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CHAPTER VI. 



WAPITTI DEER. 



WHAT I have said in reference to the habitat of the bison 

 may be repeated as regards the wapitti, with this exception, 

 that it does not roam so far north by some degrees of 

 latitude. Thus the visitor to the district I have recom- 

 mended for buffalo-hunting will have the advantage of 

 enjoying both descriptions of sport. 



I do not consider this noble game swift when you com- 

 pare it with the other species of the deer family. From 

 this I am led to believe the statement of a well-known 

 sportsman, who holds a commission in the United States 

 regular service, that he and his brother officers have 

 frequently ridden them down. Such sport must be 

 eminently exciting, if the ground be good that you gallop 

 over to attain such results. In such a chase, a heavy 

 pistol or short carbine would be the weapon I should 

 prefer. 



For stalking the wapitti, the rifle, and that of heavy 

 calibre, ought to be employed, for so large and powerful 

 an animal requires no ordinary shock to effectually paralyse 



