230 HUNTING CAMPS. 



We stood on the rocky back-bone of the hill, with a 

 view of a couple of miles, an ideal place for spying, and soon 

 both glasses were at work. At first the wide vista seemed 

 tenantless, but after half an hour I saw something move, 

 found it again with my telescope, and made out a doe caribou 

 advancing up a savanne about half a mile away. Seven 

 does soon appeared, following the first, and then a stag, 

 obviously young ; lastly, the tops of a pair of large horns 

 slowly rising until the whole body of the stag was vis- 

 ible. I pointed him out to Ed, who observed delightedly 

 that he was better than the one-horned fellow, and " Will 

 we be getting after him ? " The question needed no an- 

 swer. We slipped over the open rock unobserved and 

 commenced to run down the fissure on the farther side. 

 As we did so I felt Ed's hand catch my shoulder. " Look 

 there ! there upon the hill ! " he whispered. 



I looked, and I do not think I have seen a more splendid 

 sight. Down the steep slope on the opposite side no less 

 than eighteen caribou were galloping. At first I thought 

 something must have frightened them. But no, evidently 

 they had seen their friends in the valley and were rushing 

 down to them, or, I should say, the does were endeavouring 

 to do so, for on the outskirts of the herd a great, heavy- 

 bodied stag, whose horns seemed to touched his flanks, 

 was struggling to check the revolt of his harem. But no 

 sooner had the eighteen reached the level ground in the 

 gut of the valley than the leading doe slowed to a walk. 

 The revolt was over ; they moved on, and in the neighbour- 

 hood of a little pool of dark water which lay at the head of 

 the savanne the whole herd were lost to sight. 



We immediately pushed on under the kindly cover of 

 the ridge, the wind seemingly in our faces, everything in 

 our favour, and on the best of terms with our hunter- 

 luck. But this happy state of things was, as usual, of 

 but short duration. To the north-east lay the bare hill- 



