The Wapiti 193 



Wapiti keep their antlers until the spring, whereas 

 deer and moose lose theirs by midwinter. The bull's 

 behavior in relation to the cow is merely that of a 

 vicious and brutal coward. He bullies her continu- 

 ally, and in times of danger his one thought is for 

 sneaking off to secure his own safety. For all his 

 noble looks he is a very unamiable beast, who be- 

 haves with brutal ferocity to the weak, and shows 

 abject terror of the strong. According to his powers, 

 he is guilty of rape, robbery, and even murder. I 

 never felt the least compunction at shooting a bull, 

 but I hate to shoot a cow, even when forced by ne- 

 cessity. Maternity must always appeal to any one. 

 A cow has more courage than a bull. She will 

 fight valiantly for her young calf, striking such blows 

 with her forefeet that most beasts of prey at once 

 slink away from the combat. Cougars and wolves 

 commit great ravages among the bands; but they 

 often secure their quarry only at the cost of sharp 

 preliminary tussles and in tussles of this kind they 

 do not always prove victors or escape scathless. 



During the rut the bulls are very noisy; and 

 their notes of amorous challenge are called "whist- 

 ling" by the frontiersmen, very inappropriately. 

 They begin to whistle about ten days before they 

 begin to run ; and they have in addition an odd kind 

 of bark, which is only heard occasionally. The 

 whistling is a most curious, and to me a most at- 

 tractive sound, when heard in the great lonely moun- 



9 VOL. II. 



