THE CARIBOU. 197 



We soon arrived at the foot of a lofty mountain, 

 and then Moniii, turning towards us, told us in a 

 whisper that we were now close to a favourite feeding 

 ground of the caribous, who are fond of browsing 

 in the sunshine. Tlie Indian admonished us to 

 keep the most profound silence, and we followed 

 quietly in his trail. A little way on, we came upon 

 a freshly dropped fumet, and Monai assured us that 

 the animal had passed that way certainly not more 

 than two hours before. Taking a course against 

 the wind, which had now become perceptible, he led 

 us to a hollow where the caribous had passed the 

 night, for we could see, all around some stunted 

 trees, a space where the snow had been trampled. 

 Mr. Howard thrust his hand in the snow, and pre- 

 tended that it was still warm. At any rate, it was 

 certain that the caribous were not far ofl". 



Our first care was to put fresh caps upon our 

 rifles, and then Mr. Howard fastened a cord to 

 Jack's collar, so as to keep him in leash. The 

 traces of our game were around us in all directions, 

 so that without an intimate knowledge of the habits 

 of the creature, it was impossible to decide which 

 way to take. 



^Moniii soon relieved us from our embarrassment ; 

 for, after a careful examination, the Indian made a 

 sign for us to follow him, and we advanced with the 

 greatest precaution. Examining the tracks which 

 we now followed, I observed that all the prints in 



