THE LOST LAKES 43 



the bottom was reached, on passing a small piece of 

 thick woods near a large expanse of dead-water I 

 heard a bull moose make an audible grunt. 



We almost immediately reached " Clear Water 

 Camp," where the horses which had preceded us were 

 feeding and where dinner was awaiting us. The cook 

 said that he had been " blattin " with a moose horn 

 and a young spike-horn bull had rushed out of the 

 woods and into the water. It was the same fellow 

 which I had heard as we passed along but a few 

 minutes before. 



We had dinner, and then Henry, the cook and the 

 writer started on foot through a five-mile portage, as 

 they called it, being the last stage of the land part of 

 our journey. I noticed here the first caribou tracks I 

 had seen since 1898. 



I mentioned that fact to Henry, and he said that the 

 previous season one of his " sports," walking ahead of 

 three others, came across four caribou feeding. He ran 

 back within hailing distance and holding up his hand 

 and counting the four fingers, he shouted : 



" I've seen four big animals, but they're not moose 

 and not deer. Shall I shoot ? " 



" Yes," came back the reply, but when he returned, 

 of course, they were gone, and he was much chopfallen 

 that they had not waited for him to get a shot. It is 

 said that no animal can run faster than the caribou. 



Many years ago, when these rather queer animals 



