70 EECENT HUNTING TRIPS. 



big stags are only just beginning to come 

 across the railway, they are always the last to 

 migrate south. If we could only get a 

 snowstorm that w^ould move them, and then 

 you would get a chance to pick some fine 

 heads." 



We then went back to our tree and watched 



the " leads " till late in the afternoon. About 



four o'clock a heavy fusillade broke out a few 



hundred yards down the " lead " in front of us. 



We counted fifteen shots. This showed how 



well-nigh hopeless our position had been, as, 



all unknown to us, some other gunners were 



sitting on the same " lead " ahead of us, and 



would naturally have got the first chance at 



any stag that came along. We presently saw 



the man who had fired the shots. He told us 



he had killed a good stag, and declared he had 



only had two shots at it, but my guide who 



knew him, told me that he was a man who 



enjoyed a reputation for being somewhat 



inaccurate in his statements. I afterwards 



saw the head of the stag he had shot. It was 



quite a nice one, but not so good as the one 



