Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1892-10-12
KILLING A BULL ELK.
AN ExHILARATING ADVENTURE AT
TWO OCEAN PASS.

Wounded Bull-Creeping Upon a boz
ing Herd-A Caution About Firing.
From an interesting article ON can
Elk Hunt at Two Ocean Pass" by the
Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, in The Gen.
tury, the following quotation is made:
Next morning dawned clear and cold
the sky {. glorious blue. Woody and |
started to hunt over the great tableland
and led our stout horses up the noun
tain side by elk trails SO bad that they
had to climb like goats. All these elk
trails have one striking peculiarity-they
lead through thick timber, but every
now and then send off short, well worn
branches to some cliff edge or jutting
crag commanding q view far and wide
over the country beneath. Elk love to
stand on these lookout points and scan
the valleys and mountains round about.
Blue grouse rose from beside our path:
Clarke's crows flew past us, with hol
low, Tapping sound, or lighted in the
pine tops, calling and flirting their tails;
the gray clad whisky jacks, with multi
tudinous cries, hoped and futtered
away, the great furry feet which give
them their name already turning white.
At last we came out on the great pla-
teau, scanned with deep, narrow ravines.
Reaches of pasture alternated with
groves and open forests of varying size.
Almost Immediately we heard the bugle
of bull elk and saw big band of cows
o116 col tho ~ Io 90
There were three bulls with them, one
very large, and we tried to creep up on
them, but the wind was battling and
spoiled our stalk, so we returned to our
horses, mounted them and rode a mile
farther, toward large open wood on
hillside.
When within 200 yards We heard di-
rectly ahead the bugle of bull and
pulled up short. In moment l saw
him walking through an open glade; he
had not seen us. The slight breeze
brought us his scent. Elk have strong
characteristic smell; it is usually sweet
like that of a herd of Alderney cows
but in old bulls while rutting it is rank,
pungent and lasting. We stood motion
less till the bull was out of sight, then
stole to the wood, tied our horses and
trotted after him. He was travelling
fast, occasionally calling, whereupon
others in the neighborhood would. an
swer. Evidently he had been driven
out of some herd by the master bull.
He went faster than we did, and while
we were vainly trying to overtake him
we heard another very loud and sonor-
GUS challenge to our left. 1t came from
ridge crest at the edge of the woods,
among some scattered clumps of the
northern nut pine, or pinon, a queer conf
fer growing very high on the noun
tains, its multiforked trunk and wide
spreading branches giving it the round
ed top and at distance the general
look of an oak rather than a pine. We
at once walked toward the ridge-up
wind. In a minute or two, to our cha
grin, we stumbled on an outlying spike
bull, evidently kept ON the outskirts of
the herd by the master bull. l thought
it would alarm all the rest, but as we
stood motionless it could not see clearly
what we were. 1t stood, ran, stood
again, gazed at US and trotted slowly off.
We hurried forward as fast as we
dared, and with too little care, for we
suddenly came in view of two cows. AS
they raised their heads to look, Woody
squatted down where he was, to keep
their attention fixed, while l cautiously
tried to slip off to one side unobserved. |
Favored by the neutral tint of my buck
skin hunting shirt, with which my
shoes, leggings and soft hat matched, !
succeeded. AS soon as l was out of
sight l ran hard and came ND to a
hillock crested with pinons, behind
which judged l should find the herd.
AS approached the crest, their strong,
sweet smell smote my nostrils. In an
other moment l saw the tips of pair of
mighty antlers, and I peered over the !
crest with my rifle at the ready. Thirty
yards off, behind a clump of pinons,
stood huge bull, his head thrown back |
as he rubbed his shoulders with his |
horns. There were several COWS around |
him, and one saw me Immediately and |
took alarm.
| fired into the bulls shoulder, infiict. |
ing a mortal wound; but he went off. !
and l raced after him at top speed, firing |
into his flank; then he stopped, very
sick, and broke his neck with fourth |
bullet. An elk often hesitates in the |
first moments of surprise and fright,
and does not get really under way for
200 or 800 yards; but when once fairly
started he may go several miles, even
though mortally wounded; therefore the
hunter, after his first shot, should run
forward as fast as he can, and shoot |
again and again until the quarry drops.
In this way many animals that would |
otherwise belost are obtained, especially
by the man who has a repeating rifle.
Nevertheless the hunter should beware
OF being led astray by the ease with
which he can fire half dozen shots
from his repeater, and he should aim as
carefully with each shot as if it were
his last. No possible rapidity of fire can
atone for habitual carelessness of aim
with the first shot. .-