THE CAKIBOU. 203 



unable to arrest. There I lost all traces of the 

 caribou, but Jack's paws indicated the road to follow, 

 and soon I heard very distinctly the repeated barking 

 of the noble dog. 



' The further I advanced the more rapid became 

 the torrent, and at a distance of about a hundred 

 yards before me, its waters suddenly disappeared 

 into an abyss, forming a cascade of considerable 

 height. Beyond the whirl of this picturesque cata- 

 ract the stream was frozen over, and along the banks 

 the surging waters had been transformed into layers 

 of ice, whilst from the pine branches which dipped 

 into the water depended rows of icy stalactites, 

 giving the scene a very fantastic appearance. 



Ten feet above the fall, on an isolated rock which 

 stood in the midst of the waters, was the caribou 

 that I had shot at. The current was so rapid all 

 around that if his foot had slipped he must have 

 gone over the fall. The faithful Jack had not 

 deemed it prudent to attack the ■ animal in his 

 dangerous retreat, but when I arrived he became so 

 excited, that to prevent him from getting into mis- 

 chief I had to put him into leash and tie him to the 

 foot of a tree. 



The caribou had chosen a refuge where it was 

 difficult to attack him, and how he had got there 

 was a mystery to me. On either side of him were 

 pei-pendicular banks, and before him the yawning 

 chasm, which seemed to await its victim. 



