THE WAPITI. 157 



With the Canadian Stag of some authors, it has 

 been confused, sometimes identified, and sometimes 

 made distinct, but the researches of Baron Cuvier 

 and of Hamilton Smith have proved to their own 

 satisfaction that they are identical ; and in our pre- 

 sent state of knowledge, we can only use those au 

 thorities which have most studied the subject, ani 

 who have had the greatest opportunities of observa- 

 tion. Major Smith considers them as varieties re- 

 sulting from circumstances, the Canadian animal 

 living in deep forests and rocky mountains, the Wa- 

 piti on the savannahs of the interior. It was also 

 confused with the European Stag, but either variety 

 is much larger. 



A specimen in the Parisian Menagerie in perfect 

 health, and about four years old, bore the following 

 dimensions and colours at the commencement of 

 autumn. The height at the shoulders is four feet 

 and a half. The upper parts and lower jaw are of 

 a pretty lively yellowish-brown, and a black mark 

 extends from the angle of the mouth along the side 

 of the lower jaw; around the eyes a circle of brown. 

 The neck is of a deeper tint than the sides of the 

 body ; it is mixed with reddish, and has coarse 

 black hairs depending from it in the form of a dew- 

 lap. The hips are a clear French grey ; the tail is 

 yellowish, and scarcely two inches and a half long: 

 The hair is of mean length on the shoulders, back, 

 flanks, thighs, and under part of the head ; the sides 

 and limbs are clothed with shorter hairs, but they 



