236 WITH GUN AND GUIDE 



the. cove toward Long Lake that looked like a big bull 

 moose. Our scientist focused his field-glasses upon it, 

 but on account of the oscillation of the boat, which pre- 

 vented him from seeing plainly, he pronounced it a log. 



It appeared to me to be a bull caribou, and at last, 

 when it moved, we all came to the same conclusion 

 that it was indeed a caribou bull. But what a big fel- 

 low he was! None of us had before seen anything 

 alive like him in size. 



He was close to a mile from us, standing on the shore 

 of a cove, feeding at a " lick " that served to whet the 

 appetite at times of both moose and caribou. 



The shape of the letter " Y " will give an idea of our 

 position. The bull was at the left point of the " Y," 

 and we were at the base of it. A bit of jutting land 

 ahead of us was the right point. 



We paddled as fast as we could to the point of land 

 in front of us, which shut us out entirely from the view 

 of our quarry. Here I asked Dr. Hughes to take his 

 rifle, and make a " try " for him, but he insisted that 

 the honor of stalking and perhaps shooting the first big 

 game should belong to the writer. 



As no time could be wasted in argument, Kibbee and 

 I started off as fast as our legs could carry us, right up 

 the side of a hill clothed with deep, soft moss and en- 

 cumbered by a great deal of fallen timber. 



The light was fading, and our footing was anything 

 but sure, as we plunged over logs and dodged under 



