HUNTING IN THE SELKIRKS. 171 



sleek coat, and fine antlers. It was one of 

 those moments that repay the hunter for days 

 of toil and hardship ; that is if he needs re- 

 payment, and does not find life in the wilder- 

 ness pleasure enough in itself. 



It was getting late, and if we expected to 

 reach camp that night it behooved us not 

 to delay ; so we merely halted long enough to 

 dress the caribou, and take a steak with us 

 which we did not need, by the way, for almost 

 immediately we came on a band of spruce 

 grouse and knocked off the heads of five with 

 our rifles. The caribou's stomach was filled 

 with blueberries, and with their leaves, and 

 with a few small mushrooms also, and some 

 mouthfuls of moss. We went home very fast, 

 too much elated to heed scratches and tum- 

 bles ; and just as it was growing so dark that 

 further travelling was impossible we came 

 opposite our camp, crossed the river on a fal- 

 len hemlock, and walked up to the moody 

 Indian, as he sat crouched by the fire. 



He lost his sullenness when he heard what 

 we had done ; and next day we all went up 

 and skinned and butchered the caribou, re- 

 turning to camp and making ready to start 

 back to the lake the following morning ; and 

 that night we feasted royally. 



We were off by dawn, the Indian joyfully 

 leading. Coming up into the mountains he 

 had always been the rear man of the file ; but 

 now he went first and struck a pace that, con- 

 tinued all day long, gave me a little trouble to 

 follow. Each of us carried his pack ; to the 

 Indian's share fell the caribou skull and ant- 

 lers, which he bore on his head. At the end 



