PICTURES AND PLANTS FOR CHRISTMAS WITH AN ELK STORY 



753 



country for a year or more, and game was in great 

 plenty everything from an Abert's squirrel to a grizzly. 

 As we came into the foot-hills, we followed a narrow 

 game path along a frozen mountain stream; a willowy 

 growth, higher than our heads, was upon either hand. 

 Merriam was a short distance behind, leading his horse, 

 and I was in the saddle ahead, with carbine loaded and 

 ready for anything. We had proceeded but a very 

 short distance, when a superb white-tail buck jumped 

 up directly ahead of me he ran but a short distance, 

 when I downed him at the first shot. Merriam got into 

 his saddle after that so he could see better ahead of 

 him! "Nuffsed." 



About the middle of the forenoon we were well up the 

 side of the mountain ; arctic temperature still prevailed, 

 and a good breeze was blowing. We were ascending 

 a path from which we could overlook the entire valley 

 below ; both of us were now mounted, and my companion 

 was well in the 

 lead. Sudden- 

 ly he stopped, 

 wheeled, and 

 beckoned t o 

 me to catch up 

 with him, 

 pointing into 

 the valley 

 and well h e 

 might. There 

 was no mis- 

 taking what 

 the long line 

 of big animals 

 were, as there 

 were many 

 great - ant- 

 lered fellows 

 among them. 

 Elk ! At least 

 500 of them, 

 marching in 

 close order in 

 a long column 

 of fours. They 

 were coming 

 up the moun- 

 tain, and would 

 soon be in the timber some half a mile ahead of us. 

 They quickly winded us, massed, and pushed for the 

 timber higher up, while we pursued at a stiff gallop, 

 dismounting when we reached their trail. This we 

 followed as best we could through the heavy pine for- 

 est to the top. Great boulders of rock were scattered 

 through the timber, the animals making deep paths 

 among them in the snow as they herded through. All 

 fleer emit a peculiar, pungent odor from their odori- 

 ferous glands when excited and chased, and this was 

 powerfully in evidence as we halted among the big rocks 

 at the hill-top, close together, with our carbines loaded 



COTTON, IN THE STAGE HERE FIGURED, FROM ITS VERY SNOWY APPEARANCE IN A WAY 



REMINDS US OF WINTER 



Fig. 7 This beautiful specimen of American Cotton was grown in a garden of one of the Public Schools 



of Washington, District of Columbia. 



and belts full of cartridges. We crept into a position 

 overlooking the shallow, timbered valley immediately 

 beyond ; it was literally packed full of elk, and the wind 

 was coming our way. Merriam was plumb blown from 

 the run we had had, and he most generously indicated 

 to me not to wait a second for him, but commence firing. 

 As we were out after meat for the garrison, I availed 

 myself instantly of his invitation, pulling up on an 

 immense buck with a cow on the off side of him, at 

 short range away. He dropped dead at the shot the 

 cow running a few hundred yards and then following 

 his example. Two with on ball ! This sight gave 

 Merriam fresh wind, and together we opened on them 

 as they massed in a narrow divide just beyond us. We 

 downed in a few moments something short of a dozen, 

 which later on were dressed and loaded on the wagon. 

 While this was underway, I made after the herd as they 

 spread out over the rolling foot-hills lower down ; and as 



I came up with 

 ;them I killed 

 a fine doe at 

 four hundred 

 yards, the 

 shot causing 

 them to band, 

 and head for 

 the hills once 

 more. As my 

 horse was in 

 fine condition, 

 I followed at 

 top speed 

 dragging a 

 good part of 

 my lariat and 

 pin behind me 

 for lack of 

 time to coil it. 

 Being now 

 much excited 

 and warmed 

 up, the odor 

 given off by 

 the herd was 

 more than op- 

 pressive. I n 

 their rapid ad- 

 vance they became more and more compact, and in this 

 formation they made in between two foot-hills, with 

 me hard after them. At the end of a few hundred 

 yards, they discovered that they were in a gorge which 

 did not admit of their escape that is it was a blind 

 ravine, with a steep and rocky termination. They very 

 quickly reversed order, whereupon I promptly wheeled 

 to get out of the way of their advance. Apparently 

 it was only a part of the original herd, numbering a 

 couple of hundreds or thereabouts ; still, at that moment 

 it looked like as many thousand to me. In less time 

 than it takes to tell it, the leaders a bunch of big bulls 



