A PANTHEJR IN SIGHT. 145" 



41 



above it. Some were close along the shore, feeding upon 

 the grass that grew there. Others still were nibbling at the 

 leaves of the moosewood upon the bank, and one large buck 

 stood by the side of a fir tree, rubbing his neck up and 

 down against it, as if scratching himself against its rough 

 bark. We had not been discovered, and waited for the 

 other boats to arrive. Great was the astonishment of my 

 companions, when they saw the number of deer that were 

 feeding in this little lake. Neither of them had ever seen 

 the like, nor had I, save on one occasion, and that was in 

 a small lake, the name of which I have forgotten, lying 

 a few miles beyond the head of the Upper Saranac. 



" You see that clump of low balsam trees on that point 

 yonder," said my boatman, as we lay upon our oars, point- 

 ing in the direction indicated. "Well, from that spot, three 

 years ago, I shot a moose out upon the bar there, as it was 

 feeding upon the lily pads and flag grass. 



" I had heard from an old Indian hunter, about this lake, 

 and the abundance of game to be found here, and I made 

 up my mind to see it. So another hunter and myself agreed 

 to come up here in July, and take a look at matters, and 

 find out whether the old copperhead told the truth or not. 

 We started about the middle of July, with our rifles and 

 provisions for a fortnight, and came up. We saw any quan- 

 tity of deer on the way. On the second chain of ponds, we 

 saw, as we were rowing along, a large panther walk out 

 on to the top of a great boulder, and look around, lashing 

 his sides with his long tail, and then sit down on his 



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