AN ELK SEASON. 155 



sight by some trees. It was impossible to tell whether it 

 was a bull or no, but while we crept round in hopes of 

 getting a view of the head Bismarck broke into a whine, 

 and the long-sought elk was skrcemt and making off at full 

 speed through the wood. Peder suppressed Bismarck in a 

 definite though momentary manner with the lunch-bag just 

 as I commenced running to cut off the elk. Some half- 

 way up the hillside I sighted the animals, two of them 

 a bull and a cow. The cow dashed on, but before the bull 

 could follow her I took as steady an aim as I was capable 

 of after my run and thought I heard the bullet strike. On 

 the shot, as do all but the best elk-hounds, Bismarck broke 

 into a series of excited yaps. 



By this time the bull had dashed in among some pine 

 trees, but the cow had run in a circle and now reappeared ; 

 she looked at us for a moment and then also decamped up 

 the hill, where in the shadow of the trees I obtained another 

 shot at the bull as he melted away into the dusk of the 

 forest. This shot was fired at a great distance, and I had 

 no reason to think it took effect. On coming up to his 

 tracks, however, we found signs that he had been badly 

 struck, and after following the trail for some little time I 

 directed Peder to sit down for a rest and light his pipe. 

 He was very jubilant and very sure we should get the bull. 



In the course of half an hour we started again, took up 

 the track, and, save for one check by a small river, through 

 which the elk had waded, made good progress, though it 

 was sometimes necessary to move with extreme caution, 

 for the signs all the time showed us to be quite close to the 

 wounded animal. 



The elk led us in a complete circle, and for a long dis- 

 tance, so that when dusk was falling we had returned to the 

 hillside upon which the first shot was fired, and at the foot 

 of which lay a lake of some size. Into this the elk had 

 waded ; we could see his huge footmarks showing through 



