American Big-Game Hunting 



easily killed, and the shooting of them be- 

 comes slaughter. Deer and antelope are 

 more graceful and less easy to get a shot at 

 than elk. Mountain sheep offer far more ex- 

 citement in the chase over rugged cliffs. 

 White goats are seldom seen, save in limited 

 areas and out-of-the-way regions. Buffalo 

 are now so rarely seen that to come upon one 

 in the Vv^ilds is the ambition of the hunter. 

 Bear-hunting must always be exciting on ac- 

 count of the element of danger. Preferring 

 not to use the rifle, the pleasures of the chase 

 do not enter into my enjoyment of animal life, 

 and to me elk are the most interesting of all 

 big game, and a constant source of pleasure. 

 I never tire of watching them, they show so 

 much individuality and independence of char- 

 acter and stateliness of manner. In spite of 

 the fact that they are gregarious and fond of 

 companionship, they show less affection for 

 each other than almost any other animal. 



I have much feeling in common with an old 

 Scotch friend of mine, a lover of nature and a 

 frequenter of forest and mountain, who spent 

 a fortnight in the Park with the express pur- 

 pose of reproducing upon his bagpipe those 

 256 



