170 THE WILDERNESS HUNTER. 



of the grazing and unconscious quarry. They 

 were feeding with their heads up-hill, but so 

 greedily that they had not seen us ; and they 

 were rather difficult to see themselves, for 

 their bodies harmonized well in color with the 

 brown tree-trunks and lichen-covered boulders. 

 The largest, a big bull with a good but by no 

 means extraordinary head, was nearest. As 

 he stood fronting me with his head down I 

 fired into his neck, breaking the bone, and he 

 turned a tremendous back somersault. The 

 other two halted a second in stunned terror ; 

 then one, a yearling, rushed past us up the 

 valley down which we had come, while the 

 other, a large bull with small antlers, crossed 

 right in front of me, at a canter, his neck 

 thrust out, and his head — so coarse-looking 

 compared to the delicate outlines of an elk's 

 — turned towards me. His movements seemed 

 clumsy and awkward, utterly unlike those of 

 a deer ; but he handled his great hoofs 

 cleverly enough, and broke into a headlong, 

 rattling gallop as he went down the hillside, 

 crashing through the saplings and leaping 

 over the fallen logs. There was a spur a little 

 beyond, and up this he went at a swinging 

 trot, halting when he reached the top, and 

 turning to look at me once more. He was 

 only a hundred yards away ; and though I 

 had not intended to shoot him (for his head 

 was not good), the temptation was sore ; and 

 I was glad when, in another second, the stupid 

 beast turned again and went off up the valley 

 at a slashing run. 



Then we hurried down to examine with pride 

 and pleasure the dead bull— his massive form, 



