

THE ELK AND THE WOLF. 367 



weapon, weighing certainly thirteen or fourteen pounds. 

 To believe the owner, Captain Warner's " long range " was 

 nothing to it. With bears, Eric had come but little in 

 contact; but his exploits with elks, of which he narrated 

 many, were much talked of in that part of the country. 



A short time prior to our meeting, these men had fallen 

 in with the somewhat stale tracks of what they at first con- 

 sidered to be two elks the mother and fawn. These tracks 

 they pursued for a time ; but remarking at length that that 

 of the supposed fawn seldom followed in the dam's, but kept 

 parallel with it, they were induced to examine the tracks 

 more closely, when they ascertained that it was a wolf, and not 

 its own young, that had kept company with the poor elk. 

 Farther pursuit now seemed useless, it being easy to divine 

 the fate of the deer. Thinking it better to come in for the 

 jackal's share than none at all, our friends, however, per- 

 severed; and though after reaching the carcase they found, 

 as anticipated, much of the flesh devoured by the wolf, still 

 venison enough remained (of some of which indeed Elg 

 and I also partook) to compensate them for their toil. 



Poor Eric ! The very same winter that I myself, as will 

 presently be related, was mauled by a bear, he also was 

 severely wounded by one of those beasts. In the northern 

 forests, when the winter quarters of a bear are ascertained, 

 and that he is about to be attacked, it is often customary 

 to have a sledge at hand, in order to bring home his carcase. 

 Eric and his comrades, of whom, on this occasion, he had 

 several, being all confidence, this was the arrangement in the 

 present instance. And it was well timed, for the vehicle 

 served to convey from the forest the bear and his antagonist 

 side by side : the bear dead, and poor Eric nearly so ! And 

 though the man eventually recovered, he was disabled for 



