BIG GAME 87 



rock. As a result of such violent usage, the 

 case exploded, and my poor friend was trans- 

 ported to the coast in small fragments, each of 

 which was reverently carried home by one of his 

 three hundred porters. 



It is in any case advisable for the sportsman 

 to keep a number of cartridges loose in his 

 pocket. Most varieties of game are so sus- 

 picious that when once they have seen or scented 

 a human being they decline to wait for him 

 to prise open his ammunition-box, but bound 

 away into the forest while the hunter is still 

 fumbling with his sardine-tin opener. Again, 

 in moments of emergency, a handy spare car- 

 tridge which can be quickly slipped into the 

 still smoking breach is often of vital importance. 

 I speak from bitter experience. The first 

 moose that I ever shot was a great big bull 

 which I had tracked for over a week across the 

 snowy uplands of Quebec. After a long and 

 laborious pursuit, I at last came within range, 

 and at my first shot the animal fell heavily to 

 the ground, and lay weltering in its gore. With 

 a cry of joy I flung my rifle away, and, turning 

 to my French Canadian half-breed guide, 

 clasped him to my bosom with many expres- 

 sions of praise and congratulation. 



So intent was I in celebrating the supposed 

 death of my victim that I failed to see the 



