266 HUNTING CAMPS. 



as there were several tracks crossing and re-crossing 

 this spot, I sat down in the lee of a spruce out of the 

 cold wind. 



I had hardly been there more than five minutes when 

 my eye was caught by the brownish-grey form of a doe 

 caribou heading towards me out of a patch of woodland 

 lying to the north. She came forward at a good pace, 

 followed by a second doe, and presently a stag emerged. 

 At first it seemed the deer would come right up to 

 where I was waiting, but while still several hundred 

 yards away the leading doe changed her course and 

 began to trot rapidly in a direction that within a very 

 short distance would bring her to leeward. There 

 was nothing for it but to change my position ; fortu- 

 nately a deepish gully offered good cover, and I ran 

 down it for about a quarter of a mile, expecting every 

 moment to see the deer in full flight. As soon as 

 I was sure that I had crossed the front of the advancing 

 caribou and was safely to windward of them, I crept 

 out of the gully and under the shelter of a bulky 

 hummock. The two does and the stag had, however, 

 now disappeared, and, after watching for a few minutes, 

 I began to go forward up-wind, purposing, if possible, 

 to cut their trail. I had not gone more than fifty yards 

 before I saw the flank of one of the deer disappear 

 behind some trees about two hundred yards ahead, and 

 the next instant the does walked out into the open. 

 They were no more than a few yards from my 

 trail, and as I knew, once they got wind of it, they 

 would be scared away, I sat down and made ready to 

 shoot if, on seeing the stag, I should think it worth 

 while to do so. 



Before many moments had passed the stag advanced 



