344 THE ELK AND 



circumfpeclion, becaufe it was not poffible for 

 us to procure the live animal. Having expref- 

 fed my regret on this fubjecl; to fome of my 

 friends, Mr Collinfon, member of. the royal fo- 

 cieiy of London, a man as refpectable for his 

 virtues as for his literary merit, was fo obliging 

 as to fend me a drawing of the fkeleton of a 

 rain-deer ; and I received from Canada a foetus 

 of a caribou. By means of thefe two, and of 

 feveral horns which were tranfmitted to us from 

 different places, we have been enabled to mark 

 the general refemblanees and principal differences 

 between the rain- deer and the flag. 



With regard to the elk, I faw one alive about 

 fifteen years ago. But, as it continued only a 

 few days in Paris, I had not fufficient time to 

 have the drawing completed ; and, therefore, I 

 was obliged- to content myfelf with examining 

 the defcription formerly given of this animal 

 by the gentlemen of the academy, and to be fo- 

 tisfied that it was exad, and perfectly conform- 

 able to nature. 



' The elk,' fays the digefter of the Memoirs 

 of the Academy *, ' is remarkable for the length 

 ' of its hair, the iargenefs of its ears, the frnall- 

 c nefs of its tail, and the form of its eye, the 

 6 larger! angle of which is much fplit, as well 

 ' as the mouth, which is much larger than that 

 * of the ox, the flag, or other cloven footed a- 



* nimals. 



* Mem. pour fervir a Phiftoire des animaus, part, i. p. 178 



