THE DOG WHEN IN A LEASH. 117 



in the absence of his master to a tree or bush, and alone 

 reconnoitres the surrounding country. Thus the man not 

 unfrequently succeeds in getting a view of the elk, either 

 whilst lying down or feeding, and of slaughtering him with 

 his rifle; but much more frequently the elk, from his 

 exquisite sense of smelling and of hearing, takes the alarm, 

 and goes off at the top of his speed. The sportsman has 

 now the same game to play over again ; and thus he may 

 sometimes go on for days, without succeeding in obtaining 

 even a shot. This does not arise so much from the scarcity 

 of elks, as from their extreme shyness. 



"It is not difficult to follow the same elk, even during the 

 summer time, for a day or two together ; for at that season 

 he, for the most part, holds to the morasses and low grounds, 

 where his track is in general perceptible. At times, how- 

 ever, one is thrown out ; but on such occasions a good 

 dog will generally enable the sportsman to retrieve the 

 lost track. 



" Hard-blowing weather is the best for the purpose, as the 

 noise made among the trees by the wind prevents the elk from 

 hearing the approach of the hunter ; the scent is then breast 

 high, and the dog, in consequence, is enabled to take a man 

 in a direct line up to the game. If it be calm, on the con- 

 trary, the dog cannot wind the elk from any considerable 

 distance, and the latter, besides, is then able to hear the 

 slightest noise. 



" But when people are pursuing this sport, they must be 

 careful not to allow the leash out of their hands, which is 

 likely enough to occur, owing to the eagerness of the dog. 

 An old Chasseur told me that a circumstance of this kind 

 happened to himself; but though he searched the forest in 



