THE GREAT NORTHWEST 245 



belong to a hunter or to him whose ear can mark no 

 difference 'twixt the honk of a wild goose and the 

 crow of a barnyard rooster. 



After dinner we had singing, whistling, by as good 

 a whistler as ever " cocked a lip," and piano playing 

 by two of the ladies who were good musicians. When 

 our concert was over and we were about retiring, a 

 knock was heard at the car door, and the members of 

 the only family residing within miles of the station 

 were announced as callers. So again the strains of 

 one of Beethoven's immortal sonatas and a nocturne 

 of Chopin's were invoked to entertain the visitors, who 

 were two ladies and a gentleman the latter superin- 

 tending a ranch of 10,000 acres. The latest fashions, 

 the price of wheat, the climate, the habits of the wild 

 fowl around the lake and various other topics were 

 discussed. After a pleasant two hours' entertainment 

 the visitors were shown to the car door and left us say- 

 ing it was the pleasantest night they had ever spent 

 in their lives. So ended our day's hunt and pleasure 

 at Crane Lake, Assiniboia Territory. 



For months there was no rain in the regions gunned 

 over by our party, and we pursued our sport without 

 alloy or hindrance. When we were on the Frazer River, 

 in Vancouver, seven of our party who had started 

 away on a hunt after caribou and bears, returned to 

 the car, after a trip of seven days, during which time 

 they rode 130 miles over an almost impenetrable 



