32 



MAMMALIA. 



size is reached, the animal is Hable to wade for a considerable dis- 

 tance in order to throw the dog off the scent. It then stops to 

 listen, and if after a while the dog again finds the track, will gen- 

 erally take a pretty straight course for some neighboring lake, and 

 swim it in order to rid itself of the annoyance of being followed. 

 Instead of swimming, it sometimes skulks in shallow water near 

 shore, and in this way baffles the dog. 



The details of the hunt having been arranged over night, the 

 participants proceed, soon after daylight, to their respective posts, 

 while the guide puts out the dogs. If the lake about which the 

 hunt centres is a large one, two or more men are stationed at dif- 

 ferent points to watch it. while the others make portages to 

 adjacent lakes and ponds. The guide commonly starts several 

 dogs, each on a separate track. Each watch-point is provided with 

 a boat, and the hunters keep a sharp look-out, for the Deer is fre- 

 quently so far ahead that it takes the water before the bay of the 

 hound comes within hearing. If the game is a doe or fawn, and 

 particularly if early in the season, the head alone is commonly seen 

 above the surface, and at a distance it is likely to be mistaken for 

 a duck. A buck swims higher, and the later the date the more of 

 its body shows out of water. Deer killed in September generally 

 sink, but after this month they usually float. This depends upon 

 the state of the pelage ; for when in the red coat they sink, while, 

 on the contrary, when the blue coat, which grows very rapidly, is 

 an inch in length, it will, as a rule, float the Deer that carries it, 

 and this length is generally attained about the first of October. 



When a Deer is seen swimming the lake, the hunter waits till it 

 has gone far enough from shore to give him an opportunity to 

 head it off, before launching his boat and starting in pursuit. By 

 exercising a little caution and not hurrying too much, he is often 

 able to approach within easy range without being observed ; but, 

 if the animal sights him or hears any suspicious noise, it swims so 

 fast that unless in a large lake and some distance from shore, the 



