146 HUNTING CAMPS. 



and, though presently the two biggest stags lay down, 

 they chose a quite inaccessible position in the centre of 

 a marsh, from which they did not rise till past three 

 o'clock. Had it not been so cold I should have enjoyed 

 the long wait, as the deer were throughout in full view, 

 one of the stags assuming a position I have never seen 

 a caribou take before or since. He lay down on his 

 side, with one horn resting on the snow and the other 

 sticking up to the sky. Finally, when they moved off 

 over the hill, we were glad to take a little exercise to 

 restore our circulations under cover of the ridge before 

 following their tracks in the snow. As these led into a 

 belt of trees we soon came up within sixty yards, and 

 one of the big stags I could not tell which of them, as 

 his head was down was feeding on the far side of the 

 herd almost opposite to me, and I was just about to 

 fire when Jack whispered, " That is not the big fellow." 

 At the same moment a doe saw us, and the next the 

 whole band were in a wild stampede, led by the stag at 

 which I had been aiming and which I now recognised 

 as the one that had lain down in so curious a position. 

 I fired at him and heard the bullet tell, and then, as T 

 was trying to eject the cartridge, the other big stag 

 broke cover almost in front of me. He was so close 

 that, had he not swerved, he might have knocked me 

 over. Meantime I was still struggling with the refrac- 

 tory cartridge, and when at last I succeeded in getting 

 it out and another in the stag was going away end-on 

 at about fifty yards, when I fired at the back of his 

 neck and missed. After galloping another hundred and 

 fifty yards he stood and gave me a chance of a beautiful 

 broadside shot, which passed over his back, and he went 

 off unhurt. 



