88 WOOD BUFFALO. 



across; and from an impulse of curiosity Gaultier 

 pushed quietly through the small pines, which thickly 

 clad the shore, and gazed down the farther reach, which 

 stretched away for half a mile, darkened on one bank 

 by the gloomy shade of woods, while the opposite side 

 received the full radiance of the moon. 



The distance across was not so great as to prevent 

 the young trapper from observing several animals of 

 immense size standing by the verge of the water. Oc- 

 casionally one would walk along the beach, and seem 

 to browse ; while others advanced towards the river 

 and waded into it until knee-deep, when they bent 

 their heads to drink. 



At first Gaultier supposed them to be moose-deer, 

 but he was puzzled by the look of their heads, on which 

 he co eld discern no such armature of antlers as dis- 

 tinguishes that animal. Quietly retracing his steps, he 

 informed his comrades of what he had seen. From the 

 spot where the canoe had been deposited the strange 

 animals were not visible, and the two hunters therefore 

 followed Gaultier, who led them to the place from 

 which he had observed them. The animals still main- 

 tained their position on the beach, but a slight film 

 across the moon rendered them extremely indistinct. 



" They are moose," said Pierre ; " I can see the horns 

 of that next one see, the one near that big white pine." 



" You must skin yer eyes a deal more to see their 

 horns, I reckon," said Jake ; " what you sees is that 

 withered branch hanging down over the critter's head 



