8o CANADIAN NIGHTS 



wind, and sat down. I had not the remotest idea 

 of where I was, how long I had been running the 

 elk, how many I had killed, or anything else ; the 

 excitement I had been in for the last half-hour or 

 so was so great that I felt quite bewildered, and 

 scarcely knew what had happened. It was natural 

 that I should not know where I was, for the oldest 

 hand will get turned round after running even 

 buffalo on the prairie ; and elk are much worse 

 than buffalo, for the latter will generally run 

 tolerably straight, but the former go in circles, 

 and double, and turn back on their tracks, and go 

 in any direction it suits them. I was utterly and 

 completely lost as far as finding my way back to 

 camp was concerned, and I began all at once to 

 feel a sense of dismalness creep over me. A sudden 

 reaction set in after the great excitement I had 

 enjoyed. Only a few seconds before I had been 

 careering at full gallop over the prairie, shouting 

 from sheer exuberance of spirits, every nerve in a 

 state of intense excitation, the blood coursing 

 madly through every artery and vein, every muscle 

 and sinew strained to the uttermost, bestriding an 

 animal in an equal state of excitement, and pursu- 

 ing a herd of flying creatures, all instinct with Hfe 

 and violent movement. In a second it was all 



