150 



SPORT AND TRAVEL 



lope have become very scarce and terribly wild. Of 

 bears there are still a few left, but these have become 

 so timid and so cunning that they are but seldom 

 encountered. 



Curiously enough, my friend W. M. shot a most 

 magnificent wapiti bull in the hills close above his 

 ranch in August, 1896. This splendid animal car- 

 ried one of the most beautiful heads that has ever 

 yet fallen to the rifle of a hunter. It may be a few 

 inches shorter than the longest head known, but for 

 symmetry and shapeliness, and every point that goes 

 to make a deer head a beautiful thing to look at, I 

 have never seen its equal. This beautiful head has 

 been photographed, but no photograph can do it any- 

 thing like justice; it must be seen to be thoroughly 

 appreciated. Of course, it was an extraordinary piece 

 of luck getting this wapiti, as none of his kind has 

 been seen for years previously anywhere near the place 

 where he was shot, where indeed hunting had prac- 

 tically ceased for lack of game. This old fellow must 

 have returned to his former haunts after the previous 

 rutting season, and having wintered comfortably had 

 probably never wandered far from the spot where he 

 was finally shot, for the grass was there very strong 

 and rich, which had enabled him to get into splendid 

 condition and grow a singularly large and beautiful 

 pair of horns by the time my friend at last spied him 

 with his glass from a point of rock quite close to the 

 road. 



