114 GILPIN — ON THE MAMMALIA OF NOVA SCOTIA, 



foot. There it is plain enough now, in all its beauty : two sharp 

 pricks for the toes, two little parallel mounds, moulded by the 

 concave double hoof. Flat upon his face he is noiselessly worming 

 himself around to find its direction ; and he presently tells you a 

 large bull has passed an hour ago, — he was going very slowly, — he 

 is about a mile ahead, in a south by west course, — that the wind 

 is right down upon him, — that you must make a long circuit and 

 come upon him against the wind, — that you must put your pipe 

 out, not even whisper, and follow him at a little distance, avoiding 

 every broken branch, — and that he will give you signs by his 

 hand ! 



Humbled by having such a page of forest lore taught you, from 

 what, to your dull Saxon senses, was rotten bog and dead leaves,, 

 you follow your guide, now sliding betwixt the tree boles, with his 

 right shoulder overhanging, his gun carried well forward, and his 

 elastic moccasined foot avoiding every rotten branch. For an hour 

 or two, he carries you through swamps, through barren, over 

 hard-wood hills, and over wet meadows, until with a motion of his 

 hand he tells you that the deer is now half a mile direct to wind- 

 ward, and he paints his hand : you look in vain, till almost con- 

 temptuously he says, *'them branches, move against wind," and 

 then you see some branches rudely agitated by the unseen deer in 

 browsing. Down on his face he goes again, worming himself like 

 some hugh noiseless anaconda, dragging his gun after him ; you 

 clumsily follow him till you get within a hundred yards. He 

 beckons you to him, and there you, lying upon your face, see with- 

 in range a huge antler, tossing up and down, a great yellow ear 

 flopping up, or a grey crest of coarse hair, over the thick alders. 

 Your Indiam says, *' now !" and you give him one barrel of your 

 breech-loader. ^*Too high — long range gun, always go high!" 

 he says, as a scud of hair and dry leaves, drifting to leeward, show 

 you have missed ; yet the deer is not much alarmed, he sees and 

 smells nothing. Springing up he usually makes water, then goes 

 off in a long trot. As his huge fore shoulder comes out, bang goes 

 your Indian's muzzle loader, followed by your second barrel ; with 

 a frantic bound he breaks cover, and plunges into the forest. 

 Your Indian has reloaded, -and springing to the spot, whilst the 



