THE ELK IN NORWAY. 135 



trotted off into the forest. Awful was the wrath 

 and excitement of the old lady, who saw all her fond 

 hopes thwarted by the stupidity of Ole (somehow or 

 other everybody seems to be called Ole), whom she 

 declared she would bang well with her oars if she 

 got within reach of him. 



Amongst other plans to which poachers have re- 

 course the following is perhaps the most general, 

 and most successful : 



The whereabouts of an elk having been ascertained, 

 one of the party, usually the one who is the best shot, 

 conceals himself on the nearest hill. For the elk- 

 deer when startled instinctively makes off to the first 

 piece of rising ground in the immediate neighbourhood, 

 whence it can have a good look out-on all sides. 

 Meanwhile the rest of the party "ring" the animal, 

 and if they are unable to get a shot, one of them makes 

 a slight noise just sufficient to startle it, but not so as 

 to terrify it. The elk at once makes off to the hill 

 in question, where it in all probability meets with 

 its end. 



Some poachers, I am told, are able to entice the 

 elk close to them during the pairing season by means of 

 some peculiar call. 



As above stated, the usual way of hunting elk 

 in Norway is with a dog held in a leash. When 

 the dog has got scent of an elk, which it frequently 



