The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1908-10-10

tlttueht Iueu7 lle 0EneI, Wnue they
swayed TO and fro In their struggles.
smashing the bushes and ploughina
up the soil.
Finally they separated and stood
sos1e little distance apart under the
great pines: their sides heaylng. and
columns Of steums rising from their
nostrils through the frosty air Of the.
Frightening morning, Again they
rushed together with a crash, and each
strove nightly tn overthrow the other,
or get past his guard; but the branch
tag nntlers caught every vicious lungc
and thrust This set-to was stopped
rathertcurlously. One Of the unlocking
elk was year!lng; the other, though
scarcely as heavy.bodied as ettaer Of
the fighters, had a finer head. He was
evidently much excited by the battle,
and he NOW began to walk towards tie
two corbatants, tlodding his head nnd
rtterlng queer, whistlinS noise They
dared not leave their tanks uncovered
to his assault: and rs he approached
they promptly separated, and walked
OF side by side few yards apart Ina
moment, however, one spun round and
| Jumped at his old adversary, seeking
TO stab him In his unprotected lank;
but the lutter was just as quick. ana as
before caught the rush on his .hoIa,s
They closed rs furiously as ever; but
| the utmost either could 10 was to In.
fict one or two punches on the neck.
and shoulders Of his foe where tile
thick hide served as a shield. Agate
the peace-naler approached, no 4
his head. whIstling, aud threste.. B.
ana agail they separated.
This was repeated once or twice; and
began 10 be afraid lest the breeze
witch was very light and patty should
shit and give them my wind. So
resting my ride OF Is Lee I Ed
twice putting one bullet behind tha
shoulder Of the peace-maker, and tic
other hehittl the Shoulder OF one or 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 of unscathel. 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, trottlng to the right.
AS we opened fire they broke into n
numbering gallop, but were both
downed before they got out Of sight in.
the timber.
The waplti is, next to the moose, the
most qualTelsome and pugnucious Of
American deer. 1t cannot be said that
1t Is ordinarily dangerous beast to
hunt; yet there are Instances In which
wounded wapiti, incautiously approach.
ed to within striking distance. have Sc
yerely misused their assailants, both
with their antlers and their forefeet.
However, the tiercest wapltf 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 grlsly, though
when his horns are grown he has little
fear Of elther=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 wapiH were plenty,
thousands Of head. The bulls now be-
gin to fight furiously with one another,
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 nov fighting or
loye-maktng he is kept on The run,
chasing away the young bulls who ven
ture tospay court to the COWS. He has
hardly time to eat or sleep, and soon
tecomes 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, hotly, but as rule harm
lessly, pursued for a few hundred
yards. The massive branching antlers
serve as effective guards against the
most wicked thrusts. While the an
tagonlsts are head on, the worst that
can happen is a punch on the shoulder
which will not break the thick hide,
thought may bruise the flesh under.
meath.
Wapitl keep their antlers until the
spring whereas deer and moose lose
theirs by mid.winter. The bulbs be.
hayior in relation to the COW Is mere.