xxiv THE WAPITI 395 



struggle for a few yards towards the sky-line, where it disappeared. 

 The remaining deer halted exactly upon the sky-line, as though 

 undetermined as to the course they should pursue. Several turned 

 round, and from a distance of about 300 yards regarded my horse 

 and myself. I put up the 300 yards back-sight, and fired at the 

 chest of the foremost stag. Again I heard the bullet strike, but 

 they all vanished from the scene beyond the outline of the hill-top. 



Jem had now joined me, and I suggested that we should ride 

 up the hill, but dismount before reaching the summit, as I fully 

 expected to find the two stags which had been wounded at the 

 long range. Accordingly, upon nearing the ridge, I cautiously 

 advanced on foot, and taking a rock to cover the line of approach, 

 I looked over a narrow shoulder of the mountain exactly in our 

 front. There was a bare plateau of about 3 acres, beyond which 

 were a few stunted spruce firs growing in a scattered group on the 

 verge of the descent to the low country ; some 7000 or 8000 feet 

 beneath. Among the group of spruce there was a stag with a fore 

 leg broken just below the shoulder. Another was standing upon 

 the open about 150 yards from me, with its hind-quarters towards 

 us, its legs wide apart, and its head lowered till the nose almost 

 touched the ground. I knew the sickening effect of the solid '577 

 bullet, and I could see that this was the shot in the hind-quarters 

 which had raked the poor beast fore and aft. Although I could 

 depend for extreme accuracy upon the '577, I told Jem to hand 

 me my Martini-Henry which I had lent to him, as I wished to 

 prove its reputation we therefore exchanged rifles, and carefully 

 turned to the right, in order to see the stag in any other position 

 than the rear. It did not appear to notice us, and upon reaching 

 a spot where the neck was plainly visible, the Martini-Henry 

 dropped it dead. 



We now advanced towards the clump of spruce where the stag 

 with the broken leg had been seen upon our arrival on the crest. 

 Unfortunately the last shot fired had started it at full speed down 

 the hill, in spite of the broken fore leg. I ran to the edge of the 

 ridge, and caught sight of this splendid animal several hundred 

 yards below us, cantering down the rocky slope with the right leg 

 swinging from the shoulder a pitiable sight, which grieved me 

 sadly, as it was hopeless and impossible to follow it. 



My only consolation was, that throughout my trip in the Big 

 Horn range this was the only animal that was wounded without 

 being killed. 



After watching this stag until it disappeared from view, I 

 returned to examine our two dead animals. The first was near us. 



