172 



"EICHAED IS HIMSELF AGAIN." 



page 169, which shows very well the form and rough coat of the great 

 Wapiti. 



Five points constitute a "full" horn, but eight or ten are not over- 

 rare, while as many as fifty-one were found on a Californian elk; but this 

 was evidently a monstrosity. Yet this ponderous pair of horns grows 

 wholly within five months, and the process is repeated each year of the 

 elk's life after the third. 



His antlers renewed, and his new coat shining, the proud deer now 

 steps out of his hermitage and seeks society. He walks haughtily, hold- 

 ing his head high and swaying it from side to side as though calling all 

 the world to witness the admirable spectacle. He is Samson with his 

 hair regrown. Then is heard his shrill whistle ringing through the un- 

 dertone of "the murmuring pines" and echoing along the rocky canons. 

 It is his slogan, and every elk within hearing hastens to his standard, 

 except those ambitious of themselves leading highland clans. 



AN IRREGULAR PAIR OF HORNS. 



Their systems relieved from strain, young and old grow fat upon the 

 ripe, nutritious grasses, and, as autumn advances into winter, enormous 

 herds band together and seek their winter range in some mountain park 

 where the springs will not completely freeze over, timber affords shelter 

 from the wind, and the snow will be blown off the tops of the knolls 

 where they may go to feed. From October onward, therefore, is the 



