178 The Elk of the Pacific Coast 



nowadays is to find him where he is at perfect 

 rest. That is where everything is to his liking, 

 but especially silence and remoteness from any 

 trace of man, or any of his works. The elk is 

 the most omnivorous of the vegetarians. He 

 loved all the wild, dry feed of California as much 

 as the cattle and horses, and became equally fat 

 on it. In the woods he likes all the grasses, 

 bushes, and herbs, so that one need never 

 inquire on what he is feeding. You want 

 mainly to know whether there are any other 

 hunters ahead of you on his range, and if so 

 you may almost as well stay home. The next 

 question is that of feed for your horse, for the 

 elk will thrive where a horse will starve. And 

 though he may not starve, he may fall ofiE so 

 in a few days from the scarcity of grass in the 

 deep shades that you may have to come out on 

 foot. 



You should also go prepared to camp on the 

 trail even without the horse. For if you leave 

 fresh tracks too late in the evening to work 

 them out, and attempt to go to a distant camp 

 and come back and pick them up again in the 

 morning, you niay be left too far in the rear. 

 This trick, that can so often be used to advan- 

 tage with deer, will not do for so wide a ranger 

 as the elk. For this trip neither can you load 

 yourself down with a blanket, but must depend 



