126 SPORT IN NORWAY. 
of that birch, and judges by the nibbled leaves how 
long it is since the elk was there; watch him turning 
up the dead leaves and scrutinizing a footmark; look 
at him crawling along cat-like on all fours to get a peep 
over yonder knoll. Neither is his dog idle; he enters 
into the sport heartily. Those deep-drawn sniffs, which 
would make you think the animal would suddenly 
collapse, indicate plainly that an elk is not far off. 
Now he stands up on his hind legs, and sniffs away 
among the birch leaves, where an elk’s nose has been, 
not so very long before. Now he tugs away against 
the collar as if he would pull you along fifty miles 
an hour. You are close to your game. ‘Tread very 
softly ; a crackling twig or a rolling stone may mar 
the labour of a whole day, ay, of two or three. 
It is intensely exciting work—much more so than 
in reindeer-hunting, because your horizon of vision is so 
limited, and you may be close on an elk before you 
know it. 
The dung of the elk is soft in summer, resembling 
that of a cow; in winter it is hard, and looks more like 
a bunch of large nuts than anything else. 
They are possessed of very acute senses, but their 
powers of smell are not nearly so delicate or so great as 
those of the reindeer. Judging from the widely-dis- 
tended nostril one would think the contrary to be the 
case. On the other hand, their eyesight is extremely 
