84 HUNTING CAMPS. 



everything they see without much discrimination are all 

 against the real interests of sport. Besides, the volley- 

 firing has been going on every September and October 

 for some years, and in consequence this great herd has 

 suffered in many ways. In addition to the " railway 

 sports," the Newfoundland settlers often resort to 

 Howley to obtain meat for the winter, with the result 

 that many does and two-year-old stags are killed. The 

 settlers' reason for going to Howley is both obvious and 

 natural, as all the meat secured can be placed upon the 

 train and transported with ease and comfort along the 

 line to the men's homes. But in the eyes of persons 

 who voyage some thousands of miles to hunt caribou 

 the " railway sport " is unlikely to offer many attractions. 

 Probably they may be inclined to echo the saying 

 ascribed to a famous hunter : " I have come all this way 

 to hunt caribou, not to allow caribou to hunt me ! " 



Until recently the opinion was commonly held that 

 all the caribou in the island crossed the line of railway 

 during their migrations, but since hunters have gone 

 further afield their observations tend to prove that this 

 is by no means the case. Mr. F. C. Selous, the first 

 of these hunters, shot some large stags in the early 

 September of 1901 close to John's Pond, a spot where 

 at that date no deer would have been had the theory of 

 a universal migration been correct. 



The deer of Newfoundland may be divided with some 

 accuracy into three main groups. The best known is 

 that herd which crosses the railway in its migration, 

 going north in spring and returning south in September 

 and October. The second herd, or, rather, vast body of 

 deer, inhabits all central Newfoundland from St. George's 

 to Port Blandford and migrates between the railway 



