The Savannah morning news., 1901-11-30

Of Gen. Charles w. Darling of Utica.
! The newspaper made the statement
| that If the horns We're called moose
| rather than elk a pure American word
| would be used. and the owner of the
horns would be more patriotic. This
would be true if the horns were those
OF an American moose but as they
are those of the American elk it would
be incorrect to call them moose and
would convey the idea that they are
palmated horns-which they are not.
The word elk as applied to American
deer has come, by common use to mean
the Wapiti deer, and is now generally
so accepted. The writer of the article
in question seems to have made the
error of not taking into account the
necessity of considering the country
of the animal before deciding upon the
meaning of the word elk.
Similar to European Elk.
The American moose is more similar
to the European elk than to any other
of the European deer. whereas the Eu-
ropean elk is similar to the American
elk only in size and color. 1t is, there
fore, not unnatural that the elk and
moose should become confused. Most
authors have regarded the European
elk and our moose as the same, al
though Agassiz is authority for saying
tndl the moose is distinct.
Moose being now we'll protected in
Maine and Canada, are somewhat on
the increase. Moose are found also in
the Northwest. No elk are found now
east of the Mississippi. although there
seems to be little doubt that in earlier
times elk were native to the eastern
part of North America. In Hunting
Trips of a Ranchman,' Col. Roosevelt
says; II have myself known of sew
eral fine elk antlers preserved in the
house of Long Island gentleman,
whose ancestors had killed the bearers
shortly after the first settlement in
New York"
In size the moose is very similar to
the American elk, being little larger,
in habits, it is quite different. gener-
ally being found alone. sometimes with
mate. Having short neck it is
unable to eat grass from the ground
and feeds mostly upon leaves of bushes
in spring, and seems to enjoy lily pods
in the summer when it is driven into
the water by the heat and flies. IN
winter it feeds on bark and small twigs
and branches. 1t can be distinguished
most readily from the American elk
by it's antlers. The antlers of a full
grown moose are broadly palmated:
but it is not until the moose is or
5 years old that the horns become fully
palmated. The next year two crown
antlers appear and four or five points.
And with increased age one Or two.
points are added annually. The palm
is often fourteen inches wide, and as
many as twenty-one points have been
seen on he antlers of a moose killed in
| Maine. The horns are shed each year
| in old and vigorous moose, usually in
December; whereas in the younger an
| finals often not until March. After the
animal passes the stage of greatest
vigor the horns diminish in size.
Elk Being Exterminated.
| The elk is gradually being eXtermin-
ated, and now is found only in the
widest parts of the Rockies, which are
most heavily wooded. Unlike the moose
! the elk goes in nerds or families, and
| ih former years as many as thirty of
these noble animals have been seen in
one herd. If the leader of the herd is
shot, it often happens that the remain
der stampede and then halt. Thus great
| numbers would easily be skilled. The
| antlers are long. erect and branching
being rounded, and on full-grown elk
| have several tines with crown. The
antlers resemble those of the English
| stag, although even the crown stag
antlers are smaller than those of our
elk The elk is. larger than the stag.
|
darker than the European red deer,
and even darker than the moose, being
blackish on the back. while the moose
is ashy gray above, lighter below and
| almost white underneath.
w tiers and sportsmen to-day, not
only in the West but throughout our
country generally, speak of the wap-
iii as the elk. A valuable book, entitled
Where to Hunt American Game has
this to say of the game of Idaho: ELK
are found in considerable numbers,
though less numerous than formerly,
Deer of several kinds are abundant.
Moose exist probably in greater num-
bers than is generally supposed" And
again: THE large game of Montana
consists of bear, moose. elk, black-tail
deer" Theodore Roosevelt says of the
elk: THE gradual determination of the
elk, the most stately and beautiful an
imal of the chase to be found in Amer
lea, can be looked upon only with un-
mixed regret by every sportsman and
lover of nature. Excepting the moose
it is the largest and without exception
it is the noblest of the deer tribe"
FOR FILIPINO CURRENCY.