THE HIGHLANDS OF THE SWEDISH DIVIDE. 267 
incidents of elk-hunting, successful and unsuccessful, 
to convey an idea of the practice of this grand wild 
sport; and will not risk wearying the reader’s patience 
with all the details of our experiences on the Luru. 
The three following incidents will suffice. 
Sept. 22nd. —Found several “salt-pits,” indicating 
that the rutting-season has commenced. To-day, after 
following a triple trail for some miles, came up with 
cow and calf, lying down. The bull was nowhere to be 
seen, but the spoor showed that he had left the family- 
party exactly at the spot where the cow was lying, and 
had proceeded to cross the high fjeld above—doubtless 
in search of fresh loves in the valley beyond. Here his 
trail was seen by B., who was hunting on that side ; but, 
meeting with no success, the bull returned the same 
evening to his slighted spouse. 
Sept. 24 th. —My average, so far, works out to less 
than one beast per week; but to-day I thrice came up 
with elk—the two first fair-sized bulls (eight and nine 
spears respectively), each accompanied by a cow. The 
third was a real big beast. We “jumped” him un¬ 
expectedly towards evening in dense forest where, 
though quite close, it was impossible to shoot. 
Sept. 26th .—At daybreak the rattle of a black wood¬ 
pecker was audible, and skeins of grey geese flew clang¬ 
ing overhead. While proceeding in Indian file towards 
one of our rafts aforesaid (intending to separate beyond 
it), the leading hunter dropped to his knee, and amidst 
dense trunks ahead a bull-elk was moving slowly to¬ 
wards us. At a hundred-and-twenty yards he stood, 
wholly covered by a spruce, except his head and neck. 
Through the centre of the latter I put a *450 Express 
