American Big-Game Hunting 



ber 4, though by that time the older bulls 

 had mostly rubbed the velvet off. A little 

 later, about September 7, the bulls begin to 

 challenge each other, — in hunting parlance, 

 "to whistle." This, on a clear, frosty night, 

 is sometimes extremely melodious, and it is 

 one of the most impossible sounds to imitate. 

 Hunting elk, if I may be pardoned for saying 

 it, I do not consider very exciting sport to a 

 man thoroughly versed in the woods. They 

 are far too noble an animal to kill unneces- 

 sarily, and if one hunts them in September, 

 when they are whistling, it is a very easy 

 matter, guided by the sound, to stalk them 

 successfully. 



Elk, like the rest of the deer family, are 

 excessively fond of saline matter. Their trails 

 may be seen leading from every direction to 

 the great alkaline licks that abound in certain 

 parts of their mountain-ranges. Among other 

 favorite resorts are springs, which make, on 

 steep wooded slopes, delightful, boggy wal- 

 lowing places. The bulls revel in these from 

 August to the middle of September. It is not 

 an uncommon thing to kill them just as they 

 emerge from their viscous bath coated with 



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