72 JOURNAL OP THE TRINIDAD 



I remember one winter I went out to our favourite district 

 with Peter. The second day we got on the tracks of two and I 

 shot one of them, fortunately for our pot, for we did not see 

 another fresh track, far less get a shot, for three weeks. 



It was a Sunday morning and our sleigh was to come out to 

 the woods for us on Tuesday. I decided (as we never or hardly 

 ever hunted on Sunday) to stay in camp, tidy up and cook and 

 sent Peter out with a taboggan to haul in the carcase of the one 

 solitary cariboo we had killed. He returned soon after breath- 

 less, saying " quick, quick, there's, a herd of cariboo on the way." 



I jumped up, shoved a handful of cartridges in my pocket, 

 seized my rifle and was off. As we hurried along on Peter's 

 back tracks, he said he was afraid he had spoilt the chance, that 

 he had left the taboggan in the middle of a large barren, without 

 thinking when he saw them, and as they were feeding up in 

 the direction of it, he was afraid they would " wind " it, and be 

 off". We reached the big barren and sighted the herd — five cariboo, 

 sime 1,000 yards off'. Peter said they were getting close to the 

 taboggan, and almost immediately they "winded" it, collected 

 and started off at a trot, quite 700 yards from us. It seemed 

 our only chance and I fired at the only one with good horns, and 

 had the mortification to see my bullet knock up the snow just 

 under him — and they entered some thick high wood. 



Peter said we had better follow them a bit to see what 

 direction they took, as we might be able to come across their 

 tracks next da} r as we went out to the settlement. 



So we followed on to the highwoods, floundering along, as we 

 had left our snow shoes, in order to stalk more quietly, when we 

 first saw the herd. After following the track into the thick wood for 

 a bit, Peter's face suddenly glowed with animation, he started to 

 run and said " come along we will get a shot yet, for they have not 

 seen us and are not frightened, they are only ivalking," this 

 of course he read from the tracks. 



We started to run, slippery work it was too, over trees etc., 

 without snow shoes and I had several tumbles in some of which 

 I must, as I afterwards found, have dropped some of my cartridges 

 and we kept it up for two or three miles. 



At last we sighted them far ahead on a barren, and bend- 

 ing away to the left, almost at a right angle, towards another belt 

 of thick wood, and to our great delight still walking quietly. 

 " Now's our chance " said Peter, " there's an open streak of 

 "barren down the middle of that wood which they must cross ; if 

 " we can get there before them you are sure of a shot." It was 

 easy said, but I was " well pumped." However I put on all I 

 knew and we did reach before them. I whispered to Peter 

 " don't mind though I let one, two, or even three pass without 



