MOOSE-HUNTING IN CANADA 103 



English language in America. The western cattle- 

 man or farmer speaks of his farm or house as his 

 " ranch," calls the enclosure into which he drives 

 his stock a " corral," fastens his horse with a " lariat," 

 digs an '' acequia " to irrigate his land, gets lost in the 

 " chapparal " instead of the bush ; and uses com- 

 monly many other Spanish words and expressions. 

 No hunter or trapper talks of hiding anything ; he 

 " caches " it, and he calls the place where he has 

 stowed away a little store of powder, flour, or some 

 of the other necessaries of life, a " cache." The 

 French word " prairie," as everybody knows, has 

 become part and parcel of the English language. 

 Indians and half-breeds, who never heard French 

 spoken in their lives, greet each other at meeting 

 and parting wdth the salutation " bo jour " and 

 " adieu." And so the word " portage " has come 

 to be generally used to denote the piece of dry land 

 separating two rivers or lakes over which it is neces- 

 sary to carry canoes and baggage when travelling 

 through the country in summer. Sometimes it is 

 literally translated and called a " carry." Another 

 French word, " traverse," is frequently used in 

 canoeing, to signify a large unsheltered piece of 

 water which it is necessary to cross. A deeply 



