174 THE WILDERNESS HUNTER. 



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. An- 

 other time we came on a deer and the fright- 

 ened 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 

 antlers. I merely caught a glimpse of it as it 

 leaped over a breast-work of down timbers ; 

 and we never saw it again. Alternately trot- 

 ting and making a succession of long jumps, 

 it speedily left us far behind ; with its great 

 splay-hoofs it could snow-shoe 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 con- 

 ditions of crust-formation is it in any danger 

 from a man on snow-shoes. 



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 wander long 

 distances, and are fond of frequenting the 

 wet barrens which break the expanse of the 

 northern forest in tracts of ever increasing 

 size as the subarctic regions are neared. At 

 this time they go in bands, each under the 



