218 THE PRESENT AND FUTURE 



the slightest excuse for shooting it, save as a specimen of 

 natural history. Like the antelope, it is so valuable as a 

 natural curiosity that it deserves to be taken out of the ranks 

 of animals that are regularly pursued as game. 



The Elk. — The story of the progressive extermination of 

 the American elk, or wapiti, covers practically the same ter- 

 ritory as the tragedy of the American bison — one-third of 

 the mainland of North America. The former range of the 

 elk covered absolutely the garden ground of our continent, 

 omitting the arid region. Its boundary extended from central 

 Massachusetts to northern Georgia, southern Illinois, northern 

 Texas and central New Mexico, central Arizona, the whole 

 Rocky Mountain region up to the Peace River, and Mani- 

 toba. It skipped the arid country west of the Rockies, but 

 it embraced practically the whole Pacific slope from central 

 California to the north end of Vancouver Island. 



The extermination of the wapiti began with the settle- 

 ment of the American colonies. Naturally, the largest animals 

 were the ones most eagerly sought by the meat-hungry pio- 

 neers, and the elk and bison were the first game species to 

 disappear. The colonists believed in the survival of the 

 fittest, and we are glad that they did. The one thing that a 

 hungry pioneer cannot withstand is — temptation — in a form 

 that embraces five hundred pounds of succulent flesh. And 

 let it not be supposed that in the eastern states there were 

 only a few elk. The Pennsylvania salt licks were crowded 

 with them, and the early writers describe them as existing in 

 "immense bands" and "great numbers." 



Of course it is impossible for wild animals of great size to 



