HOfV THE ELK IS HUNTED 



319 



stalking as is known in many portions of the elk's 

 Russian domain. 



Hunting with a well-trained dog is the favorite 

 method of seeking the Scandinavian elk. The dog, 

 a sort of spitz, is commonly kept in leash: indeed, 

 the use of the loose dog" is now illegal in Norway. 

 A windy day is preferred: the dog gets the scent 

 of the game quicker, and the elk is less likely to 

 hear his pursuer, when there is a fresh breeze. 

 In a sort of breastplate harness the dog cautiously 

 follows a trail; when at close quarters he is usually 

 tied to a tree and left, while the hunter stalks the 

 quarry alone. By this method nine-tenths of all 

 the elk killed in Norway are taken, and the system 

 certainly makes hunting easier where the chase is 

 in open timber in a season of bare ground. 



"A blank day in Norway may be full of excite- 

 ment," writes Hesketh-Prichard, ''for there the 

 hound is a living barometer, giving warning of the 

 nearness of the elk, which he can wind at a great 

 distance, often leading the hunter to a fresh track a 

 mile ofif."^ An ill-timed whine, or a broken leash, 

 may spoil the hunt, however, and the hunter will 

 blame the dog; or the hunt may succeed, and the 



^Blackwood's Magazine, Aug., 1908; see also Blackwood's for July, 

 1906. 



