GAIT. 275 



trot, when all will do so, except the young ones, which break into 

 a run. The pace is increased by all, till they reach a bluff, or 

 ravine, when all break into a furious run, and come thundering 

 down the cliff like an avalanche. When you see forty or fifty 

 Elk, more than one fourth of them having huge antlers, come 

 rushing down towards you, you feel glad there is a good fence 

 in front of you. Such a sight is worth going many miles to see. 

 When chasing a dog in the grounds, or when pursuing each 

 other in animosity, they always run. The Elk is undoubtedly a 

 natural trotter, and Colonel Dodge says : " I believe an Elk will 

 trot across ordinary prairie at the rate of about a mile in three 

 minutes thirty seconds." There is, however, about the same 

 difference in speed among Elk as among horses. 



