90 SHORT STALKS 



reached the top of the pass and camped in a small open park. 

 This was at a height of fully ten thousand feet, and, when 

 I returned from an evening stroll, ice had already formed 

 in the bucket. All our blankets and every available 

 garment were wanted that night, and the streams were 

 frozen to the bottom in the mornino-. The descent 

 proved much easier than the ascent. It lay through 

 open parks of grass with patches of cotton-wood, which 

 became thicker and more frecpient as we drew downwards. 

 Passing one of these I caught a glimpse of a large animal 

 lying down with something like a young tree on the top 

 of his head. I pulled up sharp, and a big bull elk, the 

 first I had seen, sprang up. He got behind some trees 

 before I could get off to shoot, but at least I had had 

 my first sight of an elk, and I envy any one that moment. 

 Half an hour later we jumped two others. This was too 

 much, and, as we again wanted meat, we elected to make 

 a short day, and go into camp at once in a wide grassy 

 hollow, on a chain of hills between "Buffalo Fork" and 

 " Black Rock Creek," the waters of which ultimately find 

 their way to the Pacific. After a feed I started out with 

 Clarke on foot. We had hardly gone a mile, and were 

 walking along a bare ridge with cotton-wood groves on. 

 each side, when he pointed out what he said was a l)ull 

 elk among the trees below us. I got out my field-glasses 

 and made out a narrow perpendicular section of some 

 large animal, which was all I could see for the tree-stems. 

 It was a long shot, but I felt pretty sure of him if I could 

 only avoid the trees. AVhen I fired he of course dis- 

 appeared, and Clarke said I had missed him, but I fancied 

 I saw the top of a thin tree shaking about as though 



