EARLY DAY STORIES. 185 



cold weather, bad storms, ill luck, poor camping places and 

 the like, he had better stay at home and hunt rabbits. 



The elk were feeding very near to, and on the south- 

 west side of this partly swampy tract. By screening myself 

 behind a big bunch of grass I could easily take in the sit- 

 uation. They were quite closely together, none were lying 

 down, most of them were feeding, but several of the smaller 

 ones were playing together like young colts. They would 

 stamp and strike at each other, and once two of them reared 

 up on their hind feet, standing almost straight up, and strik- 

 ing at each other with their fore feet. I became interested 

 and forgot to shoot, although two or three times, picking out 

 a fine cow elk and taking aim, I neglected to pull the trigger. 

 They could not possibly smell me as the wind was in my 

 favor, but once in a while I got a good strong smell of them. 

 A big herd of elk can easil}^ be scented a quarter of a mile 

 away when the wind is favorable. 



After watching them for some time — ten minutes, any- 

 way, or perhaps a quarter of an hour, I thought it about 

 time to take a shot, and was in the act of trying to get two 

 cow elk in range, so as to bring down two at once, if pos- 

 sible, when all at once they threw up their heads and started 

 to run, going directly northwest into the wind. I was sure 

 they had neither seen nor winded me, and was puzzled. They 

 did not run far before they bunched and stopped. They 

 were still near enough for a chance shot, which, however, 

 I did not care to take. Their noses now all pointed south- 

 ward and looking in that direction about a quarter of a mile 

 off I saw Jake Gier on one knee in the act of firing his rifle. 

 The shot only scared them, however, and they were soon 

 out of sight in the sand hills. 



Meeting with Jake, I found that he and someone else 

 were out on a hunt and were camped about two miles away. 

 I told Jake he could have my interest in those elk — I would 



