390 WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS CHAP. 



advancing, aud would in my opinion cross the stream and join 

 other deer which, although invisible, were somewhere in the 

 neighbourhood. 



After waiting a few minutes, I discovered that a plot of open 

 ground lay within the copse at no great distance ; this I perceived 

 through the light which penetrated into the free opening. Upon 

 reaching this, I found an area of about 2 acres perfectly free from 

 bushes, but filled with rank grass aud sedges, about 2 feet high. 

 It struck me that the two wapiti stags would in all probability 

 pass through this opening upon their arrival in the covert. 



Hiding myself beneath a thick bush, from which I could 

 command every portion of the open space, I waited patiently, 

 having left my two men concealed, together with the horse, at a 

 considerable distance. 



Nearly half au hour passed away in expectation ; I was cramped 

 in my stooping position, and I slowly rose to stretch my limbs. 

 As I stood upright, I caught sight of a pair of antlers just emerg- 

 ing from the thicket on my left. I slowly sank into my former 

 position. First one and then another large stag issued from the 

 wood. They walked very slowly along the verge of the thicket, 

 occasionally halting to take a mouthful of grass, aud feeding as 

 they went. 



When exactly opposite my position, I took aim at the leading 

 stag and fired ; at the same time I ran towards the spot. The 

 bullet struck the shoulder, and the stag reeled to and fro, some- 

 times falling on its knees, and in this way blundered into the 

 thicket, but fell dead just as I arrived. Hearing a groat rush, 

 and seeing that the stag was safe, I continued to run forward ; 

 within 50 yards I emerged upon the open, and found myself upon 

 a hog's back sloping ridge of only a few yards' width, while a 

 natural fosse like a letter V, about 300 feet deep, lay before me ; 

 the opposite side continuing the steep slope to the summit of the 

 mountain. 



There was an extraordinary scene around me. A great mass of 

 wapiti had burst from the jungle upon hearing the report of my 

 rifle, and there was no room for them to stand upon the narrow 

 area of the hog's back ridge. There were about 300 stags, hinds, 

 and young ones of all ages mingled together, some of them being 

 within 10 or 15 yards of me. They were determined to go forward, 

 to effect which they were obliged to attempt the precipitous descent 

 into the narrow bottom of the canyon, after which it would be 

 necessary to ascend the opposite side. 



This cleft was so abrupt that, although quite 300 feet in depth, 



