228 A SPORTSMAN'S EDEN. 



and know how little of the beast you sometimes 

 see, and how the smoke hangs in certain condi- 

 tions of atmosphere, will believe my story and 

 forgive my mistake. Of course, to Mr. Jocko, 

 meat was meat, and each carcase was worth 

 about 25 dollars to him. This accounts for his; 

 action in the matter, and it is easy to see how 

 such excellent hunters and shameless butchers as 

 he may and will, if not carefully watched, destroy 

 vast quantities of Canadian big-game. 



For moose to shelter in from the wild winds 

 and bitter cold, those deep balsam woods, with 

 their mounds and hollows, their barricades of 

 fallen lop, and drowning depths of soft white 

 snow, may be well enough ; but for the weary 

 hunter ten miles from home, with the moon just 

 beginning to show palely in the sky, they are a 

 very Slough of Despond. 



All day Jocko and I had been too careful to 

 talk ; now we were too tired to do so. In the 

 woods it is small wonder if men become taciturn. 

 A vacation spent moose-hunting in a Canadian 

 forest might be a pleasant relief and wholesome 

 discipline for some of the more loquacious amongst 

 our legislators. 



To-night, luckily, we had no need to worry 

 ourselves about the nervousness of those in camp, 

 for my wife had already gone back to No-matter- 



