CHAPTER XV. 



THE ELK. 



| ANADA is the country for the devotees of the 

 chase. The uncultivated wilderness which 

 extends to the north of Quebec and Montreal 

 is peopled by half-civilized Redskins, who 

 live on the products of their hunting and fishing expedi- 

 tions. For a European amateur of sport this country, 

 therefore, possesses a peculiar attraction, in spite of its 

 ruggedness and its savage aspect. I had conceived the 

 notion, during my residence in the United States, of 

 visiting as a hunter the great English colony; and during 

 the Christmas holidays of 1844, I profited by a few 

 weeks' leisure to repair to Canada. 



A friend of mine, a captain in one of the Queen's 



