THE CHASE. 373 



ing the Elk, the hunter must be particularly cautious not to 

 stumble upon a deer, while his attention is intently devoted to 

 another ; many are lost in this way. A thick bunch of willows, 

 or tall bottom grass, may be selected as the object to cover his 

 approach. Such is a most likely place for an Elk to make his 

 bed, and he may spring up before you not ten feet away, when a 

 single bound may take him beyond view, even if you see him at 

 all. If it is an old buck a loud whistle of alarm may be sounded, 

 but without this, his flight will alarm the whole band, and your 

 sport is probably up for the day. 



When started, the Elk does not, like the moose and the car- 

 ibou, push right away, without a pause and swiftly ; but most 

 likely after running a few hundred yards, the whole band will 

 stop on some commanding elevation to see what is the matter. 

 If he does not see his enemy, as he probably will not, still he is 

 not quite happy, and will not delay till he has placed many miles 

 between him and' the hunter. If a lone animal is thus started 

 from his bed of willows or high grass, before he sees the pursuer, 

 he is very likely to stop for a moment or two after making a few 

 leaps, and that momentary pause has been the opportunity for 

 many a fatal shot, which has laid low the head which bore mag- 

 nificent antlers. 



The Elk is often found among the foot hills of the mountains, 

 and in very broken, rocky ground. This is the most killing 

 ground, I mean for the hunter to pursue him in, for you must 

 leave your horse below and clamber through on foot, when you 

 are liable to come upon a lone Elk suddenly, and close before 

 you, when a quick shot settles the matter ; or if you see one on 

 considerably higher or lower ground, one hundred yards or more 

 away, with a favorable wind, he may stand several shots, if your 

 bad shooting allows it, before he will take serious alarm and 

 make off. 



It is not easy to determine the highest altitude of the range of 

 the Elk, but it is probable that they go to the utmost of the tim- 

 ber line. I have found their tracks more than ten thousand feet 

 above the sea level, on the Sierra Madre INIountains. Whether 

 those that frequent these high altitudes ever visit the plains, or 

 abide permanently in the mountains, I have no means of deter- 

 mining. When the severe winter sets in they descend into the 

 basins and canons, where the mountain streams have their sources, 

 and where they find grass beneath the snow, and in these pockets 

 in the mountains the hunter seeks them, keeping on the higher 



♦S?*^ 



