CHAPTEE 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 recommended for buffalo hunting will have the 

 advantage of enjoying both descriptions of sport. 



I do not consider this noble game swift when you 

 compare 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 the system, so as to prevent the 

 victim wandering off to die a lingering death, and 

 ultimately become food for the carnivorse. The habit 

 that sportsmen of the United States have of using small- 

 bore arms when in pursuit of large game is much to be 

 deprecated, for the result is, that a great number of 



