34 MAMMALS OF PENNSYLVANIA AND NEW JERSEY. 



and a long chase it is. But after three or four days the creature halts to see 

 what is following him. They then let loose the little dog. The elk seems to 

 wonder if he has been frightened by that little whiffet. The men have chosen 

 their time and place not far from some rocky ridge or large rock, accessible 

 to the elk. The dog attacks him with a great noise, and not much else. The 

 beast runs for a rock as the best fort of defense from the attack. While his 

 attention is absorbled by the antics of the little dog, it is easy to put a rope 

 over his horn with a long pole, or by throwing it noosed, and with two ropes 

 on his horns and two strong men, wide apart, to hold him, he soon becomes 

 tired and docile enough to be led out and home. This was not an un- 

 frequent occurrence in those times." 



The following article was published in the " New York Times " and repro- 

 duced in the " Pittsburg Post " of April 19th, 1896 : — 



" When I started in to amuse and profit myself by following the chase in 

 northern Pennsylvania," said Colonel Parker, of Gardeau, Pa., " elks were 

 running in these woods in herds. I have killed elk a-plenty in the Rocky 

 Mountain country and other regions since, but I never ran across any that 

 were as big as those of old-time Pennsylvania elk. I have killed elk on the 

 Sinnemahoning and Pine creek waters, and down on the Clarion river and 

 West branch, that were as big as horses. A looo-pound elk was nothing un- 

 common in that country, and I killed one once that weighed 1200 pounds^ 

 These were bulls. The cows would weigh anywhere from 600 to 800 pounds. 



"The Pennsylvania elk's eyes were small, but sparkled like jewels. I have 

 often seen a score or more pairs of these bright eyes shining in the dark 

 recesses of the pine forest, when the shadows might have otherwise obscured 

 the presence there of the owners of those tell-tale orbs. An infuriated bull 

 elk's eye was about as fearful a thing to look at as anything well imaginable,, 

 but so quickly changeable was the nature of these huge beasts that two hours 

 after having captured with ropes, one that had, from the vantage ground of 

 his rock, gored and trampled the life out of a half dozen of dogs, and well- 

 nigh overcome the attacking hunters, submitted to being harnessed to an im- 

 provised sled and unresistingly hauled a load of venison upon it six miles 

 through the woods to my cabin, and took its place among the cattle with as 

 docile an air as if it had been born and brought up among them. 



" The elk that Sterling Devins had mistaken for a mule, he and Ezra Prich- 

 ard followed all the next day, but lost its trail. Some Pine Creek hunters 

 got on its trail, drove it to its rock, and roped it. When Devins and Prichard 

 got back at night they found the Pine Creek hunters there and the elk in the 

 barn eating hay and entirely at home. That elk had quite an interesting 

 subsequent history. Ezra Prichard had, previous to the capture of this one 

 secured a pair of elks, broke them, and for a long time drove them to farm 

 work like a yoke of oxen. Sterling Devins was eager for a yoke of elk, and 



