194 SPORT IN NORTH AMERICA. 



the place where the caribous were expected to be, 

 the sun was disappearing under the horizon. 



The country in which we found ourselves was 

 covered with trees. Before us was a lofty moun- 

 tain, and through the valley beneath a torrent 

 rushed and bubbled over a rocky bed, as if it were 

 a stream of boiling water. All over the snow, the 

 traces of the caribous were to be seen; and Mr. 

 Howard, pointing out a large track on the frozen 

 carpet over which we were walking, said : " As this 

 is the first time you have ever seen the footprint of 

 a caribou, observe how closely it resembles that of 

 an ox, so large and ponderous is it ; and when you 

 come within sight of the gigantic creature, I pro- 

 mise you something which will make you forget all 

 your fatigue." 



After a series of marches, or rather slides along 

 the snow, we reached a cabin which had served for 

 many years as a resting-place during their excur- 

 sions for Mr. Howard and Monai. It was a square 

 hut, built of the trunks of trees, piled up one upon 

 another, and supported in a horizontal position by 

 j)iles driven into the earth outside and inside. The 

 sloping roof was made of the trunks of trees, and 

 ■was covered, as well as the walls of t^e hut, with mud 

 and pieces of bark instead of tiles. This log-cabin, 

 although uninhabited, was in ver}' good repair, and 

 the covering of snow which surroiinded it rendered it 

 a very comfortable shelter. Monili soon cleared the 



