162 FOREST LIFE IN ACADIE. 



covered with little islands of dwarf spruces of a few feet 

 in height. This is a great place of resort for cariboo ; 

 they come out from the forest on to the plains on fine 

 sunny mornings, and scrape up the snow to get at the 

 moss. Having passed a night in a lumberer s camp, we 

 proceeded next morning to the plains, which the Indian 

 would scan from a tall spruce, to see if there were game 

 on them ; and having bagged my cariboo, and given 

 part of it to the lumberers, who seemed very thankful, 

 we made up the hind quarters and hide into two loads, 

 and arrived in camp the same evening. My companion, 

 whose shots I had heard the day previous, had had 

 excellent sport on the barrens, having killed four cariboo ; 

 and the following day I killed a magnificent buck, which 

 weighed nearly four hundred-weight, after a long chase 

 of six miles through the green woods from the spot 

 where I had first wounded him, the Indian (it was 

 Williams) keeping on his track, though it had passed 

 through multitudes of others, with unerring perseverance. 



Then comes the hauling out the meat. Old H , the 



last settler, whose house is not far from our camp, is sent 

 for, and contracts for the job, and one fine morning his 

 voice, as he urges on his patient bullocks towards the 

 camp, and the grating of the sled upon the snow, are 

 heard as we sit at breakfast. Leaving his team munch- 

 ing an armful of hay in the path, he comes to the camp 

 door, and, pushing aside the blanket which covers the 

 entrance, accosts us, — 



^' Morning, gents. Ah ! Ingines, how d ye make out — 

 most ready to start ? We've got a tidy spell to go for 

 the cariboo by all accounts, and my team aint noways 

 what you may caU strong. However, I suppose we must 



