116 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING. 
able to travel with it at a fast walk. When we returned 
to the grouse we found that we would have to leave the 
greater portion of them behind if both of us carried the 
deer, and as we did not like to do that, it was decided 
that I should take the fawn and my companion the 
birds. In order to make my load as light as possible, I 
cut off the head and shin-bones, tied the skin of each 
fore leg to that of the hind leg on the opposite side, and 
putting my arm through, I slung the carcass on my 
shoulders, and ‘‘toted” it in knapsack fashion. My 
companion tied his birds in two parcels on a string, leav- 
ing space enough between them to allow the cord to rest 
on his shoulders, and thus equipped we set out for camp. 
Every step that we took made our loads appear heavier, 
and before we had travelled two miles I felt as if the 
fawn weighed a ton, while my associate was ready to aver 
that his birds had been increasing in weight at the rate 
of ten pounds per second, and that the cord had become 
so sharp that it could cut through an iron bar. 
I must say that the camp seemed a long way off to us, 
for when we reached it we were fagged out and bathed in 
perspiration. The other members of the party had re- 
turned before us, and were enjoying a cup of coffee when 
we crawled in. Our appearance must have been some- 
what ludicrous, for we were greeted with hearty laughter, 
and, finally, with a cheer, for our good luck and our in- 
defatigable exertions to increase the larder. The others 
had killed two deer and several grouse, but the Nimrod 
who was to bag the bear returned without one, his excuse 
being that he had only met two, and neither of them 
gave him an opportunity of firing his rifle, as they were 
off in a jiffy the moment they saw him. While we were 
relating the adventures of the day, the red man was pre- 
paring dinner in such a methodical manner that we con- 
cluded he had received his culinary education in some 
place besides an Indian encampment. He cooked the 
