ON THE PRAIRIE 



'57 



es almost as much reliance upoi 

 leaders as does a flock of sheep; an<l if the 

 leaders are shot down, the others will 

 huddle together in a terrified mass, seem- 

 ingly unable to make up their minds in 

 which direction to flee. When one, more 

 bold than the rest, does at last step out, the 

 hidden hunter's at once shooting it down 

 will produce a fresh panic; I have known 

 of twenty elk (or wapiti, as they are oc- 

 casionally called) being thus procured out 

 of one band. And at times they show a 

 curious indifference to danger, running up 

 on a hunter who is in plain sight, or stand- 

 ing still for a few fatal seconds to gaze at 

 one that unexpectedly appears. 



In spite of its size and strength and great 

 branching antlers, the elk is but little more 

 dangerous to the hunter than is an ordinary 



. Once, in coming up to a wounded 



one, I had it strike at me with its forefeet, 



bristling up the hair on the neck, and ma- 



a harsh, grating noise with its teeth; 



as its back was broken it could not get at 



