216 TWO DIANAS IN ALASKA 



of my first caribou ! The horns were of great length, 

 and measured fifty-four inches over the curves and 

 the spread came out at forty-nine inches. The whole 

 effect was w r onderfully symmetrical, with thirty-eight 

 points. From the base to the tops the glorious horns 

 were most gracefully palmated, and the brow antlers 

 matched one another exactly, thus rendering the head 

 unusually valuable. I knew that I had been lucky 

 enough to obtain an extraordinarily fine troph)?-, even 

 without the " Oh's " and " Ah's," expressed in an 

 unknown tongue, with which my hunter greeted me. 

 Some of his delight was very personal, no doubt, 

 but apart from selfish considerations his congratula- 

 tions were genuine. 



We were about six miles from camp, and it was 

 then getting ominously towards late evening. The 

 larder question was forgotten by me, the distance 

 from camp troubled me not at all. Everything was 

 lost in the wonders of contemplation. The marvels 

 and the splendours of my caribou filled all my 

 thoughts. 



A shout from the top of the hill, and in giant 

 strides Ralph came down the side of the bluff, with 

 Steve hurrying after him. 



" I've been watching that herd for twenty minutes 

 or more, and was just contemplating rushing down 

 the slopes to meet them. Aren't you lucky? This 

 is a topping head!" 



Ralph had not been within shooting distance of a 

 caribou all day, which was rather convenient now, 

 as he was completely unloaded, and could well help 

 to transport portions of my beast to camp. The 



