FesB., 1912. MammMats or ILLINoIs AND WISCONSIN — Cory. q1 
dance in the counties of Huron and Sanilac about the head waters of the 
Cass River. The unrelenting pursuit of hunters by means of the rifle 
and trap pens will soon exterminate it, unless means are taken to pre- 
vent an indiscriminate slaughter at all seasons of the year”’ (l.c., p. 222, 
foot note). Wood says “Mr. Fittenger informed us that in 1856 the 
Elk was not uncommonly found on Sand Point (Saginaw Bay) and that 
he shot a specimen on the shore of Mud Lake (at the base of the Point) 
in September of that year” (J.c., p. 309). 
In Minnesota Elk were at one time very numerous and it is 
claimed that a few individuals still exist in the extreme northern part 
of the state. Herrick states that as late as 1885 the Indians occa- 
sionally succeeded in killing one in the region north of Lake Superior, 
and he was informed that in that year they were found about Red 
Lake (l.c., p. 280). 
Even at the present time Elk antlers are occasionally found within 
our limits, usually in ponds or buried in marshy ground. I am informed 
that some years ago a good pair was found in Fox Lake, Illinois, and 
Mr. Paul Hohnheiser of Wausau, Wisconsin, writes me he has a large 
pair of Elk antlers found in a lake in that vicinity, which measures 
4s inches in length. Mr. Jacob Bream of Cream, Buffalo County, 
Wisconsin, writes me that in 1870 he found a pair of Elk antlers with the 
skull, in Township 22, Range 11, West. The spread of the antlers was 
about 4 feet. Jackson states he has examined antlers found in Ashland 
and Iron counties, Wisconsin (/.c., p. 15). Hollister says: “Sections 
’ of antlers are still occasionally found in Walworth County, most fre- 
quently under marshy ground. A fine pair was taken from Delavan 
Lake some years ago” (J.c., p. 137). Mr. H. L. Ward records a pair 
of antlers in the Milwaukee Public Museum, which was found by Mr. 
Frank Clark in Pewaukee, in 1899.* 
Elk are gregarious animals, being found in large herds, especially in 
winter. In summer the herds are much smaller, the animals being 
scattered in wandering bands over a much larger territory. They 
prefer a forested country, and in a mountainous region during the warm 
season they frequent the higher ranges where spruce and pine abound; 
but at the approach of cold weather, when the snow begins to get deep, 
they descend to lower levels and pass the winter in the valleys and foot- 
hills. They are promiscuous vegetable feeders when hungry, but they 
much prefer the leaves and buds of deciduous trees and shrubs. Elk 
are polygamous and during the rutting season in September and early 
October the bulls fight savagely for the possession of the females. In 
these combats they use their antlers,} sometimes with serious results; 
* Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 146. a 
+ In attacking a dog an Elk will very often attempt to strike him with his feet. 
