442 W<} GAME OF NOUTH AMERICA. 



blankets piled over them, they sleep, dreaming of thrilling 

 encounters with mammoth denizens of the forest and 

 mountains, of skillful shots, instant deaths, herds of game, 

 and beasts galore. 



And, dreaming, they reck not of the night, nor of the 

 howling blizzard without. The night wore on, and as the 

 first faint streaks of daylight came stealing down upon the 

 cabin amidst the virgin forest, one member of the party 

 awakes, and springing to his feet, replenishes the lire, 

 which has almost died out, huge logs being placed thereon. 

 The coffee-pot, a strip of venison, and a slice of bacon are 

 placed above the hot coals. His companions are now on 

 foot, and the steaming breakfast is hastily devoured. The 

 dogs are fed, cartridge-belts adjusted, and away they go. 



Only one dog a Cougar-dog is taken, the others being 

 left at camp, greatly to their consternation, and long after 

 camp is left can their dismal howlings be heard. The snow 

 in all directions is closely scanned. Deer,' Coon, Cougar, 

 Wolf, and Elk tracks alike are passed by. The track of 

 the Bear is not now seen; he is taking his winter's sleep, 

 and does not meander forth till spring brings him out, rav- 

 enous with hunger, to ravish the lands below. Then the 

 skunk-cabbage and the rancher's hogs will suffer. 



At last a track is discovered by the engineer, the veteran 

 of the party, who, undecided, beckons the writer to his side. 

 The track is not heavy enough or wide enough for that of a 

 Cougar, nor is it the dog-like track of the Wolf, but yet it 

 seems too big for that of a Lynx. All three hunters now 

 examine the track, which at last they decide to be that of 

 a Canada Lynx. 



The dog for to-day's work is a cross between a Collie and 

 a Deer-hound, showing many points of each, but not having 

 the long coat of the former, nor the short coat of the latter; 

 being, instead, covered with a thick, wiry hair, short and 

 stiff, lie has the head and body of the hound, but the 

 color of the Collie. A strong, swift, keen-nosed animal is 

 Badger the hero of many a Cougar, Bear, and" Coon hunt; 

 intelligent and docile, but a ravenous feeder, and cross to 



