228 EARLY DAY STORIES. 



We found a fine place to camp in an old blowout com- 

 pletely grassed over, and where in previous years the wind 

 had so shaped the sand hills when in a drifting condition as 

 to form a perfect shelter from the wind. Nearby was a 

 pond of water, and a dead cottonwood tree, and plenty of 

 red roots for fuel. 



The next day we moved to our new camping ground, 

 brought in the game, pitched the tent, hauled up a wagon 

 box full of red roots, and planted a pole with a grain sack 

 for a signal on a high sand hill about a quarter of a mile 

 ' from camp, for our httle tepee was completely hidden from 

 sight in the old blowout. 



The next day we tried again for the elk, and we found 

 them all right, but all the good it did us was the gaining 

 of a little new experience. They were on a great flat that 

 was covered with big grass. The only way to get near them 

 was to crawl on hands and knees for nearly or quite half 

 a mile. The wind, if there was any, was baffling. Time 

 and again I tried it by gathering a handful of fuzzy grass 

 seeds, letting them sift through the fingers and watch to see 

 which way they drifted. What wind there was seemed to 

 come from the southeast. The elk were about a mile east 

 of us. We therefore worked around further north and ap- 

 proached from the northwest. When within a long distance 

 shot, their noses suddenly went up in the air — they bunched 

 together, and then quickly started off on a fast gallop. They 

 had not seen us, but rising to our feet we found that the 

 wind had changed to the northwest and they had taken our 

 scent. 



It was night when we got to camp, and it was turning 

 cold. However we did not mind the cold, our tepee was 

 warm, the horses were well blanketed, we had plenty of 

 fuel, and the shelter was excellent. We gave up the elk for 

 good, and the next day, although it was cold and somewhat 



