HUNTING THE ELK. 367 



THE WAPITI. 



manh<?r 01 a ruff or beard The body of the elk is beautifully 

 formed, and the limbs slender, yet strong. The han is of a blue- 

 ish-gray color in autumn ; during winter it continues of a dark 

 gray, and at the approach of spring it assumes a reddish or bright 

 brown color, which is permanent throughout the summer. The 

 croup is of a pale yellowish-white. There is no perceptible differ- 

 ence of color between the male and female. The latter, however, 

 does not participate in the " branching honors' 1 '' of the male. 

 Almost all who have written upon the elk, have remarked the 

 peculiar apparatus situated beneath the eye at the internal angle. 

 It is a slit below the inner angle of each eye, lined with a naked 

 membrane, which secretes an unctuous matter. Hunters assure 

 us that the elk possesses the power, by strictly closing the nostrils, 

 of forcing the air through these apertures in such a manner as to 

 make a noise which may be heard at a considerable distance. 



Elk are still occasionally found in the remote and thinly settled 

 parts of Pennsylvania, but the number is small; it is only in the 

 western wilds that they are seen in considerable he r ds. The? 



