Newfoundland 



over each shoulder. Such loads are awkward 

 things to pack through timbered country, as the 

 bushes have an annoying trick of hitching one 

 up at every available opportunity. Luckily, the 

 country hereabouts was mostly of the barren 

 order, the ravines which divide up the barrens 

 at infrequent intervals being the only wooded 

 portions. 



I was much struck by seeing one broad strip 

 of timber in which every tree was dead. Stark 

 and bare the great limbs stood out against the 

 wonderful blue of the sky. This desolate line 

 extended from the creek in the bottom, trans- 

 versely, to the outer edge of the canyon ; the 

 widest part was perhaps a hundred yards, with a 

 length of about six hundred. Pat said that the 

 damage had been caused by lightning. What a 

 storm it must have been ! Sweeping all before 

 it, and blasting every living stick standing within 

 the zone of the stroke ! 



We had covered half the distance back to 

 camp when I caught sight of a splendid caribou, 

 at about four hundred yards distance, just dis- 

 appearing behind a rise of ground, and coming 

 towards us. 



We at once dropped, hiding amongst a small 

 clump of bushes. It seemed to me like an hour, 

 it was about five minutes really, before a magnifi- 

 cent old stag came into full view, walking very 

 slowly and lamely, stopping now and again to 



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