MATING 47 



from the paths of fact and renders " hearsay " of so little 

 value when plain facts are required. Were I to have 

 swallowed but a small percentage of the stories related to 

 me by well-meaning guides, sportsmen and others, my 

 digestion must have suffered seriously, and my opinion of 

 wild animals become sadly perverted. One fact seen and 

 recorded is worth volumes of " hearsay." 



It was noticeable that whenever a guide told me that 

 he had seen stags fighting, he would always discourage any 

 suggestion I made that he should show me any such sight, 

 and when I declared my intention of going in search of a 

 really good fight, I would be greeted with a smile which 

 clearly indicated the utter hopelessness of my quest. I was 

 always told that the task would prove extremely dangerous, 

 for the stags would attack anything and anybody. Altogether, 

 I received enough discouragement to nearly, but not quite, 

 deter me from my purpose. 



On this trip luck was with me and from October 7 th to 

 the 2 1 St I had ample opportunity of studying the Caribou. 

 Scarcely a day passed without several being seen. On 

 some days from five hundred to a thousand would pass 

 within sight of me. The season was an abnormal one, the 

 mating and the migration taking place together, a most 

 unusual occurrence, and one that proved very discouraging 

 to the many sportsmen who went north and east along 

 Sandy River and Sandy Lake ; for by the time the shoot- 

 ing season opened on October 21st, practically all the 

 Caribou had passed — all but the very late herds. The 

 sportsmen's ill wind proved a very good wind for me, 

 because it afforded me opportunities as unusual as they 

 were interesting. 



I was very much surprised by the extraordinary wildness 

 of the Caribou, for nearly every account I had heard agreed 



