American Big-Game Hunting 



down in some water to take his mud-bath. 

 While this was going on I began to slide 

 down the hill, watching for his reappearance, 

 when to my surprise and disgust I suddenly 

 saw the head and horns of an elk that was 

 lying down one hundred yards to my right 

 and almost on a level with me. I did not 

 want to disturb him, with a chance of start- 

 ling all the other elk in the neighborhood 

 before I had a chance to photograph them, 

 and so decided to try and get a photograph 

 of his head and horns. With my man 

 George following at my heels, I finally crept 

 up behind a low spruce-tree about seventy- 

 five feet from his highness. I knew from 

 experience, however, that his head and 

 horns would be almost undistinguishable on 

 the negative against the surrounding objects. 

 Getting my camera ready, and leaning out 

 from behind the bush, I told George to 

 whistle so that the elk would get up. To my 

 great surprise, he turned his head in our 

 direction and, without rising, gave vent to a 

 shrill blast of defiance or annoyance, as it 

 seemed. After repeating these tactics sev- 

 eral times, and finally shouting at him, only 



310 



