SPORT AND TRAVEL 257 



On November 5 we moved down to Rock Creek, 

 where I had a great piece of luck the next day. 

 Having climbed to a shoulder of the mountains at the 

 head of the creek, I came suddenly upon four mule 

 deer, which I had been tracking for some time. I 

 might have shot any one of them, but as there was 

 only a young buck with small horns amongst them, I 

 let them alone. Soon afterwards we came on the 

 tracks of a bull elk, and almost immediately I saw him 

 about two hundred yards off just going into some 

 thick timber, on the edge of which he had been lying. 

 Being above him on the slope of the opposite hill, 

 I could see him making his way amongst the trees in 

 rather deep snow, and as soon as I was able to get a 

 sight on him I fired and hit him. He only went 

 a few yards and then stopped, and I then fired again, 

 and distinctly heard the bullet tell. The wounded 

 animal plunged forward for about ten yards and fell 

 over, and when we got to him we found him quite 

 dead. He was a fine big bull, and would have had a 

 very pretty regular head of twelve points, had not the 

 last tine on the right-hand horn got injured in some 

 way whilst still in the velvet. 



This was my last day's hunting in the Rocky 

 Mountains during 1897, and on the following morning 

 we commenced our journey homewards. 



Two days later, the weather, which had often looked 

 threatening during the past week, became very dis- 

 agreeable, and a bitterly cold wind compelled us to 



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