60 GILPIN ON THE MAMMALIA OF NOVA SCOTIA. 



mountain, from Blomidon to Brier Island, once a favorite resort, 

 is now become strange to them ; a part linger about the Cumber- 

 land hills, the lake basin of the Shubenacadie, the St. Mary and 

 the Tangier hold a few more ; Margaret's Bay and the basin of 

 the Avon might shelter a few, and finally the great western lake 

 basin, and barrens from whence flow the Annapolis, the Sissiboo 

 and the Bear into the Bay of Fundy, and the Liverpool, Shel- 

 burne, Clyde and Yarmouth, into the Atlantic, is their last hold. 

 Accustomed in ancient days to roam the Province, this restless, 

 wandering creature, is confined to those isolated spots, where he 

 scents the tainted gale of man, or hears his axe on the down wind, 

 and with a snort seeks a deeper solitude, if haply one may be found ; 

 this must go far towards his extinction. Thus our cariboo may be 

 said to range in those different lake basins, in herds of from two or 

 three to seven or eight ; the does to produce their young in June ;. 

 and the rutting season to be in September. It is rarely that they 

 are killed in summer or fall, unless accidentally seen on the barren 

 and stalked. It is impossible to track them in summer woods ; on 

 the winter snow he leaves a wide track, and though from his fleet- 

 ness in running over the snow, on which his broad foot holds him 

 up, it is impossible to chase him with snow-shoe and dog, yet he 

 may be stalked silently, and come upon within a hundred yards to 

 windward, whilst pounding the snovf with his fore foot from above 

 the lichens. The following is a brief hunter's diary, sent me fresh 

 from the spot : — ' ' We struck the tracks on a barren ; they were a 

 day old ; followed them about two hours ; then came upon them on 

 a barren, digging the snow with their feet, to get at the mosses they 

 feed upon ; they were in plain sight for five hundred yards either 

 way; crept up to within one hundred yards, and missed them ; 

 they ran right towards me ; killed one at forty yards ; as they ran 

 by me killed another at one hundred yards ; still running killed a 

 third at two hundred and fifty yards ; at four hundred yards fired 

 and missed ; still again at five hundred yards fired and missed." 

 Thus here were six shots, and five loadings, from a single barreled 

 breech loader, whilst the deer were going five hundred yards. The 

 last two shots, fired from a single Enfield breechloading rifle, may 

 be considered forlorn hopes, sacrificed to the love of s^iort, as few 



