An Elk-Hunt at Two-Ocean Pass. J9 1 



trunk and wide-spreading branches giving it the rounded 

 top, and, at a distance, the general look of an oak rather 

 than a pine. We at once walked toward the ridge, up- 

 wind. In a minute or two, to our chagrin, we stumbled 

 on an outlying spike bull, evidently kept on the outskirts 

 of the herd by the master bull. I thought he would alarm 

 all the rest ; but, as we stood motionless, he could not see 

 clearly what we were. He stood, ran, stood again, gazed 

 at us, and trotted slowly off. We hurried forward as fast 

 as we dared, and with too little care ; for we suddenly 

 came in view of two cows. As they raised their heads to 

 look, Woody squatted down where he was, to keep their 

 attention fixed, while I cautiously tried to slip off to one 

 side unobserved. Favored by the neutral tint of my 

 buckskin hunting-shirt, with which my shoes, leggins, and 

 soft hat matched, I succeeded. As soon as I was out of 

 sight I ran hard and came up to a hillock crested with 

 pinyons, behind which I judged I should find the herd. 

 As I approached the crest, their strong, sweet smell smote 

 my nostrils. In another moment I saw the tips of a pair 

 of mighty antlers, and I peered over the crest with my 

 rifle at the ready. Thirty yards off, behind a clump of 

 pinyons, stood a huge bull, his head thrown back as he 

 rubbed his shoulders with his horns. There were several 

 cows around him, and one saw me immediately, and took 

 alarm. I fired into the bull's shoulder, inflicting a mortal 

 wound ; but he went off, and I raced after him at top 

 speed, firing twice into his flank ; then he stopped, very 

 sick, and I broke his neck with a fourth bullet. An elk 

 often hesitates in the first moments of surprise and fright, 



