Hey B.J. I' d say Jack Ward and Dale Toweill have done their time in the Elk camp, and maybe they' ve been in the odd bar or two, you' ll only know once you' ve read the book.
But you are right about the " Elk" thing.
Wapiti is the correct name isn' t it?
Means something like White butt or brown butt or the like.
Elk are just europeon moose.
Wapiti are a sub-species of Red Deer. They' re similar animals, just the Wapiti is a bit bigger.
Have you ever hunted Reds?