American Elk (Cervus elaphus) are now the most abundant large mammal in the Canadian Rockies and they dominate many plant and animal communities. To determine if present populations are reflective of past conditions, or if they have changed due to European influences, we systematically recorded all observations of ungulates and other large mammals found in first-person historical accounts of exploration in the Canadian Rockies from 1792 to 1873. Those data were then tabulated for the Alberta Foothills, the main Rocky Mountains, and the Columbia Valley in three ways, game seen, game sign encountered or referenced, and game shot. In addition, we listed the number of occasions on which Native Americans were mentioned, as well as references to a lack of food or a lack of game. Between 1792 and 1872, 26 expeditions spent a total of 369 days traveling on foot or horseback in the main Canadian Rockies, yet they observed American Elk only 12 times or once every 31 party-days. Other species, such as Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis) with 69 sightings, were observed more frequently, but there is no evidence in first-person accounts that game was historically abundant, or that ca. 1790-1880 ungulate populations were resource (food) limited, as is presently the case. Instead, we suggest that ungulate numbers were once kept at low levels by the combined action of carnivore predation and native hunting. If we measure present ecological integrity by the state and process of the ecosystem that existed before European arrival, as others have proposed, then much of the Canadian Rockies today lack ecological integrity.