266 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA YS 
CHAP. 
neck, and in imagination only, reckoned my slain. 
At length the herd reached the bottom, and the 
toilsome ascent commenced. When they appeared 
slightly below my own level on the opposite side, my 
sport recommenced : I picked out every big stag, one 
by one ; taking most accurate aim exactly between 
the shoulders, but never firing. A skin-hunter would 
have killed at least thirty in such an opportunity. 
The little ones were fatigued, and many of the 
smaller fawns were bleating like lambs as they 
struggled after their dams over the loosened rocks. 
At length they reached the surface, but even then 
they remained exposed, as the slope was exceedingly 
steep, and they were apparently too tired or too 
confident to increase their pace. By degrees they 
disappeared across the sky-line, and I never saw a 
large herd of wapiti again. 
My men had joined me, and they were quite 
annoyed at my merciful behaviour ; however, I now 
led them into the thicket, where a splendid stag 
was lying dead. They were quickly employed in 
cleaning it, to keep the flesh sweet, until we could 
send for the head upon the following day. 
There were some fine heads among the stags 
which I had allowed to escape, but none approaching 
in size to the last that I had shot. 
Some days after this exemplary exercise of 
mercy, I had a very pretty quarter of an hour, 
which formed the only exception to my rule of 
never shooting at a second wapiti, if I had killed 
one upon the same day. 
