264 The Caribou 



imprint of this deer's hoof in the soft ground 

 is large and readily seen, yet the impossibility of 

 moving through the swamps and bushes without 

 noise would make such a method of pursuit of 

 little avail, as the deer, learning of his foe's pres- 

 ence, would betake himself to distant pastures 

 long before a shot were possible, or even a sight 

 of himself obtained, for, it must be understood, 

 the Woodland caribou, unlike his rather stupid 

 brother of the plains, is a wide-awake and suspi- 

 cious animal. Still-hunting, therefore, and that 

 of the " stillest " kind, and one not at all usually 

 conceived by the term, is the only one promising 

 success. 



This method of still-hunting consists of taking 

 a position in a swamp, or " savanne " as it is usually 

 called, and waiting for the appearance of the deer 

 as it passes by, either in search of food or of other 

 individuals of its species. These swamps are 

 usually surrounded by thick woods, and occasion- 

 ally are of very considerable extent, carpeted with 

 moss sometimes two feet or more in depth and 

 saturated with water, and the dreary view is 

 broken at intervals by clumps of bushes or small 

 trees scattered here and there at irregular inter- 

 vals. Upon some fallen log or stump, or bit of 

 moss slightly drier than the rest and partly hid- 

 den from view by surrounding bushes, growing 

 or artificially placed, the hunter seats himself and 



