The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1908-09-09

no " Seois W UtC FIttCtCFtJ fCSOtftt0
ing through the galley
scarcely as heavy bodied as either of
the fighters, had a finer head He was
evidently much excited by the battle,
and he now began to walk towards the
two combatants, nodding his head and
uttering queer, whistling noise. They
dared not leave their TANKS uncovered
to his assault; and as he approached
they promptly separated, and walked
off side by side few yards apart. In
moment, however, one spun round and
jumped at his old adversary, seeking
to stab him in his unprotected flank;
but the latter was just as quick, anG as
before caught the rush on his horns.
They closed as furiously as ever; but
the utmost either could do was to in
fict one or two punches on the neck
and shoulders of his foe, where the
thick hide served as a shield. Again
the peace-maker approached, nodding
his head, whistling, and threatening;
and again they separated
This was repeated once or twice; and
/ began to be afraid lest the breeze
which was very light and puffy should
shift and give them my wind. So,
resting my rife on my knee l fired
twice, putting one bullet behind the
shoulder of the peace-maker, and the
other behind the shoulder of one of the
combatants. Both We're deadly shots,
but, as so often with wapiti. neither of
the wounded animals at the moment
showed any signs of being hit. The
yearling ran off unscathed The other
three crowded together and trotted be
hind some spruce on the left, while we
ran forward for another shot. In a
moment one fell; whereupon the re-
naming two turned and came back
across the glade, trotting to the right
AS we opened fire they broke into
numbering gallop, but were both
downed before they got out of sight in
the timber
| The wapiti is, next to the moose, the
most quarrelsome and pugnacious of
American deer. 1t cannot be said that
it is ordinarily a dangerous beast to
hunt; yet there are instances In which
wounded wapiti. incautiously approach
ed to within striking distance, have Sc
verely misused their assailants, both
with their antlers and their forefeet
However, the fercest wapiti bull.
when In a wild state, fees the neigh
| borhood Of man with the same panic
terror shown by the cows; and he
makes no stand against a grisly. though
when his horns are grown he has little
| fear of either wolf or cougar If on his
guard and attacked fairly. The chief
battles of the bulls are of course waged
with one another. Before the begin
ming Of the rut they keep by them
selves: singly, while the sprouting
horns are still very young. at which
time they lie in secluded spots and
move about as little as possible; In
large bands, later in the season. At
the beginning of the fall these bands
! join with one another and with the
bands Of cows and calves, which have
! likewise been keeping to themselves
! during the late winter, the spring, and
! the summer. Vast herds are thus
sometimes formed, containing, In the
old days when wapiti were plenty.
thousands of head. The bulls now be-
and the great herd becomes split into
smaller ones. Each Of these has one
| master bull, who has won his position
by savage battle, and keeps it by over
coming every rival, whether a solitary
bull, or the lord of another harem, who
challenges him. When not fighting or
! love-making he is kept on the run,
chasing away the young bulls who ven
ture to pay court to the cows. He has
/ hardly time to eat or sleep, and soon
becomes gaunt and worn to de-
gree.
The battles between the bulls rarely
result fatally. After a longer or
shorter period Of charging pushing,
and struggling the heavier or more
enduring of the two begins to shove
his weaker antagonist back and round:
and the latter then watches his chance
and bolts, holly, but as rule harm
lessly, pursued for few hundred
yards. The massive branching antlen
serve as effective guards against the
most wicked thrusts. While the an
tagonists are head on, the worst that
can happen is a punch on the shoulder
which WIN not break the thick hide.
though It may bruise the flesh under
meath.
Wapfti keep their antlers until the
spring, whereas deer and moose lose
theirs by mid-winter. The bulls be-
havior in relation to the COW is mere
" that Of a vicious and brutal cow
ard. He bullies her continually, and
In times Of danger his one thought Is
for sneaking off to secure his own
safety For all bis noble looks be Is