ELK HUNTING 



weight and closing behind him as he goes, sometimes in 

 a stooping posture almost bent double for half a mile at 

 a stretch, the paths lead the hunter through thick matted 

 brambles and other more abominable thorny scrub. Again 

 in sheltered hollows, where lycopodium and ferns clothe the 

 ground, and where noble trees, whose straight, stately stems 

 are crowned by a leafy canopy, check all undergrowth of 

 bush or sapling. 



In the cool shade of such forest as this progress is easy 

 and pleasant ; provided it is fine. There is always, too, the 

 chance of meeting a solitary elephant, and the sudden 

 swaying of young trees and disturbance of branches brings 

 the sportsman up sharp for a moment. A troop of 

 Wanderoo monkeys, however, is the cause as they swing 

 away from tree to tree in needless panic. 



Then when reward follows the search, and after a long 

 day the hunter returns to camp with all his errant pack and 

 perchance a fine trophy, his cup of happiness is full. His 

 knowledge of woodcraft, aided by his compass, has led him 

 unerringly through many a valley and deep gorge, and has 

 brought him up to the scattered remnant of his lost pack. 

 Halting upon some prominent spur or upon some preci- 

 pitous crag, the sound of the horn has reached the ears of 

 old Lifter, and an answering howl gladdens the heart of the 

 hunter. 



Another and another take up the mournful note, and 

 soon hounds begin dropping in to their master's heel ; they 

 seem almost to spring out of the ground, so noiselessly and 

 suddenly does their number increase. The next morning a 

 fresh draw is tried in fresh country. Not that a pack of 

 hounds in full cry will drive sambhur out of any forest for 

 more than a few hours ; but one is apt to think, and rightly 

 too, that a wily old stag with the cry of hounds still ringing 



175 



