lu ^ ? LETTER XIX. 



THE ELK 



Is a nniive both of the old and the new continent, 

 being known in Europe by the name of the elk, and in 

 America by that of the moose deer. It is the largest 

 of all the deer kind, and according to some accounts,, 

 exceeds in size every other quadruped* The latter 

 assertion, however, seems to be of doubtful authority ; 

 for naturalists vary considerably in their descriptions 

 of this animal ; and while some affirm that it grows 

 to the height of twelve feet, others describe it as not 

 much exceeding the size of the horse. When so much 

 disagreement is found, either in description or narra- 

 tive, the degree of credibility remains problematical. 

 Those who speak of the enormous moose deer, say 

 that their horns are six feet long, and above ten feet 

 asunder at the top ; and from a variety of these horns, 

 preserved in the cabinets of the curious, there- is every 

 reason to conclude, that the animal to which they be- 

 longed must have been of an enormous size and great 

 strength. Those also, who have traversed and de- 

 scribed the interior of North- America, assert, that in 

 certain places both horns and bones have been found 

 of a size so enormous, as to. shew that they have be- 

 longed to animal of a larger species than any now 

 known, and which is supposed to be at this time, 

 through some unknown cause, extinct. The European 

 elk, however, generally grows to the height only of. 

 seven or eight feet, and the length of ten feet from 

 the muzzle to the rump. Its colour is mostly a hoaiy 

 brown, and its hair long and coarse, like that of the 

 bear. The horns are very large and spreading. Its 

 pace is a kind of high trot, shambling and inelegant, 

 but it runs with great swiftness. In passing through 

 woods, it carries its horns horizontally, in order to pre- 

 sent them from being entangled among the branches. 

 In Canada they have two different methods of hunt- 

 ing the elk, which are equally curious. The first is 

 this: before the lakes are frozen, a number of the in- 

 habitants assemble in canoes, and form a vast cres* 

 cent on the tva.ter, each end reaching the shore, while 

 a party on the laud surround an extensive tract. 



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