122 pioneeb life; or, 



among them. It possesses strength and speed supe- 

 rior to any other cloven-footed animal, while for food 

 or milk they are equally valuable. Their growth 

 is very rapid, and they are easily kept in good, 

 condition. Indeed, all the qualities which render 

 the reindeer so indispensable to the inhabitants of- 

 Lapland, are possessed by the elk. When domes- 

 ticated, they become greatly attached to the locality 

 in which they were reared, and the animals with 

 which they have associated. A doe which had been 

 reared by our family with a cow, was taken twenty 

 four miles from home to stay with another tame elk. 

 After staying there a month, the fence being left* 

 down it escaped and started for home, leaving an » 

 animal of its own species for those with which it had 

 been accustomed to associate. It was -ten days in 

 coming home, stopping in every corn-field until 

 driven out by the dogs. The men seeing it was a tame 

 one did not molest it, and it arrived home in safety 

 When it met the cow which was its foster-mother, 

 it manifested the greatest joy, and ever after kept 

 near her, jealously driving away any other animal 

 that approached. 



When the first snow of winter comes, the elk 

 paws it away and feeds upon the grass and .herbage 

 under it. When the snow becomes deep and crusted 

 so that they cannot get at the grass, they browse 

 upon a small tree called elk-wood. This tree or . 

 shrub never grows more than five inches in diameter, 

 and generally not as large. It has a scraggy topi 

 and is easily reached and pulled down by the elk. 



