The sun., 1893-03-12
Hoods ,ss,''. sasi.. Cures
BIGGEST OF WAPITE
Lieut. Ahern Shoots Monster Buck In the
wilds or Montana.

Lieut.. Ahern Shoots n Monster Buck In the
wrds or Montana.
Several m onths ago Lieut. G. P. Ahern Of the
United States army was in the widest. least
visited part OF Montana pursuing his mission
ofmapping the mountains Of the State for the
War Department He had got 100 miles from
Deer Lodge into region so secluded that in all
probability no white man had ever been there
before. As he was tolling on ahead Of his mon.
he came upoa sight that made him. veteran
hunter though he is. feel like boy with the
buck fever. Before him. not many yards away.
was q mighty wapit. tho mightiest he had
ever seen.
1t was lying down and. as he stopped.it 1t arose
slowly. but neither turned to fly nor advanced
to fight It looked straight at him. and the
Lieutenant thought its eyes we're trying to ex-
press to him an utter weariness OF life and a
desire to have the end como as soon as possi-
ble. for he could SEQ that this buck was very
old. As hs advanced toward it it made
feeble effort to turn away. He raised his rife
and shot it behind the ear. 1t fell dead with
scarcely culver.
Whom the Lieutenant came to examine his
prize he was more astonished than at first.
For no saw that he had killed tho greatest
wapiti OF which there 10 any record. and also
the oldest. Erect the wapiu stood nearly ten
feet from tho ground to the top OF it's great
AHlioIb. IIOIu thO 8touho " tHo DhSN VI tuo
antlers was six feet The head was over two feet
long from the base OF tho anters to the end OF
the nostrils. The body was as large as the body
OF a big horse. and the head was much larger.
The antlers themselves had nfteen prongs. ono
less than that sixteen-prongcd pair OF nntlers
which Is regarded as unique curiosity. and
is not nearly SO large as this pair
Tho teeth OF this old buck were worn down
below tho gums. SO that it would have been
impossible for him to bite anything. and. rs
an index to his long and varied career. there
was hardly square inch of his hide that did
not bear the mark OF bullet or arrow. Lieut..
Aherns indians hauled the body down to Deer
Lodge. and there hunters. white and Indian.
from all parts OF the world crowded to soc the
Liout. Ahern sent the head and the hide on
to Mr.. Julian isalph. the author and Mr. Ralph
NAL dealer. in William street. seuter has ha.!
thirty years experience. and has stuffed all
nSsss 81 seem Ss Hs% s &hsn
he came to examine thetee he could hardly
Was % at least cas- siEhty years old and Perhaps was
over hundred sautsr ,t,f, th,GuGht that no one
to exist on this continent since the white men
Wien You think OF this creature, who, was
born In the last century long hefore Lewis
and Clark; long before any white man had
when you think OF his hide. scared in a hum
dred places by arrow and by bullet, you realize
let etc ended. As Mr. Ralph says: away back. be-
fore Washington. was President. this buck was
al k. t 1' to ss
Ss$: . s5s ss a sSss s:;ss
dotod si 'hefy H With ten ton
But as decades and quarter centuries rolled
by he began to grow old. still ruling by reason
time when ago would make him too feeble to
rule any more But he saw many many gene:
die Seors even The rst Signs Of Sreat u age Gaa Se
gan to appear. 1t must have been lass than
WIZ eve hh 1 s.ns % b shs
lenge. that he lost the fight and was compelled
to fly for his life., He saw his harem. the last
the s conausror. @ orr with not one look 6ehind enu
Then he realized that Me long, day was at
for DEATH 1t was months before the end that
no lost the power TO take food properly. For
stead OF an eighth OF an inch thick. as il would
have been had he not been starving and living
Mr.. Ralph has the great bead mounted With
the meek E t ysFy long haRss oyer the fire.
dssHS @ % Rs ROOM sn Win 'ns
look ort With an srEGessi9n rn full ei reflection
his shop became the gathering place OF hunt
ers. There are many hunters In New York,
merchants, stockbrok ers. and business mon.
for n living. but hunters for their real life.
None had ever seen such q creature as this.
| and each enyied the army officer who shot and
| the author who owned the mighty wapiti, Mr..
Ralph has the, head hanging in the middle Of
snowshoes and moccasins and gayly adorned
| OF this great deer, He looks out from the
| midst OF the trappings OF the savage hunters
| who. like himself. are q past race OF the earth.
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