Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/548

 540 ELK the flesh of yearlings is always preferred ; the tongue is much relished, as are the fatty ap- pendages to the large intestines, by the hunt- ers, who also consider the marrow warm from the shank bones an excellent substitute for butter. The moose trots, runs, and jumps with great speed, passing through seemingly impenetrable thickets and over broken ground without apparent effort; it swims well, with only the head and part of the neck above water ; it is never seen like the reindeer on the ice, except from absolute necessity ; when walking on untrodden snow its feet generally sink into it to the ground. Its sense of smell is very acute, and enables it to detect an enemy at a great distance; the breaking of the small- est twig is sufficient to startle it from its hiding place. The pairing season begins in Septem- ber; during October the males become fu- rious, fighting each other whenever they meet ; they run noisily through the woods, and swim lakes and rivers in pursuit of the female ; at this time it is dangerous for the hunter to approach, as they do not hesitate to attack him. The young are born in May, the first time one, and two annually afterward; the females are also very fierce in defence of their calves. The males are called bulls and the females cows. The proper times for hunting the moose are in March and September ; in the latter month the animals are in their prime, and in the for- mer they are most easily taken on account of the sharp crust impeding their progress through the snow. In hunting them in March, a few small curs are useful in worrying the animal and delaying it until the hunter comes up ; it is useless to pursue them through soft snow, which offers no impediment unless it be deep, when the hunter can easily overtake them on snow shoes. Many are shot from canoes on moonlight nights in September; the hunter imitates the call of the male, which, angry at the supposed intrusion of a rival, rushes to the water's edge to fight him. Slip-nooses at- tached to strong saplings, bent down in the moose paths to the water, will occasionally en- trap a victim. The most successful way is to start them from their yards, and pursue them over the snow. When wounded and brought to bay, they defend themselves fiercely, striking with their fore feet and horns; they will frequently turn upon the hunter when not wounded, and force him to fly for his life. Moose have been domesticated, and taught to draw carts and sledges, but during the rut- ting season they become perfectly intractable. Their geographical distribution is extensive; they have been found at the mouths of the Mackenzie and Coppermine rivers, on the E. slope of the Rocky mountains at the sources of Elk river, and in Oregon; on the E. coast they are found from Labrador to northern New England and New York, their southern limit seeming to be 43 30'. As in all other deer of cold and mountainous regions, there is con- siderable diversity in the size of the body and the horns of the moose, according to the abun- dance of food in the places inhabited by them. The European elk (A. malchis, Ogilby) was once found between the 53d and 65th degrees of latitude in Prussia, Poland, Sweden, Nor- way, and Russia, but is rarely seen at present except in the most northern of these countries; it is also found in Asiatic Siberia. The appear- ance is the same as that of the moose ; from its long legs and overhanging lips the old authors thought that it grazed walking backward. From the great height of the shoulders above the crupper its gait is awkward and shuffling, and when running fast the hind limbs are very wide apart; its joints crack at every step, with a sound which may be heard at a considerable distance; a part of the sound is said to be made by the hoofs striking against each other. According to Hamilton Smith, the Teutonic term elend (miserable) was applied to this animal from its supposed frequent attacks of European Elk (Alee malchis). epilepsy, while its falls are really attributable to its tripping itself up by treading on its fore heels, the elevated position of the nose, with the horns laid horizontally on the back, pre- venting it from seeing the ground distinctly before it. The European elk seems to attain a size equal to that of the moose, measuring 6 ft. high at the shoulder. The period of life is said to be about 20 years. Pennant states that elks were once used to draw sledges in Sweden, and that they could travel over 200 in. a day. Their hide makes excellent leather for belts and coverings for the feet. Though most au- thors have regarded the American and Euro- pean elks as the same, Agassiz has described the former as distinct, with the specific name lobatus, from differences in the shape of the nose, the form and branching of the horns, and other points. Sir John Richardson (in the "Fossil Mammals" of the "Zoology of H. M. S. Herald ") also considers the species distinct, calling the American A. muswa; he compares