112 RECENT HUNTING TRIPS. 



about to return to the canoe, under the im- 

 pression that the caribou must have turned into 

 the forest behind him, when I thought I heard 

 a low grunt just opposite me, and ahnost 

 directly afterwards the tops of the horns of a 

 caribou stag appeared above some bushes on 

 the farther side of the river. Soon the animal 

 showed itseK in full view, and, standing three 

 parts facing me, offered an excellent shot at a 

 distance of about one hundred and twenty 

 yards. 



I fired immediately and, as I subsequently 

 found, my bullet passed through the upper part 

 of the stag's heart. It did not, however, at once 

 make a rush forwards, as animals usually do 

 when shot through the heart, but first staggered 

 about and I thought was going to fall. It 

 recovered itself, however, and dashed into the 

 river at full speed until it was chest deep, when 

 it collapsed and died. 



It proved to be a fine young stag in splendid 

 condition, the layer of fat over its loins and 

 hindquarters being quite two inches in thick- 

 ness. Its horns were small and light, but 



