THE WAPITI, OR CANADIAN STAC. 



09 



led by an old Luck, who exacts from them the strictest obedi- 

 ence — compelling them to halt or move onward as he judges 

 necessary. Now the superb herd of long-horned creatures are 

 seen to wheel to the right or left, now to advance or retreat 

 at the signal he issues. 



The wapiti is indeed a grand animal, growing to the height 

 of the tallest ox, and endowed with wonderful activity, as 

 well as power. 

 See him as he 

 dashes through 

 the forest, his 

 branched horns 

 separating in ser- 

 j »entine curves, six 

 feet from tip to 

 tip, laid close over 

 his back as he 

 makes his way 

 amid the trees. 

 His head is of a 

 lively, yellowish- 

 brown hue, the 

 neck covered with 

 reddish and black hairs, the latter of considerable length, 

 descending in a thick bunch below it. They are among the 

 fiercest of the deer tribe. The bucks often enter into des- 

 perate contests with each other, battling with their huge 

 horns — the fight frequently ending only with the death of the 

 weaker rival. Sometimes their horns have become so inex- 

 tricably interlocked, that both have fallen to the ground, and, 

 unable to rise, have perished miserably. They will frequently, 



THE WAPITI. 



