32 STALKS ABROAD 



The other bull escaped in much the same way. 

 We had got close up to a herd we had been following 

 for some hours and were lying within a few yards 

 of the clump of asp in which they were concealed. 

 As often happens, a slight whiff of tainted air brought 

 one of the cows to her feet in a hurry, and the next 

 second there was snapping of twigs, crashing of 

 branches, and then silence. The cows had all bolted 

 to our left, and running to the edge of a steep gully 

 we saw them standing some five hundred yards 

 off, but no bull in sight. As we watched, a great 

 bulk suddenly loomed up behind us and then went 

 plunging down the side of the gully, which was 

 covered with young quaking asp. Until reaching 

 the bottom he, for it was the bull, remained hidden ; 

 then I caught a glimpse of him as he crossed a 

 marshy swamp and just had time for a snap. At 

 the shot he lurched heavily into the trees and out 

 of our view, but on going down we found a good 

 trail of blood. For some three hundred yards we 

 traced it, over fallen timber and brush through 

 which it seemed hard to believe that so large an 

 animal could have found his way ; then it stopped 

 abruptly, and my guide, who was a most indifferent 

 tracker, failed to pick it up again. 



I came to the conclusion that a '275 Mauser 

 was hardly a heavy enough weapon with which to 

 hunt wapiti ; for, on so large an animal the bullet 

 requires to be very accurately placed to stop the 

 beast dead. They are possessed of great vitality, 



