THE ELK, OR WATITI. * 275 



plays during the rutting season could be readily overcome, 

 and it would be rendered as docile as a donkey. A friend 

 of mine once owned a pair treated in this manner, and he 

 found that very little training was required to fit them for 

 drawing a carriage. When it came to road driving, he 

 saw that no steeds he met could even keep in sight of his 

 an tiered Pegasuses for any length of time. Their long, 

 trotting gait, which never seems to falter either in measure 

 or speed, makes them the perfection of carriage roadstei's ; 

 but they have this one great drawback, that if they hear 

 the cry of hounds they will bolt immediately, and probably 

 leave carriage and driver behind them. The pair which I 

 refer to were startled suddenly one day, while enjoying 

 their exercise, by the baying of a pack of mongrels, and no 

 sooner did they hear the cry than they jumped over a 

 high bank — carriage, driver, and all — and landed in a deep 

 pool in a river. Making for the land with all possible 

 haste, they soon battered the vehicle into small pieces, 

 while the unfortunate owner had some difficulty in reach- 

 ing shore. By offering a large reward, he recovered his 

 runaways the next day ; and, being a man of determination 

 as well as resources, he concluded to get rid of their pen- 

 chant for bolting at once. With this purpose in view, he 

 put them into a field having very high fences, and kept 

 hounds yelling about it all day long. The elks wei*e at 

 first thoroughly scared; but after running themselves near- 

 ly to death, and finding no means of escape nor any result 

 from their great alarm, they gradually became indifferent, 

 and settled down to feeding. This experiment being re- 

 peated a few times, their idle fears were allayed, and the 

 owner suffered no more mishaps from their impetuosity. 

 How far they could be made useful for carrying light cou- 

 riers I cannot surmise, but the probability is that they 

 would be found unequalled for such purposes in the wood- 

 ed regions of the Far West. 



It does certainly seem a pity that this animal cannot be 

 domesticated, and made into something more useful and 

 permanent than a means of affording the pleasure of shoot- 



