U4 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



is, no doubt to a great extent, a correct one. But I have 

 recently had reason to change my mind a good deal on this 

 point, and I cannot do better than quote the following passage 

 from an article of mine in the ' Fortnightly Review ' : 



Under the guidance of Elias (my Lapp hunter), who is a 

 master in woodcraft, elk hunting was, in a great degree, assimi- 

 lated to deer stalking. He was all for pursuing the chase on the 

 highest possible ground. 'There are, of course, always elk in the 

 low pine forest,' he would say, ' and in winter it is full of them ; 

 but at this season of the year the place to find and /b7/them is the 

 high fjeld, or thereabouts.' That this dictum was in the main 

 correct is proved by the fact that last season, during thirty-two 

 days' hunting, we sighted including all ages and both sexes no 

 fewer than forty-one distinct elk, over two-thirds of which were 

 found on the high terraces and slopes just under the crest of the 

 mountains, or in the quiet dells and hollows of the fjeld itself, 

 where the birch-copse often grew barely high enough to conceal 

 them. They were occasionally seen lying out in the open, like red 

 deer. The term ' high' as applied to the fjeld is, of course, rela- 

 tive to the general elevation of the country. 



We found the best stalking ground at between 1,500 and 

 2,000 ft. above the level of the valleys. I am here, of course, 

 speaking of Norway, where in the vast desolate districts north 

 of Namsos I have been lucky enough to secure the sole right 

 to kill elk over a considerable tract, about equal in size to the 

 county of Surrey. 1 



The ' bind hund ' or leash-hound should be trained, as I 

 have said, to be perfectly mute and quiet even when he views 

 elk, and should be taught also to keep close to heel when not 

 required to lead. This latter point is often neglected. It is 

 pleasant to observe the clever way in which a well- broken and 

 steady elk dog will steer his way through covert when in ad- 

 vance, seldom going the wrong side of a tree or bush, and 

 obeying instantaneously the slightest hint of the hand which 



1 To explain how such a tract, entirely mountainous, may be conveniently 

 hunted, I may mention that there are eight specially built huts and four small 

 farmhouses which serve as quarters. 



