1 84 THE WILDERNESS HUNTER. 



a possibly deadly stab in the flank, with the 

 brow prongs, the " dog-killers " as they are 

 called in bucks. Sometimes, but rarely, fight- 

 ing wapiti get their antlers interlocked and 

 perish miserably ; my own ranch, the Elkhorn, 

 was named from finding on the spot where the 

 ranch house now stands two splendid pairs of 

 elk antlers thus interlocked. 



Wapiti keep their antlers until the spring, 

 whereas deer and moose lose theirs by mid- 

 winter. The bull's behavior in relation to the 

 cow is merely that of a vicious and brutal 

 coward. He bullies her continually, and in 

 times of danger his one thought is for sneak- 

 ing 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. According 

 to his powers, he is guilty of rape, robbery, 

 and even murder. I never felt the least com- 

 punction at shooting a bull, but I hate to 

 shoot a cow, even when forced by necessity. 

 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 frontiersmen, very 

 inappropriately. They begin to whistle about 



