ROCKY MOUNTAINS AND WESTERN CATTLE LAND. 137 



dust-laden atmosphere may be seen, occasionally, a 

 lariat whirling round and round. 



Towards breakfast or dinner-time some one strolls 

 in and commences to fry something, while one of the 

 ' boys' is sure to be brushing his teeth with one 

 of a pile of toothbrushes lying on a shelf. The 

 'boys,' especially if they come from the East, are 

 often practically facetious, but never unpleasantly so. 



The latter part of our journey towards Colorado, 

 after we had once started, was characterized by 

 absence of any trail whatever, by a short snowstorm, 

 and by the admirable way in which the team drew 

 the waggon over some exceedingly awkward cross- 

 ings. We were soon fortunate enough to find our- 

 selves camped in the vicinity of a band of elk, and 

 for the first time heard that wonderful, weird, awe- 

 inspiring bugle call of the bull during the running, 

 or rutting, season, which, once heard in the lonely 

 forests, can never be forgotten. Wapiti are scarce 

 now, though not many years ago bands of many 

 thousands were commonly met with, and as commonly 

 slaughtered wantonly, uselessly, and in cold blood. 

 The result is that now they only exist in a few 

 districts ; while, at the same time, they are constantly 

 changing their resorts, and thus become very difficult 

 to find. Nothing is easier on a windy day, when a 

 bull elk or stag wapiti is ' calling ' in the timber, than 

 to walk up and shoot it. 



The only excitement consists in getting sufficiently 

 near to see whether the antlers are worth the trouble 



