220 The Wilderness Hunter 



likely places among the pines, which grew far apart 

 and without undergrowth. We dried our steaming 

 clothes, and ate a hearty supper of elk-meat ; then we 

 turned into our beds, warm and dry, and slept sound 

 ly under the canvas, while all night long the storm 

 roared without. Next morning it still stormed fit 

 fully ; the high peaks and ridges round about were all 

 capped with snow. Woody and I started on foot for 

 an all-day tramp ; the amount of game seen the day 

 before showed that we were in a good elk country, 

 where the elk had been so little disturbed that they 

 fwere traveling, feeding, and whistling in daylight. 

 For three hours w r e walked across the forest-clad 

 spurs of the foothills. We roused a small band of 

 elk in thick timber; but they rushed off before we 

 saw them, with much smashing of dead branches. 

 Then we climbed to the summit of the range. The 

 wind was light and baffling; it blew from all points, 

 veering every few minutes. There were occasional 

 rain-squalls; our feet and legs were well soaked; 

 and we became chilled through whenever \ve sat 

 down to listen. We caught a glimpse of a big bull 

 feeding up-hill, and followed him ; it needed smart 

 running to overtake him, for an elk, even w r hile feed 

 ing, has a ground-covering gait. Finally we got 

 within a hundred and twenty-five yards, but in very 

 thick timber, and all I could see plainly was the hip 

 and the after-part of the flank. I waited for a 

 chance at the shoulder, but the bull got my wind and 



