116 AMEKICAK GAME BIED SHOOTIKG. 



able to travel with it at a fast walk. When Ave returned 

 to the grouse we found that we would have to leave the 

 greater portion of them behind if both of us carried the 

 deer, and as we did not like to do that, it was decided 

 that I should take the fawn and my companion the 

 birds. In order to make my load as light as possible, I 

 cut off the head and shin-bones, tied the skin of each 

 fore leg to that of the hind leg on the opposite side, and 

 putting my arm through, I slung the carcass on my 

 shoulders, and ''toted" it in knapsack fashion. My 

 companion tied his birds in two parcels on a string, leav- 

 ing space enough between them to allow the cord to rest 

 on his shoulders, and thus equipped we set out for camp. 

 Every step that we took made our loads appear heavier, 

 and before we had travelled two miles I felt as if the 

 fawn weighed a ton, while my associate was ready to aver 

 that his birds had been increasing in weight at the rate 

 of ten pounds per second, and that the cord had become 

 so sharp that it could cut through an iron bar. 



I must say that the camp seemed a long way off to us, 

 for when we reached it we were fagged out and bathed in 

 perspiration. The other members of the party had re- 

 turned before us, and were enjoying a cup of coffee when 

 we crawled in. Our appearance must have been some- 

 what ludicrous, for we were greeted with hearty laughter, 

 and, finally, with a cheer, for our good luck and our in- 

 defatigable exertions to increase the larder. The others 

 had killed two deer and several grouse, but the Nimrod 

 who was to bag the bear returned without one, his excuse 

 being that he had only met two, and neither of them 

 gave him an opportunity of firing his rifle, as they were 

 off in a jiffy the moment they saw him. While we were 

 relating the adventures of the day, the red man was pre- 

 paring dinner in such a methodical manner that we con- 

 cluded he had received his culinary education in some 

 place besides an Indian encampment. He cooked the 



