170 CAMP-FIRES OF A NATURALIST. 



amined. The apparently boundless forest through 

 which they had come appeared to be a small grove 

 compared with the forest which spread out before 

 them. An hour was spent here, and then the hunters 

 hastened down to the timber to find the way back to 

 camp. At the edge of the timber they found the 

 blazed trail which led to the little white tent miles 

 away in the trackless forest. If the darkness should 

 prevent them from finding this trail, then the search 

 for the tent would be hopeless indeed. 



Evening came on and then darkness, and then the 

 blazes could no longer be seen. One of the hunters 

 would stand by a blazed tree while the other went on 

 until he found the next one, and thus they proceeded, 

 almost groping their way, until half-past ten, when 

 they came to the opening and found the tent. It 

 was late next morning when they arose, and they 

 at once came to the conclusion that the only thing 

 left to do was to get back out of the country as soon 

 as possible. It was evident that they could not hunt 

 to advantage in such a jungle, and if they killed 

 anything it would be almost impossible to get the 

 specimens out of the country. The pack-horses were 

 so weakened by lack of grass and water that they 

 could carry nothing more than they had, and the 

 specimens would be so torn that they would be use- 

 less. The back track was taken in a snow-storm, and 

 the hunters were almost discouraged over their bad 

 luck. The whole day was spent chopping a trail 

 through the dense thicket with neither grass nor 

 water. 



They were compelled to camp without water, and 



