A Sportsman 465 



moment he got up his legs would divide and down he 

 would go. How he got out so far, at least half a 

 mile from shore, was a puzzle, and indicated the great 

 tussle he must have had. 



He probably had stepped out at first from the woods 

 on some snow ice, and made a little progress on the 

 lake, when his footing gave way, and in his misguided, 

 stniggling efforts he had worked away from shore 

 instead of toward it. He was pretty thoroughly ex- 

 hausted, although belligerent toward us still. His 

 efforts to get up were incessant, but his legs would 

 divide in a moment, which must have been very un- 

 pleasant to him. We concluded to give him a new 

 start in life; so, throwing a halter over his head, we 

 dragged him over the ice with our young and well shod 

 horse to the shore, and then by hand and other efforts 

 some twenty feet inland. Even then he seemed unable 

 to get on his feet, so wounded in sinews he must have 

 been from his battle on the slippery ice. We held on, 

 however, until he got on his legs, and saw him well off 

 on his tottering limbs, although his progress was slow 

 and undoubtedly agonizing. 



We observed one day in front of camp an animal 

 swimming in the water about a quarter of a mile from 

 shore. Manning a boat, we soon overtook it and 

 found it was a yearling doe, which after some exciting 

 work, as the deer was very active, we succeeded in 

 capturing alive, and brought it ashore. We confined 

 it in an enclosure and supplied it with boughs to browse 

 upon, and some boiled pototoes and oats, which it 

 fed from during the first night, and fed regularly after, 

 until we let it go back to the woods. It was very shy 

 at first, but rapidly became tame, and when we let it 



