h mischief, awoke the
bull, who at once sprang to his feet and ran--not for the woods--but
_for the man_. Fossum with the most amazing nerve stood there quietly
focussing his camera, till the bull was within ten feet, then pressed
the button, threw the camera into the soft snow and ran for his life
with the bull at his coat-tails. It would have been a short run but for
the fact that they reached a deep snowdrift that would carry the man,
and would not carry the Elk. Here Fossum escaped, while the bull snorted
around, telling just what he meant to do to the man when he caught him;
but he was not to be caught, and at last the bull went off grumbling and
squealing.

The hunter came back, recovered his camera, and when the plate was
developed it bore the picture No. xiv, b.

[Illustration: XIV. Elk on the Yellowstone in winter: (a) Caught in
eight feet of snow; _Photo by F. Jay Haynes_ (b) Bull Elk charging
_Photo by John Fossum_]

It shows plainly the fighting light in the bull's eye, the back laid
ears, the twisting of the nose, and the rate at which he is coming is
evidenced in the stamping feet and the wind-blown whiskers, and yet in
spite of the peril of the moment, and the fact that this was a hand
camera, there is no sign of shake on landscape or on Elk, and the
picture is actually over-exposed.

THE HOODOO COW

One of the best summer ranges for Elk is near the southeast corner of
the Yellowstone Lake, and here it was my luck to have the curious
experience that I call the "Story of a Hoodoo Elk."

[Illustration]

In the September of 1912, when out with Tom Newcomb of Gardiner, I had
this curious adventure, that I shall not try to explain. We had crossed
the Yellowstone Lake in a motor boat and were camped on the extreme
southeast Finger, at a point twenty-five miles as the crow flies, and
over fifty as the trail goes, from any human dwelling. We were in the
least travelled and most primitive part of the Park. The animals here
are absolutely in the wild condition and there was no one in the region
but ourselves.

On Friday, September 6th, we sighted some Elk on the lake shore at
sunrise, but could not get nearer than two hundred yards, at which
distance I took a poor snap. The Elk wheeled and ran out of sight. I set
off on foot with the guide about 8:30. We startled one or two Elk, but
they were very wild, and I got no chance to photograph.

About 10:30, when several miles farther in the wilderness, we s