American Big-Game Hunting 
glasses the slightest motion, when, presently, 
three strange rams made their appearance. 
Here was the explanation that I was looking 
for. They had seen them long before I had. 
The three visitors were not very well received, 
but were compelled to beat an ignominious 
and hasty retreat up the mountain side. 
As summer draws near, and the winter 
snow begins to disappear, bands of elk may be 
seen migrating toward their favorite ranges. 
The bulls are now together in bands of greater 
or less extent. Their horns are well grown 
out, but are soft and in the velvet. The cows 
and calves stick closely to the thick timber. 
As the season advances and the flies become 
troublesome, the bulls will get up as high as 
they can climb and seem to delight in standing 
on the brink of some mountain precipice. I 
have often wondered, in seeing them standing 
thus, whether they were insensible of the mag- 
nificent scenery that surrounded them. 
Reader, what would you have given to have 
seen, as I have, a band of two hundred and 
fifty bull-elk collected together on a beauti- 
ful piece of green grassy turf at an elevation 
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