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CHAPTER XXYII. 



THE WAPITI AND THE LUHDOKF'S DEEE. 



The wapiti {Oervus Canadensis) is frequently called tlie elk in 

 America, and by some of the hunters in the Hudson's Bay Terri- 

 tory is spoken of as the " red deer." The moose is, however, the 

 true elk, and although the wapiti resembles the old-world red deer 

 in many ways, yet it far exceeds it in size. The wapiti is, in fact, 

 one of the largest and most stately specimens of the deer species, 

 being frequently found as big as a good-sized ox, and possessing 

 wonderful power and activity. 



" This antlered monarch of the forest," remarks Mr. J. M. 

 Murphy, " stands about as high as a horse, and often attains a 

 weight of eight hundred pounds. Having strong though lithe 

 limbs, a full body, large dark eyes, and a splendid head, which is 

 adorned with magnificent branching antlers five or six feet in 

 length, and bearing from five to seven prongs each, it is, in my 

 estimation, the finest specimen of its family on the continent. It 

 has a proud, defiant, yet graceful mien, which makes it one of the 

 most superb adjuncts to a landscape, and its very gait is enough to 

 arouse the ardour of the most unimpressible sportsmen, it being 

 the acme of easy yet vigorous motion. Its antlers, which are 

 highly prized for adorning dining-rooms, frequently weigh from 

 fifty to sixty pounds, so that they are fit trophies to grace the 

 proudest baronial halls. They sometimes assume eccentric shapes, 

 for it is no very unusual sight to see a burly stag with one of his 

 antlers largely palmated, and the other curving downward instead 

 of upward, so that it resembles the bend of the horns so marked in 

 the mountain sheep. Such antlers are deemed to be unusually 

 valuable, as their eccentricity is highly prized by collectors and 

 ardent lovers of the chase." 



