1841.] true Stag, or Elaphoid form of Cervus, 743 



that the herds of Wapiti are made up by the aggregation of a number 

 of distinct families, such as have been already noticed, the individuals 

 of which know each other, and keep together ; for this is the case in 

 many gregarious animals, and I have observed that, in the common 

 Fallow Deer of English Parks, the sexes of which herd separately during 

 the summer, particular individuals of the same age occasionally evince 

 a friendship for each other, and always feed together, which partiali- 

 ty is resumed, by the same individuals, season after season. In like man- 

 ner, herds of domestic Oxen commonly separate, or rather resolve into 

 pairs ; and the advantage of always stalling such pairs together is duly 

 appreciated by English graziers, who find that their cattle are apt to 

 pine, and not to fatten well when separated from the companion of their 

 choice, in whose presence they appear to derive some consolation for 

 the irksomeness of imprisonment. 



The Wapiti Stag feeds much, like the European species, upon grass, 

 and in like manner eats the young shoots of willow and poplar, as 

 also " some buds of coniferous trees," according to Colonel Smith, who, 

 from personal observation, adds that " in summer they feed on aquatic 

 plants, which they seek under water, while sheltering themselves in that 

 element from the bites of flies." It is worthy of notice, that the Rein 

 Deer Gadfly, according to Captain Franklin, " infests the Wapiti, but 

 not the Moose or Bison ; nor have its larvae ever been found upon the 

 Wild Sheep or Goat of the Rocky Mountains, although the Rein Deer 

 of those parts are as much tormented by them as those of the coast."* 

 Kalm states, that this species feeds eagerly on the broad-leaved kalmia, 

 "which is poisonous to other horned animals;" and Dr. Richardson 

 describes them to be " very fond of the hips of the Rosa hlanda, which 

 forms much of the underwood in the districts which they frequent. 

 Hearne," he continues, " remarks that they are the most stupid of the 

 Deer kind, and frequently make a shrill whistling and quivering noise, 

 not very unlike the braying of an Ass. Mr. Drummond, who saw many 

 of these Deer in his journeys through the plains of the Saskatchewan, 

 informs me, that it does not hell^ like the Stag of Europe ; and Mons. 

 F. Cuvier describes the cry of the male as being prolonged and acute, 

 and consisting of the successive sounds of a, o, w, (French,) uttered 



* " Narrative of Second Expedition," p. 189. 



