WILD NORWAY. 
232 
patch on the upper front of each ear, and under the chin 
depends a thick tufty beard, though there is no mane or 
ruff on the neck. 
The iron-grey variety of Cervus dices I understand 
to be of scarce occurrence. Locally no one had ever 
seen a beast of this colour before, and I afterwards 
learnt from Hr. Bruun of Trondhjem, who set up this 
head for me, that in a long experience he had only 
received two or three similar specimens. They are in¬ 
variably defective in development of horn-growth and 
palmation. 
It will be noticed that the concluding stages of the 
operation just described were of the nature of stalking, 
not hunting. Two other points are noteworthy. The 
first is the lack of respect paid by hunters to the optical 
powers of elk. But it will be obvious that denizens of 
dense forest, where for mile beyond mile no clear view 
is ever to be had, must in time come to rely more on 
other senses than that of sight for self-protection. That 
the elk can see—and see far—in the open, I have had 
evidence; but am equally sure that he does not habitu¬ 
ally maintain that ceaseless, vigilant look-out that is the 
essential complement of mere eye-power, and that 
invariably characterizes denizens of open plains, such as 
bustard, black buck, gazelle, etc., or of barren mountain 
plateaux, as reindeer and ibex. The elk, though his 
sight is good enough when used , relies more on scent and 
sound, and those who have hunted him realize the 
keenness of those two senses in him, and the intense 
astuteness and sagacity with which an old-world beast 
brings both into full bearing against the modern hunter. 
The elk is no fool, or he would never, under difficult 
