138 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



or bays the deer, in order that the sound may serve as a 

 guide to the shooter. With the constant expectation of being 

 loosed, he can hardly be expected to restrain his emotions 

 when his instinct, or possibly eyesight, tells him that the 

 glorious moment of freedom is, or ought to be, at hand. Few, 

 if any, dogs can play both roles equally well ; it will be found 

 that a hound accustomed to being loosed will, in stalking, 

 invariably strain impetuously at the leader, and that it is not 

 safe to let him view the elk, as he will in all probability whine 

 or bark : on the other hand, one that is rarely slipped will only 

 follow for a few hundred yards, and seldom or never stop a deer. 

 I do not deny that good useful dogs may now and then be found 

 who will acquit themselves tolerably in either character, but 

 I am speaking only of the best of each class. Thoroughly 

 broken and trustworthy dogs are sometimes allowed to range 

 the forest from the first, but as a rule the hound is never 

 slipped until, either from his conduct, or from his own observa- 

 tion of signs, ^ the hunter becomes certain that the elk is not far 

 off, or until he despairs altogether of finding one, and trusts to 

 the dog as a last chance. This is but a too common ending to 

 a day when the forest tract is large and fresh signs of elk not 

 discoverable. A brace of dogs are frequently allowed to run at 

 the same time, but it is a safe maxim that when a single dog 

 notifies that he has found and bayed the elk, a second should 

 not be loosed, as his sudden appearance on the scene will often 

 start the deer off and render him more difficult to stop. 



In searching for elk with the dog still in hand the hunter 

 works slowly up and across wind, utilising his knowledge of 

 country to the utmost advantage. The dog at such a time— 

 and this applies equally to both styles of hunting— precedes 

 him at a distance of five or six feet, being restrained by a leader 

 or leash, which is fastened to the harness. The best form of 

 harness consists of a belly-band and chest-strap of softest 

 leather sewn together, and further united by a strap which 



1 Knowledge of elk spoor, to be of any practical value, can only be learnt 

 by experience : I have not therefore attempted any description of it. 



I 



