THE ELK 171 



uiidrr the stones in a Scotch luiiii. The uliillic callcil il 



a " sar|iiiit," and sijuinuctl with >ii|icisl iiioiis U'li'or whcii- 



vyov its hhick coils sIiowimI ncai his hoots. Bnt iioho(l\- 



had aii\' oh|ccl ioii to eating the trout, and a ha\'niakci''s 



hut l)cing handy, and the customary iron pot in its [ihicc. wc 



soon liad tlicin hcCorr us, fizzing liot on the plank hcd shdl'. 



In the at'ternoon we again struck sjnjf, this lime a 



hull, a cow, and a calf. They were tra\'elling down wind, 



and I had lillle liojx' of an\' result, l)ut I contenlcij 



myseir hy [licking up some wood-craft from Tump, k 



is not difficult to measure the dea'ree of freshness of the 



track l)\' the licha\iour of the doo-. He is not content with 



roading the track itself, hut frequently stands on his hind- 



lesfs to smell at the twio-s which have been nilil>le(l. Now 



and again he jiauseswith head in air, and tries to catch 



the wind direct from tiie elk. If the scent was very hot 



Tump would utter a sound which 1 can onl\' describe as 



a bark in a whis})er. J have known other elk dogs to do 



the same. 



Now the track takes a more zigzao- course as the band 

 search for their aflernooii feed. SuddenK' Paohis, wlm is 

 in front of me, starts backward, and points along a narrow 

 o;lade. I can see nothini-- but the winishinL;' Hick' of a 

 Vellow stei'ii as tlie\' whip awa\' into the dvo]) shaihiw of a 

 clump nf spruces. 1 had at aii}' rate seen m\ first elk, 

 and my appetite was whetted. 



The chief food of the elk consists of the haves of 

 deciduous trees, especially of the mountain a>h. and <>ne 

 soon learns to regard a "' l)lack" wood, i.e. one >>{' lirs 

 onlv, as a poor chance. I'^ioin hi- length of neck he 

 reaches his food to a considerable heiuht, hut. not content 



