IN TIMBER AND BRtlLfiE. 241 



I saw the top half of his horn as he moved," he said. 

 The place indicated was about three-quarters of a 

 mile away. Telling the Frenchmen to set down the 

 canoe and to wait for us until either we returned or 

 they heard a shot, we ran down the hill and along a 

 narrow savanne in the direction of the caribou. It is 

 wonderful the pulsing of the blood and the vigour that 

 the knowledge of game in sight can bring. Speaking 

 for myself, I know that a moment before I had been 

 wearily tired, and it was not the loss of my pack's 

 weight that renewed me, but that eagerness which only 

 comes to a hunter when, after days of failure, he sees 

 a chance of retrieving his fortunes at the eleventh hour. 



As I said, we ran down the slope and along the 

 savanne at a pace much too great for steady shooting ; 

 but the light was fading, and the caribou on his feet, 

 consequently he might wander away anywhere among 

 the clumps and bushes, so that speed was quite in the 

 essence of our undertaking. After we had covered 

 half a mile, we found, to our disgust, that a river lay 

 between us and the caribou. Its edges were frozen, 

 and no more than a dark stream flowed in the middle, 

 but luckily we struck it at a point where the water 

 was not very deep. It was, however, exceedingly cold, 

 and the current quite strong enough as it swirled to 

 our armpits, but we soon broke through the ice and 

 were climbing the bank upon the farther side. Here 

 we found ourselves in what must have been either one 

 large marsh dotted with trees, or a series of little ones. 

 Edward made for a point which should bring us within 

 fifty yards of the spot where he had seen the caribou, 

 but when we arrived there the stag had disappeared. 

 As we were not certain in which direction he was 



H.C. B 



