The Wapiti 191 



When tamed the bulls are dangerous to human life 

 in the rutting season. In a grapple they are of 

 course infinitely more to be dreaded than ordinary 

 deer, because of their great strength. 



However, the fiercest wapiti bull, when in a wild 

 state, flees the neighborhood of man with the same 

 panic terror shown by the cows; and he makes no 

 stand against a grisly, though when his horns are 

 grown he has little fear of either wolf or cougar if 

 on his guard and attacked fairly. The chief battles 

 of the bulls are of course waged with one another. 

 Before the beginning of the rut they keep by them- 

 selves: singly, while the sprouting horns are still 

 very young, at which time they lie in secluded spots 

 and move about as little as possible; in large bands, 

 later in the season. At the beginning of the fall 

 these bands join with one another and with the 

 bands of cows and calves, which have likewise been 

 keeping to themselves during the late winter, the 

 spring, and the summer. Vast herds are thus some- 

 times formed, containing, in the old days when 

 wapiti were plenty, thousands of head. The bulls 

 now begin to fight furiously with one another, and 

 the great herd becomes split into smaller ones. 

 Each of these has one master bull, who has won his 

 position by savage battle, and keeps it by overcom- 

 ing every rival, whether a solitary bull, or the lord 

 of another harem, who challenges him. When not 

 fighting or love-making he is kept on the run, chas- 



