254 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA YS 
CHAP. 
object in the distance, that resembled the charred 
stump of a dead tree, within 50 yards of the right 
bank of the streamlet. The binoculars determined 
that this was a female wapiti. 
She was standing in a narrow portion of the glen, 
not far from a cliff of bluff rocks 80 or 100 feet high ; 
upon the opposite side, the hills rose to several 
hundred feet in a steep grass slope. The hind was 
about 1200 yards distant. We accordingly dis¬ 
mounted, and leaving our horses, I suggested that 
we should approach in the hollow upon the bank of 
the stream until within about 200 paces ; my hunter 
would then stop, and I would continue along the 
bed, in order to gain a position exactly opposite the 
spot where the deer was standing. I felt perfectly 
certain that a stag, or perhaps more, would be 
lying down, as, though invisible, they would not be 
far off. 
We accordingly commenced the stalk. We had 
not proceeded far, when the hind was joined by a 
large stag, which must have been lying down close 
to her, unperceived by us. Although the antlers 
were not bad, there was nothing particular in their 
size. 
We advanced along the hollow of the river s bed 
until we were within 200 yards from the spot where 
the deer were standing. Occasionally we took a 
cautious peep above the bank to see whether they 
had moved. I now left my hunter lying down, with 
his head just above the bank to watch, while I waded 
down the centre of the stream, in the endeavour to 
