FLOATING DEER. 73 



and advance cautiously. The deer, attracted by the 

 flame, stops and gazes intently upon it. If he hears 

 no sound, he will not stir till you advance close to him. 

 At first you catch only the sight of his two eyes, burn- 

 ing like fireballs in the gloom ; but as you approach 

 nearer, the light is thrown on his red flanks, and he 

 stands revealed in all his beautiful proportions be- 

 fore you. The candle serves, at the same time, to dis- 

 tinguish the animal, and give you a clear view of the 

 sights along your gun-barrel ; and he must be a poor 

 shot who misses at five rods distance. The night must 

 be dark and still, and no moon rise over the water. 



This night, the only spot good for deer had been 

 so trampled over by us, before dark, that they would 

 not come out upon it, and we floated on for a long 

 time without hearing anything. I never before saw 

 such an exhibition of the stealthy movements of an 

 Indian. The lake was as still and smooth as a polished 

 mirror, and our frail canoe floated over it as if im- 

 pelled by an invisible hand. I knelt at the bow with 

 my rifle before me, while Mitchell sat in the stern 

 as still as a statue, yet urging the boat on by some 

 strange movement of the paddle, which I tried in vain 

 to comprehend. He did not even make a ripple on 

 the water, and I could tell we were moving only by 

 marking the shadow of trees we crossed, -or the stars 

 we passed over. Though straining every nerve to 

 catch a sound, I never once heard the stroke of his 

 paddle. It was the most mysterious ride I ever took. 

 We entered the mouth of a river whose shores were 

 dark with the sombre fir-trees, while ever and anon 



