In North- West Canada. 107 



endless variety ; a stay of a week here will be well rewarded. 

 At many points on the coast one can obtain all the sport that 

 he wants with deer, bear, grouse and water-fowl. And again, 

 another field is open on Vancouver Island, that lovely land 

 beloved of Englishmen. Within a short distance of the beauti- 

 ful city of Victoria, game and California quail are very plenti- 

 ful ; a short journey into the interior of the island will bring 

 you to the ranges of deer, bear, and other animals, added to 

 these are several varieties of duck and other water-fowl, and 

 last of all the English pheasant, introduced several years ago, 

 and now perfectly acclimated and thriving wonderfully in the 

 new land. The cry of " mark cock " or " ware hen " may sound 

 strange to many, but the newly arrived Briton knows right 

 well what it means, and what rare sport the long tails furnish, 

 and its ten to one that he knows how to stop 'em too. 



The following is taken from " Fishing and Shooting in the 

 Canadian North- West," and gives a few pointers to the sports- 

 man who intends to explore the region just traversed, after the 

 noble game that abounds in the fine mountain ranges we have 

 passed through. The pursuit of what is generally dubbed by 

 the craft " big game," in the mountain wilds of Canada, is no 

 childs' play. To be successful a man must possess iron nerve 

 and unflinching determination ; he must be a good shot and 

 strong enough to stand rough work, for the latter is frequently 

 necessary before the game can be reached, and the former is 

 very liable to be an extremely useful accomplishment, especi- 

 ally if the quarry happens to be a grizzly bear : 



" Sportsmen who have shot in the famous wilds of Africa 

 and India are apt to feel proud of their lion, tiger, and other 

 handsome skins that originally covered the works of some lithe 

 and bloodthirsty big feline ; but, with all due respect to them 

 and their prowess afield, I would sooner have the hide of a 

 grizzly of my own killing than half a dozen peltries of ' Leo ' 

 or ' Stripes ' or any other cat that ever jumped. 



" You can ' pot ' your lion over a carcass, and be yourself, 

 meantime, perfectly safe on some prepared post or natural 

 stronghold ; you can bore holes between the stripes of the fur 



