192 



THE SPORTSMAN'S PARADISE; 



wards, " He is up again !" but scarcely had these sounds 

 passed away when the deer passed over a ridge and was 

 thus lost to view. We started promptly forward to the 

 spot where the animal had been seen to fall ; there we 

 found the ground covered with blood, and from this point 

 we could easily follow him by the bloody trail. He was 

 finally found dead on the slope of a hillock only a few 

 yards from the spot where he had been last seen. 



It took the captain but a few moments to remove the 

 skin and cut from the carcass a choice piece of venison 

 sufficient for our supper and breakfast, when we were again 

 off on the tramp. 



The storm had now ceased, a little later a bright sun- 

 shine had lighted up our pathway through the woods, the 

 snow which covered the fallen leaves rapidly disappeared, 

 while the fitful gusts of wind which prevailed in the morn- 

 ing were entirely absent in the evening. The morning and 

 the early part of the afternoon had passed without the dis- 

 covery of any fresh moose signs, but our search was re- 

 warded later in the day, when we struck a very promising 

 trail. The herd consisted of three animals, presumed to be 

 one bull and two cows, but I think there is a certain amount 

 of uncertainty in the prognosticating of the sex, since it is 

 entirely based on the size of the track made by the animal. 

 We discovered that these animals had been browsing- near 

 the point where we struck their trail, and furthermore, the 

 tracks had evidently been made since the snow had melted 

 off. Both these discoveries were very encouraging, since 

 the moose commonly lies down after eating, and conse- 

 quently the hunter reasonably expects to find him within a 



