Page:Cathlamet On the Columbia.djvu/47

 ed the elk and the bear and the long aisles of those magnificent woods have seen some stirring sights.To watch one of these thorough hunters track an elk was always a fresh delight. For hours he would go uphill and down and out and in, in devious wanderings. Here a little twig misplaced or a leaf pressed down, signs too faint for the inexperienced to even notice, would tell him when and where the great beast had passed. No bloodhound ever followed the track more persistently. After hours, perhaps, of this kind of work, the signs would grow clearer and easier to follow, and the hunter's eyes would grow keen and hot, step by step he would increase his speed, and piece by piece he would drop his wrappings and clothes. It was said of Indian Dick that he rarely had any clothes, to speak of, on at the death, and yet so perfect was his woodland