manchuria. 



