NEAR MIDDLE RIDGE. 125 



ging to the eastern shore of the lake, where Wynyard and 

 I slept while the men went back to bring up more packs. 

 Just behind the drogue of trees in which our tent was 

 pitched stretched a large marsh, where during the pre- 

 vious season I had seen several stags. Near by grew a 

 tall juniper, from the upper branches of which a very useful 

 view was obtainable, for the marsh was a particularly 

 promising place to watch, because it presented the only 

 open ground for some distance, and would therefore prob- 

 ably be chosen as a crossing place by any stags that might 

 be working round the lake head. But, although we kept 

 a close watch, the only stag that appeared was a small one. 



On the following afternoon Jack Wells and I canoed 

 over the lake and camped at the Narrows, while Wynyard 

 remained at the base to hunt the southern slopes, where 

 I had killed my last stag in 1903. It was agreed that he 

 should join us at the Narrows on the next day. In the 

 evening a fair stag crossed the lake, swimming from shore 

 to shore, a distance of over two miles. Up to this time, 

 although we had seen twenty-eight stags, neither of us had 

 fired a shot, and I was beginning to think with sincere 

 regret of the fine thirty-five-pointer of Island Pond. Fre- 

 quently at this time, when Jack looked gloomy, if I asked 

 him the cause he would answer, " That stag of Island Pond 

 had a shocking head ! " " Shocking " and " dreadful " are, 

 curiously enough, two of the highest terms of praise that a 

 Newfoundlander can bestow upon a caribou trophy. 



We had had more than our share of rain up to this 

 period, and I was awakened as usual on the following morn- 

 ing by the hammering of rain-drops upon our lean-to. I 

 had opened my eyes, when I heard something moving near 

 by on the isthmus of the Narrows, and, looking out, I 

 saw a fine stag, accompanied by two does, staring at the 

 camp. After a short interval I could have shot the stag 

 from my bed as he moved round to get the wind, but the 



