American Big-Game Hunting 
ber 4, though by that time the older bulls 
had mostly rubbed the velvet off. A little 
later, about September 7, the bulls begin to 
challenge each other,—in hunting parlance, 
“to whistle.” This, on a clear, frosty night, 
is sometimes extremely melodious, and it is 
one of the most impossible sounds to imitate. 
Hunting elk, if 1 may be pardoned for saying 
it, do neticonsider very exciting sport to7a 
man thoroughly versed in the woods. They 
are far too noble an animal to kill unneces- 
sarily, and if one hunts them in September, 
when they are whistling, it is a very easy 
matter, guided by the sound, to stalk them 
successfully. 
Elk, like the rest of the deer family, are 
excessively fond of saline matter. Their trails 
may be seen leading from every direction to 
the great alkaline licks that abound in certain 
parts of their mountain-ranges. Among other 
favorite resorts are springs, which make, on 
steep wooded slopes, delightful, boggy wal- 
lowing places. The bulls revel in these from 
August to the middle of September. It is not 
an uncommon thing to kill them just as they 
emerge from their viscous bath coated with 
104 
