NEAR MIDDLE RIDGE. 117 



quartette of locked antlers are readily sold for aa much 

 as $50. 



After the battle was over we went on our way and 

 hunted down towards the lake, and while we were watch- 

 ing the large marsh near the lake head two stags began 

 to cross it in our direction, but neither was worth shooting, 

 and although all day long we continued to see both does 

 and stags in some numbers, none of the latter pleased us, 

 and we ultimately got back to camp with clean rifles. 



In the course of ten hours we had seen no less than 

 eighteen stags, and were naturally in good spirits ; nor 

 had we any doubt but that the next few days would bring 

 each of us, as Wells said, " alongside " the big stag we 

 desired. 



On the following day Jack and I went a long distance 

 to the north. During the forenoon we heard several shots, 

 and were quite sure that Wynyard had been lucky in his 

 hunting, when all our hopes were destroyed by finding 

 the newly-severed head of a stag and the place where the 

 body had been butchered. The head was a small one, 

 carrying only fourteen points, and its presence could only 

 be explained in one way that a party of meat-hunters 

 were abroad, and to judge from their tracks there were 

 more than a few of them. Later we came upon the remains 

 of a doe, which, like the stag, had been killed on the previ- 

 ous day. As we were certain that no party of hunters had 

 come in by way of Terra Nova, we were rather at a loss to 

 account for the presence of these people, and were inclined 

 to believe they must belong to a camp of surveyors. But 

 we were utterly wrong in this surmise, as Wynyard met 

 three of the party that day and found that they were 

 settlers from Gambo, thirteen strong as to numbers, and 

 that they had for the last nine years come to the Millais 

 Lake country to shoot their winter's meat. Of course 

 their presence was as unwelcome to us as it was unex- 



