AND OTHER SKETCHES 277 



DEER HUNTING IN HALIBURTON. 



If I were an agriculturist on the lookout for land on 

 which to play the role of husbandman, I don't know that 

 I should select the district of Haliburton as the most 

 favorable spot on which to settle. The mountains are 

 too numerous and the bed rock is too plentiful to the 

 acre. True, there are magnificent hardwood forests and 

 some of this land when cleared raises fine crops, but life 

 is too short for a man to spend the best portion of it 

 fighting the up-hill battle against nature when it is pos- 

 sible to select other territory where he will not grow slab- 

 sided walking around the hillsides. 



But if the country is not A No. 1 for farming purposes, 

 there is no denying that it is a grand resort for the sports- 

 man, and as our party was totally indifferent to the num- 

 ber of bushels of grain the land would grow to the acre 

 beyond securing sufficient to feed a few hungry men for 

 two weeks, I speak only of the Haliburton district as a 

 country in which to find game, and due respect for my 

 catechism days compels me to say that in this line it is 

 worthy of high commendation. I would not recommend a 

 man of weak lungs or tender feet to give it a go, because 

 the chances are if he did he'd be knocked out in short 

 order. Going across country on the half perpendicular 

 basis is not the easiest kind of locomotion, and as there 

 is about one mile of climbing up there for every half mile 

 on the level, it demands sound lungs and good feet to play 

 the pedestrian role successfully. 



Again, those who go shooting up in this big northern 

 country must be prepared to rough it, willing to go under 

 canvas or live in some deserted lumber shanty ; be satis- 

 fied with the kind of food that can be conveniently cooked 

 with the most primitive kind of utensils and the seasoning 

 of which has a little more wood ashes than anything else. 

 If, however, your stomach is a strong one and satisfied 



