130 THE WILDERNESS OF THE UPPER YUKON 



the monarch of the vast northern forest, stood motionless 

 on the crest, gazing at the country below. His antlers 

 appeared large and white under the sunlight, as the out- 

 line of his huge form stood out boldly against the back- 

 ground of cliffs and snowy peaks behind. What a pleas- 

 ure it was to have Selous there to enjoy with me that 

 wonderful picture. The moose soon turned back out of 

 sight, and, after a bite of breakfast, I went well toward 

 the lower end of the meadows to a point where the wind 

 was favorable, and gradually climbed to the crest, hoping 

 that he might still remain above the timber. His trail 

 indicated that he had descended to a strip of forest ex- 

 tending up a small draw, and emerging on the other side 

 he had continued to the main area of woods beyond. 

 For a long distance the blood sprinkled on the snow 

 along his trail revealed the romance of the annual rut- 

 rivalry and strife. His battle must have been unsuccess- 

 fully fought some distance away, for there were no other 

 tracks near. I followed the trail for an hour to a point 

 where the woods were dense and filled with brush, and 

 then concluded to return to camp. Selous and Louis had 

 gone over to the Clearwater draw, the former intending 

 to pass the night, and Coghlan had gone down in the tim- 

 ber to get some birch bark for the making of a horn to 

 call moose. The remainder of the morning and a good 

 part of the afternoon were spent in preparing the sheep 

 skins until Coghlan returned, when a horn was quickly 

 made. I then went to the north end of the meadows 

 and gave several calls and waited until dark, but there 

 was no response and I returned to camp. 



