264 



THE SPORTSMAN'S PARADISE. 



ing about us, but the end had not yet been reached. The 

 passage of the deer across this bay had been observed by 

 our party, but we were too far away to offer any protest 

 to this procedure. A few seconds later the hounds made 

 their appearance on the shore where she had entered the 

 bay. One immediately entered the water and swam across, 

 apparently in the wake left behind the poor fugitive, while 

 the other ran the shore. During this last performance the 

 hounds gave no music, and their silence was almost pain- 

 ful to us ; but the moment they started off on the trail 

 which she had made when she left the bay, they again 

 yelled with all their might. 



The captain at this moment promptly turned the bow 

 of his canoe towards the head of the lake, saying, " She 

 must take to the water again ; she cannot live in the 

 woods." The other canoes followed slowly, while we lis- 

 tened attentively to the sounds uttered by the hounds. 

 Thus we were convinced that the poor deer was painfully 

 conscious of her own weakness, and therefore kept close 

 to the lake that she might in an emergency leap into the 

 water and thus escape from the hounds. The objective- 

 point for which the captain had started was situated more 

 than a mile from the bay which the wounded deer had 

 crossed. The hounds followed her closely to this portion 

 of the lake, and then their voices were suddenly silenced. 

 The question was then quickly asked by one of our party, 

 "What has happened?" and the response was immediately 

 given by both the other members, " The deer has taken to 

 the water and is aeain swimmincf." 



We then listened attentively for another report in this 



