158 pioneer life; or, 



skins and the meat of four elk. The next day Whit- 

 comb and Goodwin conveyed to Kenzua the meat of 

 the fifteen deer we had killed, while Seaman and 

 myself remained behind, resolved, if possible, to 

 catch an elk. The next day at noon it began to thaw, 

 and we set out with two of our best dogs, in search 

 of tracks. We returned to our block-house that eve- 

 ning. Seaman felt considerably disheartened and 

 proposed that we should give up the hunt and go 

 iiome. I could not abandon the idea of making one 

 more effort, and to encourage my companion I told 

 him of my success two years before, when I took 

 two elk in less than a month, and received as my 

 share three hundred and sixty dollars. This gave 

 him new animation, and he said he would stick by 

 me as long as there Was a * flake of snow to track 

 them by. The following day, when we had proceed- 

 ed about four miles we found some large tracks 

 which had been made about the time of the hail- 

 storm. We followed them until about three o'clock, 

 when we concluded that they must have gone to the 

 rocks at the head of Marvin's Creek, and decided 

 to return to our block-house, and in the morning 

 endeavor to strike the trail between that place and 

 the creek. The next day we found the track about 

 three o'clock, and followed until night when we 

 made a comfortable camp. Our spirits for the past 

 day had not flagged, and now that we seemed so 

 near the object of our long and weary hunt, we felt 

 impatient for the morning, feeling confident that we 

 should secure our prize before another night. In- 



