256 TIMEHRI. 
falling. In an instant every burden was hurled down — 
and the whole party rushed with gleeful shouts up the | 
hill, and disappeared into the wood, to re-appear in re by 
few moments dragging out the body of a deer. i a 
The delight and glee of the whole party now became 
quite indescribable, chiefly manifesting itself by everyman % 
present shouting out, with roars of laughter and flashing — 
eyes, the most minute details as to how cleverly he © 
himself had on some previous occasion shot a deer very © 
like this one. Carried away by the contagion of enthu- — 
siasm, I felt almost ashamed that I had myself only on 
one occasion shot a deer and that under most prosaic _ 
circumstances. Possibly it was envy which made me the © 
first to recognize the seamy side of our recent good 
luck. We had got a deer ; but we were not hungry, and we ~ 
had plenty of food with us; and every man, woman, and 
child of the party was already burdened beyond the stage 
of willingness to carry on the carcase. My companions — 
proposed quite equally to distribute the burden, by eating 3 
it there and then, But, hearing that in the course of an 4 
hour we should come to a big river the crossing of which ~ 
would delay us for some time, I effected a compromise in — 
accordance with which, some more of the men’s packs ~ ' 
having been imposed on the ever receptive women, the 
men thus freed carried the deer as far asthe ford. Sowe — 
went on; and the impression which had all along lurkedin 
my mind that I was taking part in some pi€turesque but 
unreal operatic procession was. intensified by this new 
addition to our line, of a dead deer swinging by its 
gathered legs from a stout pole resting on the shoulders — 
of two men. 4g a 
The point at which we had to cross the lreng river—_ 
