NEAR MIDDLE RIDGE. 121 



distance to the north. During the forenoon we heard 

 several shots and were quite sure that Wynyard had 

 been lucky in his hunting, when all our hopes were 

 destroyed by finding the newly-severed head of a stag 

 and the place where the body had been butchered. The 

 head was a small one, carrying only fourteen points, 

 and its presence could only be explained in one way 

 that a party of meat-hunters were abroad, and to judge 

 from their tracks there were more than a few of them. 

 Later we came upon the remains of a doe, which, like 

 the stag, had been killed on the previous day. As we 

 were certain that no party of hunters had come in by 

 way of Terra Nova, we were rather at a loss to account 

 for the presence of these people, and were inclined to 

 believe they must belong to a camp of surveyors. But 

 we were utterly wrong in this surmise, as Wynyard met 

 three of the party that day and found that they were 

 settlers from Gambo, thirteen strong as to numbers, 

 and that they had for the last nine years come to the 

 Millais Lake country to shoot their winter's meat. Of 

 course their presence was as unwelcome to us as it was 

 unexpected, and but for the fact that they were already 

 preparing to leave we should have been forced to move 

 away, which would not have suited our plans, as we had 

 not yet been able to bring up all our outfit and supplies. 

 However, there was the long stretch of country 

 towards John's Pond and on the south side of the 

 lake, that they had not visited, and that would afford 

 us excellent hunting until the men brought up the 

 canoes which would enable us to push forward across 

 the lake. 



In consequence of this meeting with the settlers we 

 could not help being reminded of the somewhat appalling 



