154 CARIBOU

Perhaps if they happen to be feeding on willows out on a
swamp they may not move fast, but if they are travelling
or feeding on moss on bare open ground you will have to
do some hustling to gain on them at all. Sometimes I
have waited to let them get out of sight over the brow of
a hill, and then made a run, expecting to catch them
up; but on numerous occasions, when I have done this,
they were just about as far away as before. There was
one band in particular that I made a tremendous effort
to catch up to, as there was a bull with them that had
every appearance of having an extra fine set of horns.
They were about a mile away from me when the chase
commenced. The ground was absolutely devoid of any
cover other than occasional depressions and ridges. When-
ever they were out of sight, over a ridge, I would run as
hard as possible down the slope and walk up the opposite
side at my best speed. Every now and again they would
slacken their pace and let me catch up somewhat, just
enough for me to think that the next rise would bring
me a shot. The result was that after five solid hours’
chase, when my lungs were nearly bursting and my legs
fairly refusing to do any more hurrying, they were still
half a mile in front of me. So in disgust I told them to
go to blazes, possibly using more expressive language, and
IT sat down. Of course, when my defeat was accomplished,
they stopped for a time and then turned off sharply down-
hill to where there were some small willows. It so happened —
that the direction they had now taken was towards my
camp. Once more I resumed the hunt and cut across
after them. Finally they were obliging enough to circle
and come straight to me, so all there was to do was to lie
down and wait for them. Nearer and nearer they came,
now leisurely picking at the willows, and stopping every
once in a while to do a bit of sparring, as there was more
than one of the male sex, until they could not have been
more than seventy-five yards away. Then they lay down !
Long ere this I had found out that all the exertions I had
made were fruitless, as the bull, though immense in body
and with horns of considerable length and quite nice