(Rangifer caribou) from the coast and 

 barren lands, bo where they had gome 

 in the spring to fawn, and to be more 

 free 'from the pest of flies that would 

 worry them to a much greater extent 

 during the summer season farther 

 south. My guide toild 'me, upon my 

 making inquiry, that the usual time 

 for the arrival of the deer was about 

 the 12th of August. The weather was 

 beautiful with some days excessively 

 warm ; the nights were clear and 

 balmy and the stars, which owing to 



MR. W. J. McLEAN, 

 Ex-Chief Factor of the H. B. Co. 



the very short time the sun dipped 

 below the horizon for a month and a 

 half previous could not he seen, were 

 becoming visible again at night. The 

 remoteness and quiet solitude of the 

 surroundings inspired one with a feel- 

 ing that nature had ceased to exist, 

 and the occasional shrill though mel- 

 ancholy call of the great northern 

 diver (Urinator imher) (Guam), was a 

 relief to the wakeful ear at night. 



ONE OF NATURE'S WONDERS. 



In this part of the lake and on a 

 good sized island, stands an imposing 

 huge column of red granite, rotunda 

 shaped, and presenting a perpendicu- 

 lar facade about one hundred and thir- 

 ty feet high, and probably three hun- 

 dred yards in circumference. On the 

 top of this column of apparently solid 

 rock, is a small lake, but which can 

 only be seen from the heights back 

 from the lake shore. No one has ever 

 been known to get to the top of this 

 wonderful structure by nature. The 

 natives 'regard it as supernatural, and 

 are inspired with a superstitious 

 awe of it, as they believe it to be the 

 abode of some genius which it is not 

 safe for them to approach. 



Now the much wished for notable 

 12th of August, (a notable day in the 

 highlands of Scotland) arrived, and 

 with it, in compliance with their in- 

 stinct, the deer arrived also 

 at £he lake ; and the Indians 

 were at their different established 

 points of vantage to meet them, and 

 to give them (not a friendly secure, 

 but a deadly) reception. I must, how- 

 ever, admit that they were all, men, 

 women and children, overjoyed at (to 

 them) the very important event, as 

 they now saw in sight for them, both 

 food and raiment, which cost them 

 very little to secure. 



SLAUGHTER OF DEER. 



Now the deer shooting, or more cor- 

 rectly speaking, slaughter began in 

 earnest, and the crack of the rifle 

 could be heard on every side. Not 

 only to the hunter and his rifle were 

 these beautiful and harmless animals 

 easy victims, but also to the old men 

 and women, who in their canoes watch 

 for and pursue them when crossing 

 the lakes and the estuaries of rivers, 

 and kill them with spears in large 

 numbers. There is no pirovision by-law 

 for the preservation of these helpful 

 animals, even to a reasonable extent. 

 On their arrival the deer are in poor 

 condition, and their meat is scarcely 

 worth being preserved (smoked and 

 sun dried) for food, but they are wan- 

 tonly killed in great numbers notwith- 

 standing; often only for their skins, 

 which the natives use largely for win- 

 ter garments and coverings, and at 

 this time +hey are growing their coat 

 of new hair, which as yet is short and 

 fine, and more elastic and durable and 

 resemlbllng fur, than it is later in the 

 season, when it becomes coarse and 

 brittle. The fawns are as frequently 

 killed as their dams, as their skins ore 



