CARIBOU HUNTING 35 



so far showed no signs of breaking. Every morning the sun 

 rose in a cloudless sky, and every evening set in an ocean 

 of flame. There had been a wet summer, so we were ex- 

 periencing the consequent reaction. Saunders, who had never 

 seen the like before, was nevertheless full of explanations and 

 prognostications. Every evening he would minutely explain 

 the particular position of certain clouds, and how they always 

 foretold rain or snow in Newfoundland, but when the morning 

 came and the sky was as brilliant as usual, he would be silent 

 on the subject. Evening, however, always gave him renewed 

 hope, and he would begin to prophesy again. For three 

 weeks, during which Saunders repeatedly declared that he 

 would die of sunstroke if the "tropical" heat continued, there 

 was not a drop of rain, and Newfoundland experienced the 

 driest season on record. About this time Saunders ceased 

 being a weather-prophet and became somewhat sad. " Never 

 before," said he, "were such things known. To come so far 

 and see so few stags ! " And I could see that his anxiety 

 was chiefly because he feared I should be disappointed and 

 wish to turn home. Nothing, however, was further from my 

 thoughts. We had plenty of provisions, and I knew that as 

 soon as the weather broke we should get stags. 



" ' I'm clean off my bearings,' as the ' Banks ' captain 

 said one day in a fog ; ' accordin' to my kalkilations, we're 

 fifty miles inside the Labrador woods,' and that's about the 

 size of it jes' now," said my companion one day, as we seated 

 ourselves after a fruitless tramp. " Sech a sight of deer and 

 nar' a stag." 



For four days we wandered over the high rocky barrens 

 and "open" timber, hoping to meet a travelling stag. We 

 made from ten to fifteen miles a day over fairly easy ground, 

 difficulties only presenting themselves when we entered the 



