ELK-HUNTING IN THE OLYMPIC MOUNTAINS. 51 



While resting in the middle of the day, they can be 

 easily approached. About four o'clock in the afternoon, 

 they leave the sand-bar, or sunning-ground, and again seek 

 the meadow, where they graze until dusk, when they retire 

 to the sand-bar for the night. 



In winter, they gather in large bands, and are constantly 

 on the move; while they may not travel out of a small 

 valley, yet they are in motion, seeking food. At this time 

 they develop very hog-like characteristics for so grand an 

 animal. With them it is the universal rush of the strong 

 against the weak; and if the tiny calf of the band paws up a 

 tender morsel of lichen, the grandest bull in the circle does 

 not hesitate to drive her away and appropriate it himself. 



The feeding-ground of a band of Elk, in winter, often 

 resembles a farm-yard, the snow being trodden down, and 

 packed as hard as ice, and the trees, if aspen, birch, or 

 willow, have most of the bark eaten off. All the smaller 

 branches within reach are eaten, the animals often standing 

 on their hind legs in order to reach the highest. 



A popular method of hunting the Elk when he inhab- 

 ited the great prairies was to run him on horseback. He is 

 usually still-hunted in the forests and mountains, dogs 

 being but seldom used. The weapons used by the Indians 

 were bows and arrows, spears, and guns. Since this noble 

 game has been driven from the prairies, there remains only 

 the still-hunt and the Indian method of waiting on run- 

 ways, surrounding the band, and then driving them over 

 some precipice. 



In former days, when Elk were hunted on horseback, 

 almost anything in the shape of a gun (or large caliber 

 pistol) was considered sufficient for the purpose, as the 

 trained horse would bring the hunter so near that he could 

 place his gun against the animal, and could hardly fail to 

 bring it down; but in the mountains this condition of things 

 is reversed, and in pursuing this game the very best arm 

 obtainable should be used. 



True, when compared with others of the Deer family, 

 the Elk is easily killed. A shot that a Black-tailed Deer 



