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Show JOUl\NAL OF A VOYAGE 111any other vicious practices, which have been adopted 1ner ly to pass time. 1st November, Friday.-Finding that my canoe would not be finished in two or three days, I concluded to take six men and go down the river about l 2 mi~es, where. we had remark d great sign of elk and builalo. Arnvcd there about the middle of the afternoon. All turned out to hunt. None of us kill d any thing but Sparks one doc. A slight snow fell. 2d ]\Tovembcr, Saturday.-Lcft the cam.p with the fullest determination to kill an elk, if it were possible, before my return. I never had killed one of those animals. Took Miller, whose obliging disposition made hin1 agrcc~ lble in the woods. I was determined that if we came on the trail of elk, to follow th~m a day or two in order to kill one. This, to a person acq uaintcd with the nature of those animals, and th ' extent of the prairies in this country, would appear, what it really was, a v ry foolish resolution. We ~oon struck where a herd of 150 had passed. Pur~ ucd and came in sight about 8 o'clock, when they ap· pearcd, at a distance, like an anny of Indians n10ving along in single file ; a large bud , of at least four feet b~nvccn the horns, leading the van, and one of equal magmtude bringing up the rear. We followed until ncar night, \vithout once being able to get within point-blank shot 1 once made Miller fire at the1n with his musket, at abouL 1·00 yards distance: it had no other cfF ct than to make them leave us about five miles behind on the prairie. Passed SC'veral deer in the course of the day, which I think. \ve conld have killed, but did not fir for fear of alarming the elk. Ilinding that it was no ca<;,y rnattcr to kill one, I shot a doc through the body, as I percci ved by her blood, where ~he lay down in the snow ; yet, not knowing how to track, Nf' lo ·t h('r. Shortly after saw TO TIH: SOUHCES 0 F TJIE l\IlSSI:-l~. IIJPl. three elk by themselves ncar a copse of woods. Approached ncar thetn and brol·e the ~boulder of on . but he ran off with the other two ju t as I was about t<~ follow. Saw a buck deer lying on the grass ; shot him behind th~ eyes, w~en h(' fell over. I walked up to him, put my foot on his horn,, and examined the shot, immedi~ tcly after which he snorted, bounced up, and fe1l five steps from n1e. This I considered his Ja~t clJort ; but soon after, to our utter astonishm nt, he jumped up and ran oiL llc _stopped fr~quently : we pursued ltiml C}..pecting hirn to .iall every mmute, by which w, w r' l cc.I frmn the purSUit of the wounded elk. After being wearied out in th i. unsuccessful chase, we returned in pursuit ( r the wound(.'~ e~k, a~1<.l when we came up to the party, found him Jmssmg from the fl ocl . Shot another in th' body· bm. my b:.dl being small, he likewise esc.tpcd. \~VoL;nd('c.] ~nother deer: when hungry, cold, and l~ttigucd, after havmg w~undcd. three deer and two elk, were obliged to enc~ mp m a pomt of hemlock woods, on the head of Clear :Iver. The large hen.l of elk lay about one mile from us, m the prairie. Our want of success I ascribe ·to th sJnallncss of o:tr balls, and to our inexperience in following tlte track ' after wounc1 m· g I 1w m, 1r 0r I· t I· s very seldom a deer drops on the spot you shoot it. . :3d l!"o·vembt:r, Sunday.-Rosc pretty early and went 111 pursuit of the elk. vVounded one buck dc('r on the way. We made an attempt to Jrive thetn into the woods but their ll''n'u'.'.."_ r b1·oke' pa~{ US an J I· t appeare J tlS l· f· l hC'' dro.v e wou lJ ll ave f'o I lowed hu. n though they had been ob.h g·cd to rux1 ove' r us,. w e f.1 re<.1 al them passm· g-, but Without cfl"ect · J> m.s ucd t JJ elll t I1 roug J1 1h e swcu(n p ti.l l about . 10 o'c · lo ck, whe n 1 cIc tcrm.m eJ 1o attempt tomah' the river and t ~ tl · , > ' 01 lett purpose tool'.. a due south cours~· . I assed many droves of elk aud bull~llo, but being in Llw |