ON THE GANDER RIVER. 209 



the endless watching and waiting, which is so characteristic 

 of September sport in a region of fairly thick woodland. 



Loaded with our small necessaries we set out early and 

 walked steadily all day. As we approached the height of 

 land, the country changed in character and became more 

 and more open. Large marshes spread on every side, only 

 broken by little clumps of timber. Of deer we saw but 

 small sign ; their broad roads were, it is true, cut deep in 

 the face of the marshes, and the highways along which 

 generations of caribou had wandered wound among the 

 trees, but hardly a recent track was printed upon them. 

 The weather was exceedingly warm, the black flies a dis- 

 tinct nuisance, and very obviously the autumn migration 

 had not commenced. In fact, we learned afterwards that 

 the mass of caribou did not move south that year until 

 well on in the month of October, a fact doubtless due to 

 the prolonged fall and the very hot weather. 



But our enthusiasm was to receive a spur, for passing 

 through a strip of thickly-growing spruce, first one and 

 then another of our party picked up cast antlers of great 

 size and weight. These had probably been shed during 

 many and various seasons, but, even so, the very fact that 

 we found horns of such strong growth, bearing from twenty- 

 one to twenty-four points each, made us hopeful of meeting 

 in the flesh the giants that had formerly carried them. 



Towards evening we made our camp in a little drogue 

 of spruces which formed a landmark for several miles round, 

 and the next morning, leaving Sweet apple to his work in 

 the camp, Hardy and Bob and Jack and I set out in dif- 

 ferent directions. By evening, on our return, we had 

 sighted thirty-two does and one stag of about twenty- 

 five points, while our comrades had seen thirteen does and 

 a single poor stag. 



It must be acknowledged that the time we spent on the 

 high ground, though exceedingly enjoyable, was far from 



