242 HUNTING SPORTS OF THE WEST. 



morning. The rest of the party agreed to camp on the 

 spot. The Cougar was despoiled of its skin, and its car- 

 cass left to the hungry dogs. Whilst engaged in preparing 

 our camp, we heard the report of a gun, and soon after 

 one of our hunters returned with a small deer. A fire 

 was lighted, and each hunter displayed his pone of bread, 

 along with a flask of whisky. The deer was skinned in 

 a trice, and slices placed on sticks before the fire. These 

 materials afforded us an excellent meal, and as the night 

 grew darker, stories and songs went round, until my com- 

 panions, fatigued, laid themselves down, close under the 

 smoke of the fire, and soon fell asleep. 



I walked for some minutes round the camp, to contem- 

 plate the beauties of that nature, from which I have cer- 

 tainly derived my greatest pleasures. I thought of the 

 occurrences of the day, and glancing my eye around, re- 

 marked the singular effects produced by the phosphores- 

 cent qualities of the large decayed trunks which lay in 

 all directions around me. How easy, I thought, would 

 it be for the confused and agitated mind of a person be- 

 wildered in a swamp like this, to image in each of these 

 luminous masses some wondrous and fearful being, the 

 very sight of which might make their hair stand erect on 

 his head ! The thought of being myself placed in such a 

 predicament burst over my mind, and I hastened to join 

 my companions, beside whom I laid me down and slept, 

 assured that no enemy could approach us without first 

 rousing the dogs, which were growling in fierce dispute 

 over the remains of the Cougar. 



At daybreak we left our camp, the squatter bearing 

 on his shoulder the skin of the late destroyer of his stock^ 



