A FALL HUNTING TRIP. 105 



for us by the fire. After that came successive pipes, the 

 forecasts, meteorological and otherwise, for the morrow, 

 then the sleeping bags and splendid, dreamless sleep. 



The 30th of October was another of my best days, for 

 I met with numerous squads of deer trooping south- 

 wards. During the middle hours of the day these deer 

 lay down among the patches of wood which surround 

 Island Pond. Some description of the place is neces- 

 sary. I cannot say how wide or how long this pond 

 may be, for I never had a full view of it, part being 

 always hidden by the trees clustering upon the many 

 islets which, as in the case of nearly all pieces of water 

 in this district, dot its waters. On the day I write of 

 it was covered with a thin sheet of ice. The morning 

 turned out fine, cold, and invigorating, and we were 

 early away from camp. We walked some miles in a 

 northerly direction, passing the spot where we had 

 killed the big caribou two days before. On this 

 occasion we did not see any stags until we were some 

 three miles from camp, when with the glass we descried 

 a pair of antlers moving above some bushes on the sky- 

 line. The animal to which they belonged was evidently 

 feeding, while between us and him lay a valley and a 

 rise covered with woods. He was on a barren beyond 

 these, and was sheltered by some small spruces that 

 prevented our getting a very good view of him. So we 

 descended into the valley and found a deer-path leading 

 through the trees and glades. This we followed, and 

 were cautiously crawling behind the spruces when the 

 stag nearly ran into us as he came mooning along the 

 very track we were on. He carried a fair head, but one 

 brow was very poor, so I passed him, as well as two 

 smaller stags. 



