ELK HUNTING 
like that. As I ran forward a loud scuffling sound attracted me, and there 
was Bismark tearing away at the dying beast as it rolled and bounced down 
the hillside. 
I was delighted at having secured a really fine elk, with a good head, 
at last, and we gloated over our prize by a roaring fire and drank some 
excellent coffee served by the fair Antonia. Then in the dark we made off 
for home. 
Having now got all I was entitled to take on the Lassimoen ground, there 
was nothing left to me but to return to Grondalen, a walk of twenty-four 
miles, which I accomplished on the following day. From there I could move 
on to the distant wastes beyond Lake Nesau, a region I was bent on 
exploring, after hearing that no hunter had been there for the last ten 
years or more. These high and sparsely -covered birch regions seemed to 
be generally considered too far away from the haunts of man to be worth 
visiting on the mere chance of sport; but Elias Lillefjeld, who had been 
there once or twice, painted such a picture of the high quality of the 
ground and its attractiveness for the “ Stor-Stor Ox,” that I determined 
to go, even if I had to sleep under a rock. 
By a great piece of luck there had come in during my absence from 
Grondalen a young Norwegian giant named Elias Chelmo; he was about 
6 ft 2 in. in height and enormously strong, just the man to carry the sack 
of sheepskins necessary for our outfit. This he gladly volunteered to do; 
so, provided with these, an axe, and food enough for a three days’ cruise, 
we started on the morning of September 24 for the south-east. 
Marching along the side of the rocky mountain to the east of the Grondals 
Lake we commanded a magnificent view of the country ahead, during the 
intervals between the snow showers which were now frequent. As we came 
above the southern end of the lake Elias Lillefjeld noticed, quite a mile away, 
a dark object which my glass presently showed to be a cow elk. She was 
feeding on the salix that grew in sparse clumps near the water’s edge 
on the further side, and a few minutes later we saw her wade slowly 
towards us across a great arm of the lake. It was interesting to watch 
the cautious way in which she made good her footing as she advanced 
step by step, each leg being lifted clear of the water and planted securely 
well out from the body before another one was raised. Even when the water 
came up so high that her lips dipped into it with every movement of her 
head, she continued to wade until increasing depth compelled her to swim 
ashore, when she quickly disappeared in the thick birch scrub. 
285 
