In No7'th-WeM Canada. 15 



a friend of mine who lives in Winnipeg. He describes the 

 scenery as being exceedingly fine, and the sport along the 

 banks of the river and amongst the numerous islands is very 

 good. Here he has shot bears, deer, foxes, and smaller animals 

 which now adorn his museum in Winnipeg. 



Leaving Rat Portage, for fifty[miles we pass through a lake 

 district. The lakes are all wooded, with numerous rocky 

 islands, the same character as the Lake of the Woods. After 

 passing Whitemouth river the railway leaves the Laurentides 

 and strikes through swampy woods, the country flattens out 

 and gradually assumes the characteristics of the prairie. In 

 the vicinity of Rennie and "Monmouth stations the forests 

 abound with game, and it is an excellent country for Moose, 

 the greatest of Canadian deer. Black bears are also numer- 

 ous, and I saw several alive in Winnipeg that had been 

 captured in these forests. My Winnipeg friend was once 

 shooting birds in the woods when he suddenly came across a 

 couple of bear cubs a few day old; they were huddled together 

 on the ground under some bushes. As the old bear was no- 

 where to be seen, and had evidently gone out in search of 

 food, he decided to take the cubs along with him, and taking 

 one under each arm he turned back in the direction of the 

 station, three miles away. Threading his way through the 

 forest, he came across a track used by hunters, and had only 

 proceeded a few hundred feet when a savage growl caused 

 him to glance a-head, and there facing him was the mother 

 bear. His heart began to throb, although he had frequently 

 met bears before, and his trusty rifle had always proved a 

 friend to him on many such occasions. The bear was only 

 thirty feet from him, and its growl caused the little cubs to 

 squeal. The mother bear with a savage growl rushed at the 

 robber of her offspring. As quick as a flash he flung one of 

 the cubs at its mother, and springing aside he darted away 

 through the trees and reached the path beyond the bear, which 

 was now smelling at and fondling its cub. He then dropped 

 the other cub, and raising his rifle took aim at the mother 

 bear. As soon as she saw him she charged down upon him 



