Alfred Jacob Miller - hunting on the High Plains - elk or wapiti

 Salvete Omnes,

a little visit to the High Plains  and the hunting of various beast, be it on horseback or on foot- from ubiquitous bison, plentiful elk to mountain sheep and fleetest antelopes - as shown in the sketches and paintings by Alfred Jacob Miller. 

Today just our American wapiti aka  the elk -  

From Miller's notes on the elk -

'The hunters are taking a flying shot at a herd of elks as they pass, for running the Elk is useless, their speed far outstripping that of the horse. The stratagems resorted to. are - creeping to the point of bluff when they are known to be lying under it; heading them off when practicable; forcing them into a river; or lying concealed at some point where they are likely to pass. When the buffalo became scarce, we found the Elk to be most desirable acquisition on the prairie larder, more from the quantity of meat than the excellence as food, as we considered it inferior to either Buffalo, Bear, Mountain Sheep, or Antelope'
 'the Indians manufacture a beautiful buckskin  from their hides, very soft and strong, which they make leggings, giving it a rich tint by a peculiar process of smoking; -they form  of it also sacks to carry their pemnican and jerked meat, and from the horns they make the most efficient bows. [...] The herds of elk  rarely number more that four or 500 [elk] [...] and they were very shy and wild.'

ps

driving from New Mexico into Colorado across the mountains I have seen large herds of elk grazing on the Rocky Mountains' slopes... 

Valete