The Wapiti or Round-homed Elk 153 



side of the dry watercourses down the middle of 

 each valley. Cedars clustered in the sheer ra- 

 vines, and here and there groups of elm and ash 

 grew to a considerable height in the more shel- 

 tered places. At the first touch of the frost the 

 foliage turned russet or yellow — the Virginia 

 creepers crimson. Under the cloudless blue sky 

 the air was fresh and cool, and as we lay by the 

 camp-fire at night the stars shone with extraordi- 

 nary brilliancy. Under such conditions the actual 

 chase of the wapiti was much like that of the mule- 

 deer. They had been so hunted that they showed 

 none of the foolish traits which they are prone to 

 exhibit when bands are found in regions where 

 they have been little persecuted ; and they were 

 easier to kill than mule-deer simply because they 

 were more readily tracked and more readily seen, 

 and offered a larger, and on the whole a steadier, 

 mark at which to shoot. When a small band had 

 visited a pool their tracks could be identified at 

 once, because in the soft ground the flexible feet 

 spread and yielded so as to leave the marks of the 

 false hoofs. On ordinary ground it was very dif- 

 ficult to tell their footprints from those of the 

 yearling and two-year-old ranch cattle. 



But the mountains are the true ground for the 

 wapiti. Here he must be hunted on foot, and 

 nowadays, since he has grown wiser, skill and 

 patience, and the capacity to endure fatigue 



