AN ELK SEASON. 163 



on over the chilly ground until my foot lost all feeling. 

 Within another few yards the wood began to thin, and as 

 we came to the edge of it I saw the three elk. They were 

 standing two hundred yards away in the middle of a marsh 

 about a quarter of a mile in width. The bull was the nearest 

 to us, but alas ! he was by no means a " vera bool." I 

 turned to Peder and shook my head. At this Peder began 

 to be very troubled. " Schutt ! Gartland farmer no elg ! " 

 he whispered reproachfully, which was quite true. For 

 on the Gartland rights we had killed no elk, and there was 

 the farmer's winter meat supply to be considered. Still it 

 seemed a pity to kill the bull, for it was but a three-year-old, 

 and in five or six years more might carry a good head. Who 

 knows ? But Peder had a second argument to back his 

 advice. " Schutt bool ! " and he pointed significantly at 

 Bismarck. I knew all that he meant ; the old Norwegian 

 phrase, " Blood for the dog, meat for the man/' expressed 

 it, for in Norway it is supposed to be bad, and it un- 

 doubtedly is very bad, for a good elk-hound to lead to 

 the quarry and be disappointed by no kill. For this 

 reason many a Norwegian will spare nothing, bull or cow, 

 tracked down by his dog. 



I felt there was no more to be said, and as the elk had 

 not moved much I settled myself against a tree and got 

 the white sight behind his shoulder. At the shot he rushed 

 for cover. It was difficult to shoot again, because the cow 

 and her calf had run in between him and me, but I felt sure 

 he would not go far. This turned out to be the case, for 

 we found the bull, deserted by cow and calf, standing on 

 the trail which led to the saeter. When he saw us he turned 

 and tifed to go up on the hill, but he had no strength left, 

 and another shot finished him. He proved to be a fine, 

 heavy animal, and as such was appreciated by the Gart- 

 land farmer. 



The day following was the last day of September, and 



