352 LARGE BAND OF ELK. 



I found that the Colonel, tired of waiting and thinking I had 

 gone after something else, had moved and shown himself, and 

 his doing so had started the rams. We separated now, 

 arranging where we were to meet. I was to take the high 

 ground while the colonel skirted the base of the mountains, 

 and soon after leaving him I saw a large band of elk feeding 

 on the opposite side of a valley which lay below me. I let 

 them feed over the ridge and then led my pony down and 

 picketed him in the valley, climbing the hill on foot. It was 

 necessary to be careful now, as I was going in the same 

 direction that the Indians had taken, and they might have 

 heard my shots at the ram and might be lying in wait some- 

 where near. I had nearly gained the ridge over which the elk 

 had gone when I saw two young bulls watching me, so I lay 

 still, hoping they would go away ; but this they did not seem 

 inclined to do, for they would pretend to fight and butt at one 

 another, and then come a little nearer to have a look at me. 

 Getting tired of this, I waved my handkerchief to and fro, 

 when they trotted off, and I climbed to the top of the ridge 

 and found myself within forty yards of a large band of elk : 

 most of them were lying down ; but I could see no fine heads, 

 so I thought I would risk it and jumped up suddenly, when 

 there was an extraordinary commotion, the elk going in all 

 directions, some of them running against others in their con- 

 fusion ; but as I did not want meat, and did not see a single 

 fine head, I did not fire, though they were so stupid that I 

 could easily have killed two or three. The bulls must have fed 

 on ahead, as I did not see a single large one as they went off. 

 I rejoined the Colonel towards evening and found that he had 

 killed a good ram, with finer horns than the one I had got, the 



