MY FIRST ELK. 79 



as sound as a top. What was Ursus to him, or he to 

 Ursus ? 



Next morning we had a good meal off venison stakes, 

 made our bread, hung up everything we had on boughs 

 of trees, and went off again, leaving behind us as sweet 

 a little reminder for any intruder, two legged or 

 four, that might feel inclined to pry into our arrange- 

 ments. 1 took my double-barrelled gun, and loaded it 

 carefully with half a handful of buckshot and bullet. 

 I then scooped out a narrow sloping trench about 3ft. 

 long. I rove a string from the top strap -ring under- 

 neath the barrels, and carried it down to the one on the 

 butt, passed it through and up again to the triggers. 

 On the end of the string, close to the muzzle of the 

 barrels, we tied a large piece of deer meat smeared over 

 with sugar. The weapon was then laid (uncocked) in 

 the trench, and lightly covered over with brambles, &c. 

 leaving the piece of meat as naturally as possible on the 

 surface of the ground. Nothing remained now but to 

 cock the gun, and there you were. The only objection 

 to such an arrangement is that you are extremely likely 

 to kill yourself during the " fixing '' of it. The great 

 advantage of it is that it is bound to kill something. 



We saw no elk all that day, as the whole band had 

 doubtless gone to the Cascades almost by this time, and 

 so we cast about to look after the ^' little round gentle- 

 man in black ^' whom I had seen yesterday. We found 

 him with my binocular, which the boy couldn^t make out 

 at all, within a few yards of where we had left him 

 yesterday. I stalked within forty yards of him and 

 shot him clean through the body; he gave a squeak, 

 and set off straight for the valley where I had shot the 

 »lk the day previous, and it was surprising the pace at 



