WAPITTI DEER. 97 



er's courage and endurance ; but if Caledonia's rocky glens 

 and heath-covered mountains boast of possessing such a 

 hero, the far-distant plains and central plateaus of Amer- 

 ica have a right to glory, for they feed and shelter a nobler 

 quarry, if size and power constitute such. The New Land 

 surpasses us in the magnitude of its rivers, mountains, 

 water-falls, and trees; in her animal creation, also, she is 

 ahead. Facts are facts ; and when such is the case, the 

 Britishers should surrender with a good grace ; for to con- 

 tradict, even evince skepticism, would only prove our igno- 

 rance. 



But a thought arises in my mind, Will the Western 

 World long possess those representatives of animal life of 

 which she has a just right to be proud? I say no, if the 

 work of destruction continues as now; for every border 

 ruffian, every squatter, is allowed to slaughter at his will, 

 and at all seasons, creatures the possession of which any 

 laud has a right to be proud. 



To the old mountaineers and Indian traders this animal 

 was known by one appellation, and that an erroneous one ; 

 and so constant has become its use, that even among the 

 educated classes this misnomer will be heard; thus the 

 Wapitti is invariably denominated an elk, the proper name 

 for a moose ; so that the sportsman desirous of devoting 

 his time to the pursuit of Wapitti deer, in seeking infor- 

 mation where they are to be found, had better inquire, for 

 the animal under his false sobriquet. It is strange how 

 many mistakes of this description have crept into the nam- 

 ing of American quadrupeds, fishes, and birds : thus the 

 buffalo is a bison ; the pheasant, a grouse ; the quail or 

 partridge, an ortix. Dozens of these errors could be enu- 

 merated, but the previous examples will suffice. 



The noble horns which the stag Wapitti bears give him 

 a most imposing appearance ; for they are wide-branching, 



5 



