1 64 The Wilderness Hunter. 



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 behaves with brutal ferocity to 

 the weak, and shows abject terror of the strong. Accord- 

 ing 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 neces- 

 sity. 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 " whistling " by the fron- 

 tiersmen, 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 occa- 

 sionally. The whistling is a most curious, and to me a 

 most attractive sound, when heard in the great lonely 

 mountains. As with so many other things, much depends 

 upon the surroundings. When listened to nearby and 

 under unfavorable circumstances, the sound resembles a 

 succession of hoarse whistling roars, ending with two or 

 three gasping grunts. 



But heard at a little distance, and in its proper place, 

 the call of the wapiti is one of the grandest and most 

 beautiful sounds in nature. Especially is this the case 



