Big Game in the Rockies 
of nine thousand feet? Here was a sight to 
make a man’s nerves tingle. This was the 
largest band of bulls, by actual count, that I 
have ever seen, though my cousin and partner 
once saw in the fall of the year, including bulls, 
cows, and calves, fifteen hundred. This was 
on the memorable occasion when the only elk 
ever killed by any of my men gave up his life, 
and we have all concluded that this particular 
elk was frightened to death; for though three 
men shot at him and each was confident he 
hit him, they always asserted afterward that 
no bullet-mark could be found on him. 
Generally, in August, in each band of bulls 
there will be found one or two barren cows. 
About the end of August, after the bulls have 
rubbed the velvet off their antlers, they will 
come back to the vicinity of the bands of cows. 
I have seen bulls as late as September 4 peace- 
ably feeding or resting among the bands of 
cows. Usually, in a band of fifty cows, there 
would be three or four males, including, possi- 
bly, one or two spike-bulls.!_ I have seen these 
spike-bulls in the velvet as late as Septem- 
1A spike-bull is a young elk carrying his first or dag antlers. These 
are single-tined, though in rare instances they are bifurcated. 
103 
