The appearance of the ground can now be imagined-a perfect chaos of dead sticks and poles, piled one on the other, in every direction, to a depth of between two and three feet.
It can only be compared to a mass of hurdles being laid in a heap.

The young nillho grows rapidly through this, concealing the mass of dead sticks beneath, and forms a tangled barrier which checks both dogs and man.

With tough gaiters to guard the shins, we break through by main force and weight, and the dogs scramble sometimes over, sometimes under the surface.

At this period the elk are in great numbers, as they feed with great avidity upon the succulent young nillho.

The dogs are now at a disadvantage.