OUR FIRST ELK. 



-::- 



We had been in camp more than 

 five days, and had not as yet been 

 fortunate enough to secure any 

 fresh meat. It had rained every day. 

 The game moved about but little, and 

 visited the licks and their drinking 

 places at night. Will, who was the most 

 experienced hunter of the party, felt 

 assured of this fact, for he had hunted 

 at all times of the day about the springs; 

 and while there were fresh signs, they 

 had evidently been made the night be- 

 fore. On the evening of the fifth 

 day, several fresh signs of elk were 

 seen along the hillsides, and we felt 

 certain they had either commenced 

 coming down from the high ranges, 

 or those already in our vicinity had 

 begun to move about regardless of 

 the wet weather. Accordingly, Will 

 determined to visit the lower lick at 

 daylight the following morning, and to 

 spend the day in hunting the adjacent 

 side hills. 



He started just at dawn, and returned 

 about eleven o'clock, carrying a large 

 heart in his hand. The others had been 

 busy all morning making camp more 

 comfortable ; but as soon as Will ap- 

 proached, every one became deeply 

 interested and came forward to meet 

 him. Seeing the heart, Abe asked : 



" Well, what is it ? " 



" Bull elk," said Will, laconically. 



"The d— 1 ! " said Abe, taking Will's 

 hand. " Luck at last, and fresh meat in 

 camp ! " 



After congratulations all around, Will 

 went into the tent, laid the rifle on the 

 blankets, and began to change his wet 

 clothes. 



"But tell us something about it. 

 Has he a nice set of horns?" asked 

 John. 



** Six points, and full grown," said 

 Will, briefly ; adding, " say, out there, 

 I want you people to know I'm 

 hungry ! " 



By the time Will had changed his 



* From a new book entitled. " In the Heart 

 of the Bitter Root Mountains," lately issued by 

 G. P. Putnam's Sons. New York. 



clothes and hung them on a line near 

 the fire, a hasty meal had been prepared, 

 and when Will seated himself at the 

 table, he gave the following account of 

 his morning's experience : 



" As it was raining when I started, 

 considered the chances of seeing game 

 very slim, and decided to take the 

 40-82 instead of my paradox. I started 

 on a rapid walk for the lower lick, but 

 the brush along the trail was 'sopping ' 

 wet, and I was drenched to the skin be- 

 fore going half a mile. On arriving at 

 the grove of cedars in which the spring 

 is situated, I used the utmost caution in 

 approaching the lick, but found it 

 empty. As I stood debating a moment 

 as to what I should do, I heard the clear 

 whistle of a cow elk, which I judged 

 must be about a hundred and fifty yards 

 below me, on a small flat skirting the 

 river. Slipping quietly along the brow 

 of the hill, I had hardly emerged from 

 the timber when the cow trotted slowly 

 past me, not more than thirty yards 

 away, without seeming in the least dis- 

 turbed by my presence. Hastily getting 

 behind a tree, I waited for the bull, 

 which I felt confident would follow her. 

 I had not been there more than half a 

 minute, when I saw a pair of magnificent 

 antlers moving slowly from right to left 

 in front of me. The head and body 

 were hidden from view, as the bull was 

 walking up a little gully eighty yards 

 away. I did not dare move, for a few 

 jumps would take the bull out of sight 

 in the timber. Although I did not stir, 

 and he could not possibly have scented 

 me, the bull seemed aware that there 

 was some danger at hand, for he sud- 

 denly sprang up the side of the gully, 

 stopped in an open clump of trees, and 

 stood as though trying to decide in 

 what direction the danger lay. His 

 neck and shoulders were hidden by in- 

 tervening trees, but I felt that I must 

 make the best of the shot offered me, 

 and aimed for the liver. At the report 

 of the rifle he gave one bound and dis- 

 appeared over the brow of the hill. 

 Hastening to the spot, I found his 



