The Wapiti or Round-Horned Elk. i6i 



thick hide served as a shield. Again the peace-maker ap- 

 proached, nodding his head,whistHng, and threatening; and 

 again they separated. 



This was repeated once or twice ; and I began to be 

 afraid lest the breeze which was very light and puffy 

 should shift and give them my wind. So, resting my rifle 

 on my knee I fired twice, putting one bullet behind the 

 shoulder of the peace-maker, and the other behind the 

 shoulder of one of the combatants. Both were deadly 

 shots, but, as so often with wapiti, neither of the wounded 

 animals at the moment showed any signs of being hit. 

 The yearling ran off unscathed. The other three crowded 

 together and trotted behind some spruce on the left, while 

 we ran forward for another shot. In a moment one fell ; 

 whereupon the remaining two turned and came back across 

 the glade, trotting to the right. As we opened fire they 

 broke into a lumbering gallop, but were both downed before 

 they got out of sight in the timber. 



As soon as the three bulls were down we busied our- 

 selves taking off their heads and hides, and cutting off the 

 best portions of the meat — from the saddles and hams — to 

 take back to camp, where we smoked it. But first we had 

 breakfast. We kindled a fire beside a little spring of clear 

 water and raked out the coals. Then we cut two willow 

 twigs as spits, ran on each a number of small pieces of elk 

 loin, and roasted them over the fire. We had salt ; we 

 were very hungry ; and I never ate anything that tasted 

 better. 



The wapiti is, next to the moose, the most quarrelsome 

 and pugnacious of American deer. It cannot be said that 



