DEER-SHOOTING 45 



Europeans generally lose colour and become pale faced, 

 exposure to the weather turned my skin a deep red. 



We continued our journey, moving in a north-easterly 

 direction, through country that was mostly covered with 

 dense spruce or pine forests, with many small lakes or 

 ponds, all of course frozen hard as iron. There was at 

 least three feet of snow on the ground at this time, the 

 surface frozen so hard that I found, by stepping cautiously, 

 that it was possible to walk on it without breaking through. 

 But for rapid and safe movement the snow-shoes could 

 not be dispensed with. 



This country was much frequented by cariboo, several 

 of which we shot, two falling to my rifle. They go in 

 herds, somewhat scattered at times, of fifty to two 

 hundred at least, and my companions used to try to kill 

 two at one shot. This is often done when the animals 

 stand side to side, the bullet having power to go through 

 them both. 



But the cariboo, which, the reader probably knows, is 

 the reindeer, is very tenacious of life ; and of all those 

 shot (m this occasion, not one was killed outright. 

 Several gave us a long run. Where we caught them in 

 the snow it was simply murder. They broke through 

 the frozen snow and could scarcely flounder along, and 

 the Indians walking up to them, cut their throats or 

 stabbed them, and saved their powder. But the animals 

 evidently knew their danger, and on scenting us made 

 for the lakes, where the snow had either drifted or was 

 frozen so hard on the ice that they could run with speed. 

 Here they gave us infinite trouble, some of those wounded 

 running nearly all day before we could get up to them, 

 and one or two escaping altogether. 



On the larger of the lakes the snow had drifted into 

 mounds and hillocks before freezing, and these were high 

 enough to aff'ord complete cover to the fugitive deer. Pro- 

 bably all those wounded that escaped got away only to die, 

 for we found the carcass of one which had been shot three 



