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THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 25 
glasses. We had not been thus occupied many minutes when 
there fell within the limited disc of my vision some dark movy- 
ing specks away on the north shore. An instant’s scrutiny con- 
vinced me that they were Musk Oxen, though we had not ex- 
pected to meet with these animals for some time yet. Yes, they 
were certainly Musk Oxen, as their appearance and movements 
were quite different from deer, but whatever they might be, a 
more intimate acquaintance with them was immediately de- 
sirable, as we were now quite out of fresh meat and rapidly re- 
ducing our limited stock of bacon. 
We had no rifles with us, nor had we canoes to cross the 
lake, but a quiet hunt was decided upon, and we returned to 
camp to prepare ourselves for it. 
Arriving there, the hour now being Io p. m., we found the 
tent empty, our two companions, the Bishop and Acres, having 
gone off picking berries, so we provided ourselves with two .303 
Winchester repeaters and a supply of cartridges, and were 
about to launch one of the canoes when two of our Indians, 
noticing our movements, and anticipating our object, stepped to 
the shore and saved us the trouble. As we took our places in 
the middle of the canoe, the Indians took charge at bow and 
stern, and in a moment, with scarcely a word spoken, or the 
least noise save the slight splash of the paddles, we were off. 
Our steersman, whispered, “ You see deer?” to which I replied, 
“ Strange big black deer,” the meaning of which he quite under- 
stood, and I directed him to a point about three miles distant on 
the opposite shore. The lake, which a few hours before had 
been whipped into foam, was now like a sheet of glass, and the 
sun had just disappeared below the northern: horizon, leaving 
the firmament one gorgeous glow of ruddy light. It was a 
glorious sub-arctic night, and as we sped swiftly, but noiseless- 
ly, through the water towards the long shadow of a dark hill, 
where we expected to land, the whole environment was to me 
most enchanting, almost to intoxication. 
In less than an hour we had gained the shore and hauled 
out the canoe on a sand beach at the foot of an abrupt high 
bank. We were now in perfect concealment from our enemies 
