XXIV 
THE WAPITI 
255 
reach a bend, which would bring me within 100 
yards. 
The water was about knee-deep. I was pro¬ 
gressing well, when to my astonishment I heard a 
shot. With considerable difficulty I clambered up 
the steep side of the bank, which rose 12 or 14 feet 
above the river on my right. There was a lovely 
sight; several hundred wapiti had crossed the stream 
about 200 yards ahead of my position, and were 
ascending the grass slope, struggling in a line of 
dense brown upon the yellow surface, making a rapid 
retreat across the hills upon my left. This large herd 
must have been lying down in the hollow unseen by 
us, owing to the rocks, and rough nature of the 
broken ground. It appeared, from the description 
given by my hunter, that shortly after I had left 
him to watch the hind, a stag had risen from the 
bushes in the neighbourhood, and the two had 
commenced a movement down the valley. As he 
knew that I must be unaware of the change, being 
far below the point of view, in the deep hollow of 
the river, he took a shot at the retreating stag. 
The report of his rifle immediately startled a great 
herd of these splendid deer that had been lying 
concealed somewhere in the valley, close to the 
borders of the stream, where there was a regular 
passage for wild animals. They had dashed across 
the shallow ford, and I had nothing to do but to 
abuse my companion for having fired the shot. 
There must have been three or four hundred deer in 
this herd, many of which carried superb heads. If 
