ELK. 161 



man, the means of killing several, if not many. If, as 

 soon as the leader gets fairly started, he is dropped, all 

 stop, and by the time another is selected and starts the 

 hunter can have reloaded and possibly gained many 

 paces nearer. Another start, another knock down, and 

 so on. I have myself killed five from one herd in this 

 way, knocking down one after another two leaders, and 

 being much nearer to the herd when I shot the last than 

 when the first fell. 



The gravest objection to this style of shooting is that, 

 in my experience, nine times out of ten the leader is a 

 doe. Unlike the buffalo, the buck elk rarely takes the 

 lead, and if he brings up the rear it is only because his 

 fat prevents him from running faster. His favourite 

 position is in the middle of the herd, surrounded by 

 admiring females, any one or all of whom he is as willing 

 to sacrifice to his own safety as was Artemus Ward to 

 let his wife's cousins go to the war. The larger, fatter, 

 and more tempting he is to the sportsman, the more 

 timid does he appear and the more pains does he take to 

 keep himself well surrounded by the herd. 



To bay this ' monarch ' is no easy matter, and so, by 

 all rules, he is the special one the sportsman most desires 

 to bay. It is not like murdering him when his head is 

 in the bush and he has nothing but his nose to depend 

 on. Now he has not only his own eyes, but a score of 

 other eyes are watching for him ; not only his own ears, 

 but a score of feminine ears are specially sharpened for 

 his protection. But the eyes and ears of a whole herd 

 may be successfully eluded ; noses never. The very 

 first necessity to a successful stalk is to have the wind 

 right. It is best to approach directly up the wind, but 

 this cannot always be done without exposing one's self to 

 the eyes and ears. Across the wind, if it be strong, is 

 equally good ; but if it blows in flaws it is dangerous. 

 The elk may hear the hunter, and turn and stare in the 

 direction of the sound ; but, if the alarm is not confirmed 



M 



