1 82 The Elk of the Pacific Coast 



sprung in lusty life from the chinks in great layers 

 of conglomerate that looked as if they could sup- 

 port nothing, and giant ferns choked the spaces 

 between the fallen trunks that could not lie save 

 for their erect brethren which held them in place, 

 the elk lay down to ruminate. One would sup- 

 pose this a fine place to slip upon him and take 

 him at a disadvantage. And so it was, but not 

 exactly like slipping upon an old cow under a 

 tree in the pasture. 



In the first place, the eye becomes so used to 

 the big timber that after a while it begins to look 

 much smaller than it really is. But in the mean- 

 time you have not had your eye fixed on elks' 

 heads so as to see how they dwindle on such a 

 landscape. On the contrary, they increase in size 

 in proportion to the time you spend without see- 

 ing one. So that when you do see it you may 

 not notice the tips of a pair of mere sticks that, 

 like a thousand odd bits of dead branches, rise 

 just a little over the level of the fallen logs. If 

 you do, and recognize the points by their sheen, 

 you may have an easy task, for the elk with all his 

 care to keep man at a distance is a great fool 

 when he fails. When man is near, the elk is an 

 idiot compared with the deer and the antelope. 

 About all you have to do is to avoid his nose. 

 You need trouble yourself little about those senses 

 that make the deer so difficult to circumvent, — 



