The Wapiti, or Round-horned Elk 



ordinarily called the elk are closely re- 

 lated to the Old-World representatives of 

 their kind ; but the moose is a little larger 

 and the wapiti very much larger than 

 any of their European or Asiatic kins- 

 folk. In particular, the elk, or wapiti, 

 is the stateliest of all deer, and the most 

 beautiful of American game beasts. 



It is a pity we cannot always call the 

 wapiti by its right name, but the hunters 

 and settlers never know him as anything 

 but the elk, and I fear it would be 

 pedantry to try to establish his rightful 

 title. In former days the elk ranged to 

 tide-water on the Atlantic coast. A few 

 lingered in Pennsylvania until 1869, a 

 throughout the middle of the century, 

 they were abundant on the great plains. 

 In 1888 I shot one on the Little Missouri, 

 however. In many parts of the Rocky 

 Mountains and of the Coast Range the 

 species is still as abundant as ever, and 



