b TRAVELS IN THE EIGHTIES. 



this the animal shifted his quarters and was not seen 

 on our shooting ground again, though we never 

 ceased to hope that his head might grace one of our 

 ancestral halls, and so he may still be roaming over 

 the barren lands and through the forests of Hitteren, 

 unharmed. 



During August it had rained every day, and it is 



worthy of remark that the 1st of September was 



cloudless, and hardly any rain fell during the month. 



Consequently it was too dry for wood-stalking. A 



few days later we left for another stalking-hut called 



Yarli. The luggage on this occasion was dragged 



across the hills on sledges, though there was no snow 



on the ground. By this method much heavier loads 



can be moved by one pony than if they were 



" packed." The mosquitoes rendered the first night 



here one of agony and made sleep impossible. I have 



rarely seen them in greater numbers since, even in 



Lapland or the backwoods of Canada. We found 



ourselves compelled to return to Strom immediately 



without attempting to hunt. But after a rainstorm 



we came back once more and found these pests less 



numerous than before. When not after the deer, for 



we each took our turn stalking, I usually fished for 



trout on what were known as " the flats," or barren 



swampy ground covered with innumerable small lakes 



and streams. One evening I came to a lake where 



the trout were congregated at one end. I had not 



hitherto done much, but without moving five yards I 



caught seventy-five, averaging half-a-pound apiece. 



