INCIDENTS OF STILL-HUNTING 237 



they cannot catch a beaver they say " he has just come from 

 the sea." 



At daybreak Bob Saunders roused us with the news that 

 a large stag was standing on the other side of the river, and 

 that he appeared to have a very good head. I sprang from 

 my bed, and, seizing my rifle, ran out in my " nighties." Yes, 

 there he was, staring fixedly at the camp, and I sat down on 

 the cold stones and let go, estimating the distance at 150 

 yards. The stag sprang away, and after going a short dis- 

 tance turned sharply to the right and crossed the river. 

 During his passage I fired two more shots at him, both 

 going just over his back by an inch or two. But an inch is 

 a clean miss, and I had the mortification of seeing a fine head 

 dash into the alders and pass away. I had not troubled to 

 settle myself in a good shooting position, and so had missed 

 a good beast. 



At noon we struck the heavy timber, and the spoor of deer 

 was seen in abundance on both sides of the river. As we were 

 about to halt for tea a stag came out of the wood at about 

 170 yards, so I sat down and killed it as food for McGaw 

 and myself. I may say in passing that every eatable part 

 of this deer and the two others which we had previously 

 killed was eaten by ourselves and the men during the next 

 eight days. It was, in fact, fortunate that we had found and 

 shot these three stags just at the points where they were 

 wanted, for it made the work of the packers much easier. 

 About twenty minutes after this incident I recognised my 

 old camp of 1903 at the riverside. Here the men rested for 

 the night, and then departed again up stream, leaving McGaw 

 and myself to our own devices for a week. 



During the first day McGaw went down stream for about 

 three miles and watched some open stretches, seeing two good 



