LETTER XVIII. 209 



to it is an oval-leafed shrub, the upper surface 

 a glossy dark green, and the under surface pre- 

 senting a yellow, furred appearance. It makes a 

 very good drink, and is supposed to have valu- 

 able medicinal qualities. 



At last Jocko stooped and pointed to a track, 

 such a track as only a moose could make, of 

 such a size as could only be tolerated in Canada, 

 about six tracks being sufficient for an acre. 



' Three days old,' muttered Jocko, and though 

 the track led straight away into likely-looking 

 country, where tracking was easy and going 

 good, he turned off sharp to the right, and once 

 more led me a weary dance over logs and pit- 

 falls until I was too tired to lift a leg. Half a 

 dozen times during the day we came to places 

 where the moose had lain on the tops of the 

 hard-wood hills, or upon droppings as large as 

 plums, composed entirely of sawdust. What a 

 digestion a moose must have, whose most deli- 

 cate food appears to be withies ! Here and 

 there we saw deer-tracks, but no tracks of bear ; 

 and, indeed, but for moose, there seemed very 

 little game in this day's beat, and the latest 

 moose track we had seen was (so Jocko said) 

 three days old. So we sat down on a log, which 

 we partially thawed during lunch, and ate our 

 bacon in silence. Suddenly Jocko's eyes glisten, 



14 



