TO THE SHOE HILL COUNTRY 251 



and Mr. Littledale had all shot this country 



with Steve, who certainly knew every inch of it, 



but October is the month for the Shoe Hill 



Ridge, when the sport must be grand, for all 



the stags from the north as well as those from 



the wooded country all round come up to these 



barrens in the late autumn. The country was 



cut up with deep trails, showing where the 



stags passed on their annual migration south. 



For pleasure I should choose the early 



season, up to October 1st; the weather is 



finer and some fishing is to be had, but for 



good heads the late season is certainly the best, 



for all the stags are out in the open during and 



after the rut. In the end of October the 



weather is sometimes fine, but sometimes very 



broken, and Steve told me that he had more than 



once hunted in heavy snow in that month. 



On our return to camp everything was most 

 comfortable — benches, tables, shelves in the 

 tent, rests for the rifles ; only the big stag was 

 wanted to make the Shoe Hill Broke a hunter's 

 earthly paradise. 



On the morning of the 17th we struck east 

 and crossed two ridges till we got to a valley 

 between Shoe Hill Ridge and the hill on which 

 was the Kesoquit Broke, where Millais had 

 camped on his way up from the Long Harbour 

 River. 



