WESTERN WILD SPORTS. 165 



any such apparatus or oil. Until better proof be given than has 

 yet been offered, we shall feel willing to rank the stories among 

 the ' conjectures which have been too ofcen resorted to when 

 there was a scarcity or difficulty of obtaining facts.' 



" We have already adverted to the warlike disposition of the 

 Elk during a particular season, but it may not be amiss to add, 

 that at all times, this animal appears to be more ready to attack 

 with his horns than any other species of Deer we have examined. 

 When at bay, and especially if slightly wounded, he fights, with 

 great eageraess, as if resolved to be avenged. The following 

 instance from Long's Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, will 

 in some degree illustrate this statement. 



"A herd of twenty or thirty Elk were seen at no great dis- 

 tance from the party, standing in the water, or lying upon the 

 sand beach. One of the finest bucks was singled out by a hunter, 

 who fired upon him ; whereupon, the whole herd plunged into 

 the thicket and disappeared. Relying upon the skill of the 

 hunter, and confident that his shot was fatal, several of the party 

 dismounted and pursued the Elk into the woods, where the 

 wounded buck was soon overtaken. Finding his pursuers close 

 upon him, the Elk turned furious upon the foremost, who only 

 saved himself by springing into a thicket which was impassable 

 to the Elk, whose enormous antlers becoming so entangled in 

 the vines as to be covered to their tips, he was held fast and 

 blindfolded, and was despatched by repeated bullets and stabs." 

 — Godman's American Natural History. 



