200 SPORT IN NEWFOUNDLAND 



could spy the surrounding country, which was 

 mostly marsh with patches of dense wood 

 scattered all over the plain and becoming 

 thicker down by the lake's edge. 



At this season of the year all the stags spend 

 their days in the woods, and only come out 

 morning and evening to feed. There was not 

 a breath of air and the mosquitoes and black 

 fly were out in force ; towards sunset we saw 

 a small stag with a poor head come out of a 

 wood about a mile away, and feed down to- 

 wards us. We had visions of caribou steak 

 and liver and bacon before us, when suddenly 

 the wind veered right round ; at the same time 

 a fox on the shore of the lake, who had seen us, 

 kept barking persistently. Whether it was 

 the wind or the fox I can't say, but the stag 

 put up his head, turned right round and walked 

 straight away — alas, the hopes of meat were 

 gone. It was getting dusk, so we made for the 

 canoe. On the way we saw a very small doe, 

 but the wind was again wrong and she was off 

 in a moment. We got back to camp in the 

 dark. 



Steve swore we must have meat and asked 

 for my Rigby Mauser that he might go out 

 at daybreak and shoot anything eatable. I 

 offered him the little rook rifle, so it was 

 decided he would be out before davbreak for 



