ver them crossing lakes or rivers. They are excellent swimmers,
and can make their way over the arm of a lake or across the widest
river.

"They feed upon grass, and sometimes on the young shoots of willows and
poplar-trees. They are especially fond of a species of wild rose (_Rosa
blanda_), which grows in the countries they frequent.

"The wapiti at one time ranged over a large part of the continent of
North America. Its range is now restricted by the spread of the
settlements. It is still found in most of the Northern parts of the
United States, but only in remote mountainous districts, and even there
it is a rare animal. In Canada it is more common; and it roams across
the continent to the shores of the Pacific. It is not an animal of the
tropical countries, as it is not found in Mexico proper. On the other
hand, wapiti do not go farther north than about the fifty-seventh
parallel of latitude, and then they are not in their favourite habitat,
which is properly the temperate zone."

Lucien was interrupted by an exclamation from Basil, who stood up
looking out upon the prairie. They all saw that he had been observing
the wapiti.

"What is it?" cried they.

"Look yonder!" replied Basil, pointing in the direction of the herd.
"Something disturbs them. Give me your glass, Luce."

Lucien handed the telescope to his brother, who, drawing it to the
proper focus, pointed it towards the deer. The rest watched them with
the naked eye. They could see that there was some trouble among the
animals. There were only six in the herd, and even at the distance our
voyageurs could tell that they were all bucks, for it was the season
when the does secrete themselves in the woods and thickets to bring
forth their young. They were running to and fro upon the prairie, and
doubling about as if playing, or rather as if some creature was chasing
them. With the naked eye, however, nothing could be seen upon the
ground but the bucks themselves, and all the others looked to Basil, who
held the glass, for an explanation of their odd manoeuvres.

"There are wolves at them," said Basil, after regarding them for a
second or two.

"That's odd," rejoined Norman. "Wolves don't often attack full-grown
wapiti, except when wounded or crippled somehow. They must be precious
hungry. What sort of wolves are they?"

To you, boy reader, this question may seem strange. You, perhaps, think
that a wolf is a wolf, and there is but one k