owering horns give it
a most majestic and imposing appearance. Its colour during the summer
is of a reddish brown, hence the name red deer; but, indeed, the reddish
tint upon the wapiti is deeper and richer than that of its European
cousin. The wapiti, like other deer, brings forth its fawns in the
spring. They are usually a male and female, for two is the number it
produces. The males only have horns; and they must be several years old
before the antlers become full and branching. They fall every year, but
not until February or March, and then the new ones grow out in a month
or six weeks. During the summer the horns remain soft and tender to the
touch. They are covered at this time with a soft membrane that looks
like greyish velvet, and they are then said to be `in the velvet,' There
are nerves and blood-vessels running through this membrane, and a blow
upon the horns at this season gives great pain to the animal. When the
autumn arrives the velvet peels off, and they become as hard as bone.
They would need to be, for this is the `rutting' season, and the bucks
fight furious battles with each other, clashing their horns together, as
if they would break them to pieces. Very often a pair of bucks, while
thus contending, `lock' their antlers, and being unable to draw them
apart, remain head to head, until both die with hunger, or fall a prey
to the prowling wolves. This is true not only of the elk, but also of
the reindeer, the moose, and many other species of deer. Hundreds of
pairs of horns have been found thus `locked,' and the solitary hunter
has often surprised the deer in this unpleasant predicament.

"The wapiti utters a whistling sound, that can be heard far off, and
often guides the hunter to the right spot. In the rutting season the
bucks make other noises, which somewhat resemble the braying of an ass,
and are equally disagreeable to listen to.

"The wapiti travel about in small herds, rarely exceeding fifty, but
often of only six or seven. Where they are not much hunted they are
easily approached, but otherwise they are shy enough. The bucks, when
wounded and brought to bay, become dangerous assailants; much more so
than those of the common deer. Hunters have sometimes escaped with
difficulty from their horns and hoofs, with the latter of which they can
inflict very severe blows. They are hunted in the same way as other
deer; but the Indians capture many of them in the water, when they
disco