72 HILLS AND LAKES. 



tee now stands. We had a shantee there then, and 

 we calculated to put up there for the night. There 

 had been a bit of a thaw, and it had rained the day 

 before, but the wind chopped round to the north, and 

 froze everything as tight as beeswax. The crust was 

 sharp as a knife, and would almost bear a man. We 

 got to our shantee, and started a fire, when what 

 should we hear but the dogs of that blasted half-breed, 

 yelping like death, in pursuit of something. On they 

 came, right by the shantee, with a big buck close be- 

 fore them. It had been a tough winter in the woods, 

 and the poor beast was nothing but skin and bones. 

 Every leap he took was marked by his blood, as the 

 sharp crust tore the flesh on his legs. I was mad 

 enough to see *it, I tell you. Well, just by the edge 

 of the lake, the dogs pulled down and throttled the 

 poor critter. I knew very well who they belonged to, 

 and I'd a great mind to give 'em a taste of my rifle ; 

 but then I remembered 'twas their nater, and they 

 wan't to blame. So I waited, and when the dogs had 

 killed the deer, they sat down beside it, and began to 

 howl, as if callin' their master to come and finish their 

 dirty work. Sure enough, in a little while, along 

 came the cussed half-breed on his snow-shoes, and fell 



