THE WAPITI. 



RED DEER FIGHTING. 



It is towards the end of August or the beginning of September that the well-nourished Stags, 

 having already cleared their antlers of their " velvet," leave their retirement, and with swollen necks 

 as well as restless mien, seek out the hinds. During the rutting season, which lasts about three 

 weeks, they eat but little, 

 and lose weight rapidly, 

 to be regained in the 

 subsequent repose upon 

 the summer - developed 

 foliage. In the southern 

 counties of Great Britain 

 the hunting of the Stag 

 has degenerated into 

 the repeated chase of a 

 few individuals, de- 

 prived of their antlers, 

 and let out of boxes 

 shortly before the sports- 

 men put in an appear- 

 ance; whilst long-ranged 

 rifles have reduced the 

 difficulties of what not 

 many years ago more 

 especially in Scotland 

 was a form of sport 

 which very severely taxed the physical capacities of the most determined and courageous. 



The WAPITI, the PERSIAN, the CASHMERIAN, and the BARBARY DEER resemble the Red 

 Deer in almost every detail except size, the first and second being considerably larger. Their antlers 

 all branch in the same manner, except that the proportionate sizes of some of the snags are apt 

 to vary. Superb heads of Wapiti are numerous in Great Britain, with their brown beams and white 

 burnished tips. 



The Wapiti is kept in confinement without difficulty, although in autumn the stags become 

 savage. Its home is the woodlands and the mountains of North America, where it is generally 

 incorrectly called the " Elk." Stalking the species is a common sport, but there is not so much 

 interest associated with it as with Moose-stalking, because it is a more stupid creature, and its 

 senses are less acutely developed. When started, a herd will make off for a short distance, and 

 stop to recognise the source of danger before continuing its flight. Its food is mostly leaves of 

 trees and shrubs, though it frequently eats grass and weeds. Dr. J. D. Caton, of Ottawa, Illinois, 

 who has had much experience in the preserving of American Deer, has published many interesting 

 details with regard to this species. Among others he mentions, with reference to the young, that 

 " the most prominent instinct of the young fawn is that of deception. I have several times come 

 across fawns evidently but a few hours old, left by the mother in supposed security. They affect 

 death to perfection, only they forget to shut their eyes. They lie without a motion, and if you pick 

 them vip they are as limp as a wet rag, the head and limbs hanging down without the least muscular 

 action, the bright eye fairly sparkling all the time." The venison is excellent ; it is said to be more 

 nutritious than any other meat. 



The Persian Deer, or Maral, differs from the Cashmerian Deer but little. Its head, however, is 

 longer and more pointed. 



The Cashmerian Deer, or Barasingha, again, is hardly distinguishable from the Wapiti. Pro- 

 fessor Leith Adams remarks, with reference to it, that " the Cashmere forests seem the head-quarters 

 of this species on the western ranges, for it is seldom, if ever, met with between Mussouree and the 

 Vale of Cashmere. The dense forests and fertile valleys of the latter country are particularly inviting 

 to this species. In habits and general appearance the Cashmere Stag bears a striking resemblance 

 to the Red Deer. Although it is seldom, nowadays, that individuals of the latter species escape 



