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ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
the uses of which some of the members are exceedingly 
expert and effective : in the deer family, including the elk 
and moose, the fore-feet are generally the most destructive 
weapon, the largest dogs being sometimes killed by a single 
blow, and there are instances of several hunters in California 
having met with a similar fate from the stamping of the Elk. 
Great confusion has arisen under this class, relative to the 
species of North American Deer, partly from imperfect 
observation, and partly from varieties dependent on age and 
sex. In all the species, with the exception of the Reindeer, 
the male only is crowned with horns or antlers. These 
appendages are shed, or fall off, every year, but are renewed 
with increased size, as the animal advances in age. The 
peculiar mode in which the antlers are developed, and in 
which the separation is effected between them and the head, 
forms one of the most curious phenomena in the animal 
economy. 
The Elk, or Wapiti ( Cervus Canadensis') has been com- 
monly confounded with the Moose, and with the common Stag 
of Europe, and has passed under various authors’ hands 
by the name of Stag, Red Deer, Gray Moose, Wapiti, Round 
Horn, Cariboo, &c. It is only very recently that it has been 
distinguished as a separate animal ; and the confusion attend- 
ing this varied nomenclature, has been rather increased than 
diminished by those who have attempted its removal by 
reconciling the discrepancies of books, instead of appealing to 
the proper and infallible authority — nature. 
■Description . — The size and appearance of the Elk are 
imposing his air denotes confidence of great strength ; 
while his towering horns exhibit weapons capable of doing 
much injury when offensively employed. The head is 
beautifully formed, tapering to a narrow point ; the ears 
are large and rapidly movable ; the eyes are full and dark ; 
the horns rise loftily from the front, with numerous sharp- 
pointed branches, which are curved forwards ; and the head 
