American Big-Game Hunting 



glasses the slightest motion, when, presently, 

 three strange rams made their appearance. 

 Here was the explanation that I was looking 

 for. They had seen them long before I had. 

 The three visitors were not very well received, 

 but were compelled to beat an ignominious 

 and hasty retreat up the mountain side. 



As summer draws near, and the winter 

 snow begins to disappear, bands of elk may be 

 seen migrating toward their favorite ranges. 

 The bulls are now together in bands of greater 

 or less extent. Their horns are well grown 

 out, but are soft and in the velvet. The cows 

 and calves stick closely to the thick timber. 

 As the season advances and the flies become 

 troublesome, the bulls will get up as high as 

 they can climb and seem to delight in standing 

 on the brink of some mountain precipice. I 

 have often wondered, in seeing them standing 

 thus, whether they were insensible of the mag- 

 nificent scenery that surrounded them. 



Reader, what would you have given to have 

 seen, as I have, a band of two hundred and 

 fifty bull-elk collected together on a beauti- 

 ful piece of green grassy turf at an elevation 



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