114 EECENT HUNTING TRIPS. 



caribou, and, as we knew that this part of the 

 country had been absolutel}^ undisturbed since 

 the previous autumn, we expected every moment 

 to meet with some of these animals ; but 

 although in the course of the day we trudged 

 many a mile through bog and forest, and did 

 not get back to camp till long after dark, we 

 only saw one young stag. I crept close up to 

 this animal and found that its horns were small 

 and still in the velvet, so I let it alone. 



Just at dusk, as we were passing a small 

 sheet of water, a pair of great northern divers 

 commenced to call vociferously. These fine 

 birds are very common in Newfoundland, 

 where they are known as " loons," and their 

 wild and somewhat melancholy cry is often 

 heard both by day and night. I have always 

 loved to listen to the cries of wild creatures, 

 especially by night, but I know of no sound in 

 nature more in harmony with the wild desola- 

 tion of its surroundings than the mournful cry 

 of the loon, as it echoes across the waters of 

 some lonely lake in the little-known interior of 

 Newfoundland. 



