1 82 The Wilderness Hunter 



the rabbit, the round pads of the lucivee, and many 

 others. The snow reveals, as nothing else does, 

 the presence in the forest of the many shy woodland 

 creatures which lead their lives abroad only after 

 nightfall. Once we saw a coon, out early after its 

 winter nap, and following I shot it in a hollow tree. 

 Another time we came on a deer and the frightened 

 beast left its "yard," a tangle of beaten paths or 

 deep furrows. The poor animal made but slow 

 headway through the powdery snow; after going 

 thirty or forty rods it sank exhausted in a deep drift, 

 and lay there in helpless panic as we walked close 

 by. Very different were the actions of the only 

 caribou we saw a fine beast which had shed its ant- 

 lers. I merely caught a glimpse of it as it leaped 

 over a breastwork of down timbers; and we never 

 saw it again. Alternately trotting and making a suc- 

 cession of long jumps, it speedily left us far behind ; 

 with its great splay-hoofs it could snowshoe better 

 than we could. It is among deer the true denizen 

 of the regions of heavy snowfall ; far more so than 

 the moose. Only under exceptional conditions of 

 crust-formation is it in any danger from a man on 

 snowshoes. 



In other ways it is no better able to take care of 

 itself than moose and deer; in fact I doubt whether 

 its senses are quite as acute, or at least whether it is 

 as wary and knowing, for under like conditions it 

 is rather easier to still-hunt. In the fall caribou 



