THIRTY YEARS A HUNTER. 107 



next day he resolved to leave the camp, and go home, 

 but before he had proceeded more than a mile, he 

 heard the howling of wolves, and as he had no gun, 

 he hastened back to the camp. He had a good 

 knife, an axe and a tomahawk, and to these means 

 of defence he added clubs and pointed sticks. He 

 also kept a large fire constantly blazing, and built a 

 scaffold about five feet high, on which he slept. He 

 had passed the time, notwithstanding all these pre- 

 cautions, in constant anxiety, and was heartily glad 

 to see human faces again, but when he learned that 

 we had captured an elk, he was much more delighted. 

 We all went to a traveled road about fifteen miles 

 distant, and from there sent Avery to procure a man 

 and horse, to assist in taking the elk home, while 

 Campbell and I returned to the camp. On the sec- 

 ond day after leaving us, he returned with a Mr. 

 Dixon and a horse. We started the next morning 

 for our elk, but when we arrived at the place where 

 we had left him, he was not there. He, as one had 

 done several years before, probably commenced lick- 

 ing the rope and continued until it was chewed off, 

 and escaped. We let the dogs loose, and followed 

 •ourselves about two miles, where the elk stopped 

 among some logs. Now that we had him we resolved 

 to make sure of him, so we watched him all night, 

 and the next day took him to the camp. From there 

 we traveled by way of Kenzua, and in three days 

 arrived at my residence near Cold Spring, in Catta- 

 raugus county, New York. We remained there a 

 few days, and exhibited the animal, and then went 



