The Wapiti or Round- homed Elk 159 



sight and halted the moisture instantly formed 

 and froze on my glasses so that I could not see 

 anything, and before I got them clear the game 

 had vanished. Whatever happened, I was bound 

 that I should not lose this wapiti from a similar 

 accident. 



However, when I next heard him he had evi- 

 dently changed his course and was going straight 

 away from me. The sun had now risen, and 

 following after him I soon found his tracks. He 

 was walking forward with the regular wapiti 

 stride, and I made up my mind I had a long 

 chase ahead of me. We were going up hill, and 

 though I walked hard, I did not trot until we 

 topped the crest. Then I jogged along at a good 

 gait, and as I had on moccasins, and the woods 

 were open, I did not have to exercise much 

 caution. Accordingly, I gained, and felt I was 

 about to come up with him, when the wind 

 brought down from very far off another challenge. 

 My bull heard it before I did, and instantly 

 started toward the spot at a trot. There was not 

 the slightest use of my attempting to keep up 

 with this, and I settled down into a walk. Half 

 an hour afterward I came over a slight crest, and 

 immediately saw a herd of wapiti ahead of me, 

 across the valley and on an open hillside. The 

 herd was in commotion, the master bull whistling 

 vigorously and rounding up his cows, evidently 



