140 THE UPPER YUKON 



the king as to act as a body-guard for him, 

 seemingly had now already forgotten him, and 

 as soon as the mastery was decided among the 

 other three bulls, they would cheerfully ac- 

 knowledge the winner as their lord and 

 master. 



Verily, verily, nature is seen to be more 

 and more wonderful the longer we live, and 

 as we learn to understand her mysterious pro- 

 visions for the guidance of animal life, and 

 for the reproduction of the species. 



This was all in all a most exciting day, 

 from the first sight of the herd at 8.23 A. M. 

 until we stooped over the fallen king at 4.28 

 P. M. With the exception of the time taken 

 for lunch, it was an almost continuous period 

 of keen excitement mixed with many disap- 

 pointments. No doubt in the years to come, 

 of all the soul-stirring and almost heart-break- 

 ing stalks that I have been in, this one of the 

 great inclined plane will linger the longest in 

 memory. I can recall it all the sight of the 

 herd feeding as it stretched out over the slope, 

 the frequent battles between the youngsters and 

 the old bull, the apparent affection of his 

 wives, then the swift bullet going true to its 

 aim, the short run, the final drop, and the 

 stalk was finished. 



