76 HILLS AND LAKES. 



but looking first up at me, and then at the shore, it 

 bleated plaintively, as if calling its mother to come 

 back. It permitted me to pat it gently, and seemed 

 quieted as I stroked the soft smooth hair on its head. 

 I verily believe that if I had had the means of feeding 

 it, I could so have tamed it in an hour, that it would 

 have followed me like a dog. But to have taken it 

 away, would have been cruel, as it would only have 

 starved in our company. We judged it to have been 

 three or four weeks old, and it was exceedingly fat 

 and strong. We put it unharmed on the shore, and 

 when its "feet was on its native heath," it bounded 

 leisurely away into the forest. We heard it bleat sev- 

 eral times, and thought at last that we heard a distant 

 answer, after which all was still. 



We procured dry bark and splinters of fatwood, 

 preparatory to going out among the deer in the night. 

 I have stated in a previous chapter, the manner of 

 hunting deer by torch-light. We found them in 

 abundance along the margin of the lake, but we did 

 no more than frighten them. We still had a supply of 

 venison, and after enjoying ourselves at their expense 

 for a couple of hours, returned to our shantee to sleep. 



