140 THE SPORTSMAN'S PARADISE; 



from beginning to end. We are now entering on nature's 

 grandest preserve, we find here the " King of the Cana- 

 dian Forest," alias moose, deer, beaver, black bear, black 

 wolf, speckled- and lake-trout, duck, ruffed grouse, etc. 

 Here is abundance of sport for the true sportsman. 

 During the morning stroll we saw several beaver-houses 

 which were occupied, and examined a large amount of 

 their fresh work. These sights were highly interesting to 

 me, but inasmuch as they have been so frequently de- 

 scribed by others, I shall omit them here. 



It was already after twelve o'clock when we reached 

 our camp. The guides prepared our dinner, which was 

 speedily partaken of, and then we got off on a deer-hunt. 

 The captain started into the woods with the dogs. George 

 Ross and I entered a canoe, the former paddling across 

 the lake to a point that commanded a view of a large 

 portion of this water. We then stepped on dry land, and 

 there patiently awaited the coming developments. We 

 carefully scanned every visible portion of the lake. An 

 hour passed and still we were watching ; soon a grand 

 splash was heard near the shore on the opposite side of 

 the lake ; the guide caught sight of the water which was 

 thrown high into the air, but the head of the deer was 

 scarcely visible to him while the animal was swimming 

 towards us. The deer, which, at first, swam directly towards 

 us, soon changed his course and headed towards the foot 

 of the lake. This change brought him plainly into view. 

 A few minutes later the dog was seen running from the 

 woods where the deer broke cover. The head and antlers 

 of our game were visible above the waters of the lake, 



