88 THE POLAR WORLD. 



upon trees, or ascends even ahnost perpendicular rock-walls, where it also seeks 

 a refuge when pursued. 



When it perceives a herd of reindeer browsing near a wood or a precipice, 

 it generally lies in wait upon a branch or some high cliff, and springs down 

 ui)Ou the first animal that comes Avithin its reach. Sometimes also it steals 

 unawares u|)on its prey, and suddenly bounding uj)on its back, kills it by a sin- 

 jrle bite in the neck. Many fables worthy of Munchausen have been told about its 

 voracity ; for instance, that it is able to devour two reindeer at one meal, and 

 tli;it, wlu'ii its stomach is exorbitantly distended with food, it will press itself 

 between two trees or stones to make room for a new repast. It will, indeed, 

 kill in one night six or eight reindeer, but it contents itself with sucking their 

 blood, as the weasel does with fowls, and eats no more at one meal than any 

 other carnivorous animal of its own size. 



Besides the attacks of its mightier enemies, the reindeer is subject to the 

 persecutions of two species of gadfly, which torment it exceedingly. The 

 one {G^stras tarctndi), called Hurbma by the Laplanders, deposits its glutinous 

 eggs upon the animal's back. The lar\a?, on creeping out, immediately bore 

 themselves into the skin, Avhere by their motion and suction they cause so 

 many small swellings or boils, which gradually grow to the size of an inch or 

 nrore in diameter, with an opening at the top of each, through which the larvae 

 may bd seen imbedded in a purulent fluid. Frequently the whole back of the 

 animal is covered with these boils, which, by draining its fluids, produce ema. 

 elation and disease. As if aware of this danger, the reindeer runs wild and fu- 

 rious as soon as it hears the buzzing of the fly, and seeks a refuge in the nearest 

 Avater. The other species of gad-fly ( (Estriis nasalis) lays its eggs in the nostrils 

 of the reindtxir ; and the larva?, boring themselves into the fauces and beneatli the 

 tongue of the poor animal, are a great source of annoyance, as is shown by its 

 frequent sniffling and shaking of the head. 



A pestilential disorder like the rinderpest will sometimes sweep aAvay whole 

 herds. Thus in a icvf weeks a rich Laplander or Samojede may bo reduced to 

 poverty, and the proud possessor of several thousands of reindeer be compel- 

 led to seek the precarious livelihood of the northern fisherman. 



The elk or moose-deer (Cervus alces) is another member of the cervine race 

 peculiar to the forests of the north. In size it is far superior to the stag, but it 

 can not boast of an elegant shape, the head being disproportionately large, the 

 neck short and thick, and its immense horns, which sometimes weigh near fifty 

 pounds, each dilating almost immediately from the base into a broad palmated 

 form; wliile its long legs, high shoulders, and heavy upper lip hanging very 

 much over the lower, give it an nncoutli appearance. The color of the elk is a 

 dark grayish-brown, but much jtalcr on the legs and beneath the tail. 



We owe the first descripti-^n of this gigantic deer to Julius Ca-sar, in whose 

 time it was still a common inhabitant of the German forests. But the conquer- 

 or of Gaul can hardly have seen it himself, or he would not have ascribed to it 

 a single horn, placed in the middle of the forehead, or said that both sexes are 

 pei-fectly alike, for the female is smaller and lias no antlers. At present the 

 elk is wtill found in the swam[(y forests of East Prussia, Lithuania, and Po- 



II 



