WESTERN WILD SPORTS. 
165 
any such apparatus or oil. Until better proof be given than has 
yet been offered, we shall feel willing to rank the stories among 
the * conjectures which have been too often resorted to when 
there was a scarcity or difficulty of obtaining facts.’ 
“We have already adverted to the warlike disposition of the 
Elk during a particular season, but it may not be amiss to add, 
that at all times, this animal appears to be more ready to attack 
with his horns than any other species of Deer we have examined. 
When at bay, and especially if slightly wounded, he fights with 
great eagerness, as if resolved to be avenged. The following 
instance from Long’s Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, will 
in some degree illustrate this statement. 
“A herd of twenty or thirty Elk were seen at no great dis¬ 
tance from the party, standing in the water, or lying upon the 
sand beach. One of the finest bucks was singled out by a hunter, 
who fired upon him; whereupon, the whole herd plunged into 
the thicket and disappeared. Relying upon the skill of the 
hunter, and confident that his shot was fatal, several of the party 
dismounted and pursued the Elk into the woods, where the 
wounded buck was soon overtaken. Finding his pursuers close 
upon him, the Elk turned furious upon the foremost, who only 
saved himself by springing into a thicket which was impassable 
to the Elk, whose enormous antlers becoming so entangled in 
the vines as to be covered to their tips, he was held fast and 
blindfolded, and was despatched by repeated bullets and stabs.” 
— Godman’s American Natural History . 
