208 The Wilderness Hunter. 



a rise of dry ground, seemingly to enjoy the heat of the 

 young sun ; he stood motionless, save that his ears were 

 continually pricked, and his head sometimes slightly 

 turned, showing that even in this remote land he was on 

 the alert. Once, with a somewhat awkward motion, he 

 reached his hind leg forward to scratch his neck. Then 

 he walked forward again into the marsh ; where the 

 water was quite deep he broke into the long, stretching, 

 springy trot, which forms the characteristic gait of his 

 kind, churning the marsh water into foam. He held his 

 head straight forwards, the antlers resting on his shoulders. 



After awhile he reached a spruce island, through which 

 he walked to and fro ; but evidently could find therein no 

 resting-place quite to his mind, for he soon left and went 

 on to another. Here after a little wandering he chose a 

 point where there was some thick young growth, which 

 hid him from view when he lay down, though not when he 

 stood. After some turning he settled himself in his bed 

 just as a steer would. 



He could not have chosen a spot better suited for us. 

 He was nearly at the edge of the morass, the open space 

 between the spruce clump where he was lying and the 

 rocky foot-hills being comparatively dry and not much 

 over a couple of hundred yards broad ; while some sixty 

 yards from it, and between it and the hills, was a little 

 hummock, tufted with firs, so as to afford us just the 

 cover we needed. Keeping back from the edge of the 

 morass we were able to walk upright through the for- 

 est, until we got the point where he was lying in a 



