190 CANADIAN WILDS. 



side of the bay. I was so spellbound for a few 

 moments that I let the opportunity pass to 

 shoot. The ice was so glare that it was with dif- 

 ficulty the large animal could make headway at 

 all. 



My little dog had now come up with her, and 

 very pluckily nipped her heels. The huge beast 

 tried to turn in her headway to face the cur. 

 In doing so, her four feet all slipped at once from 

 under her, and her great weight coming down 

 so suddenly on the thin ice caused it to break 

 in fragments, and the moose was in the water. 



To get out of that hole with no bottom to 

 spring from was more than that moose, or any 

 other, could do, but the poor beast did not real- 

 ize this, and continued swimming around, and 

 every now and again getting its front hoofs on 

 the slippery edge, only to fall backward again 

 into the icy waters. 



The dog followed it about the opening, bark- 

 ing continually, but the moose had more press- 

 ing business than to bother with a small dog. I 

 saw that the creature would never succeed in 

 extracting itself, and thought to end its misery. 

 From where I stood the distance from the shore 

 was about two hundred yards. I therefore 

 started to load my gun (it was before the days 

 of breechloaders), but when I 'got to the final 



