186 THE ELK, OR MOOSE. 
extraordinary height of seven feet at the shoulders, thus equalling many 
an ordinary elephant in dimensions. The horns of this animal are very 
large, and widely palmated at their extremities, their united weight being so 
great as to excite a feeling of wonder at the ability of the animal to carry so 
heavy a burden. They do not reach their full development until the fourteenth 
year. The muzzle is very large and is much lengthened in front, so as to 
impart a most unique expression to the Elk’s countenance. The colour of 
the animal is a dark brown, the legs being washed with a yellow hue. It is 
a native of Northern Europe and America, the Moose of the latter continent 
and the Elk of the former being one and the same species. 
As the flesh of the Elk is palatable, and the skin and the horns extremely 
useful, the animal is much persecuted by hunters. It is a swift and enduring 
animal, although its gait is 
clumsy and awkward in the 
extreme. The only pace of 
the Elk is a long, swinging 
trot ; but its legs are so long 
and its paces so considerable, 
that its speed is much greater 
than it appears to be. Ob- 
stacles that are almost im- 
passable to a horse are passed 
over easily by the Elk, which 
has been known to trot un- 
interruptedly over a number 
of fallen tree-trunks, some of 
them five feet in thickness, 
When the ground is hard 
and will bear the weight of 
so large an animal, the 
hunters are led a very long 
and severe chase before they 
come up with their prey; 
but when the snow lies soft 
and thick on the ground, 
} the creature soon succumbs 
MOOSF, OR ELK.—(Alces Malchis.) to its lighter antagonists, who 
invest themselves in snow 
shoes and scud over the soft snow with a speed that speedily overcomes that 
of the poor Elk, which sinks floundering into the deep snow-drifts at every 
step, and is soon worn out by its useless efforts. | 
It is as wary as any of the Deer tribe, being alarmed by the slightest sound 
or the faintest scent that gives warning of an enemy. As the Elk trots along, 
its course is marked by a succession of sharp sounds, which are produced by 
the snapping of the cloven hoofs, which separate at every step, and fall 
together as the animal raises its foot from the ground. 
The enormous horns form no barrier to his progress through the woods, 
for when the Elk runs, he always throws his horns well back upon his 
shoulders, so that they rather assist than impede him in traversing the forest 
glades. The Elk is a capital swimmer, proceeding with great rapidity, and 
often taking to the water for its own amusement. During the summer 
months of the year it spends a considerable portion of its time under 
water, its nose and horn being the only parts of its form which appear 
above the surface, Even the very young Moose 1s a strong and fearless 
swimmer, : 
