ELK IN WYOMING. 



S. N. LEEK. 



September 12th we left the settlement, 

 with saddle and pack horses, provisions, 

 tents, bedding, and everything necessary for 

 a month's sport in the mountains. We 

 reached camp early in the evening, 

 put things in good shape and start- 

 ed the next morning for a hunt. 

 We had gone some distance and were 

 sitting on the apex of a hill over- 

 looking a large tract of heavy, half burned 



looked sharply ahead. We could see some- 

 thing moving in the brush, but we looked 

 in vain for horns. 



"A cow," said the guide, "scarcely 25 

 yards away"; and to tantalize us the old 

 bull whistled, apparently but 25 yards 

 farther. We saw another cow, then 

 another. The woods seemed full of them. 

 I was tired standing in one position so 

 long and quietly shifted a little. An old 



A BUNCH OF ELK. 



AMATEUR P-OTO BY S, N. LEtK. 



timber, when we heard a long, shrill whis- 

 tle, or bugle, about half a mile away in 

 the timber. It was the old bull's challenge. 

 In a few minutes we heard it again, from 

 the same direction. Hurriedly tying our 

 horses we took our rifles and started in 

 that direction. Every few minutes we 

 heard that shrill, sharp whistle. The wind 

 was favorable. We worked cautiously 

 ahead, and again we heard the bugle, 

 scarcely 100 yards away, but the .timber 

 was so dense we could not see half that 

 distance. Suddenly the guide stopped and 



cow thought she saw something move and 

 looked our way. We hardly dared to 

 breathe. Look as we might we could not 

 see the old bull. Another cow looked at 

 us, turned slowly and moved off. Then 

 they all went, with a great rattling of brush 

 and snapping of sticks. We never even 

 saw the bull ; but better luck next time ! 



We walked slowly back to our horses, 

 passing, on the way, through numerous 

 small parks, or open places in the timber, 

 where there was a rank growth of grass. 

 We noticed it was trampled down by the 



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