Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1908-10-02

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The crash of the meeting dntlers rcsound
ing through the valley.
ander them, straining every muscle In
their huge bodies. and squealing saw
agely. They were evenly matched in
weight. strength. and courage; and
push as they might, neither got the
upper hand, first one yielding a few
inches, then the other. while they
swayed to and fro In their struggles,
smashing the bushes and ploughing
up the soil.
Finally they separated and stood
some little distance apart, under the
great pines; their sides heaving, and
columns OF steams rising from their
nostrils through the frosty air Of the
Frightening morning. Again they
rushed together with crash, and each
strove nightly to overthrow the other.
or get past his guard; but the branch
ing antlsrs caught every vicious lunge
and thrust. This set-to was stopped
rather curiously. One Of the Unlocking
GIN " ub khC OthtAt
scarcely as heavy-bodied as either Of
the fighters, had 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 a queer, whistling noise. They
dared not leave their tanks uncovered
to his assault; and as he approached
they promptly separated. and walked
or side by side few yards apart In a
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. and as
before caught the rush on his horns
They closed as furiously as ever: but
the utmost either could do was to In
tilct one or two punches on the neck
and shoulders of his foe, where the
thick hide served rs a shield. Again
the peace-maker approached, nodding
his head, whlstling, 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 rifle on my knee | fred
twice, putting one bullet behind the
shoulder OF the peacemaker, and the
other behind the shoulder Of one OF the
combatants. Both were deadly shots,
but, as so often with wapiti. neither OF
the wounded animals at the moment
showed any signs OF being hit. The
yearllng ran or 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 a
numbering gallop, but were both
dowued before they got out OF sight in
the timber.
The wapiti Is, next TO the moose, the
most quarrelsome and pugnaclous OF
American deer II cannot be said that
II 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 assallants, both
with their antlers and their forefeet.
However, the tiercest wapitl bull.
when In 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 II on his
guard and attacked fairly. The chief
battles OF the bulls are OF course waced
with one another Before the begin
ming Of the rut they keep by them.
selves sincly while the sprouting
horns are still very young. at which
time they lie in secluded spots and