126 Wilderness Ways. 



Opposite my island camp, where I halted a little 

 while in a summer's roving, was a burned ridge ; that 

 is, it had been burned over years before ; now it 

 was a perfect tangle, with many an open sunny spot, 

 however, where berries grew by handfuls. Rabbits 

 swarmed there, and grouse were plenty. As it was 

 forty miles back from the settlements, it seemed a per- 

 fect place for Upweekis to make a den in. And so it 

 was. I have no doubt there were a dozen litters of 

 kittens on that two miles of ridge ; but the cover was 

 so dense that nothing smaller than a deer could be 

 seen moving. 



For two weeks I hunted the ridge whenever I was 

 not fishing, stealing in and out among the thickets, 

 depending more upon ears than eyes, but seeing noth- 

 ing of Upweekis, save here and there a trampled fern, 

 or a blood-splashed leaf, with a bit of rabbit fur, or a 

 great round cat track, to tell the story. Once I came 

 upon a bear and two cubs among the berries; and 

 once, when the wind was blowing down the hill, I 

 walked almost up to a bull caribou without seeing him. 

 He was watching my approach curiously, only his 

 eyes, ears, and horns showing above the tangle where 

 he stood. Down in the coverts it was always intensely 

 still, with a stillness that I took good care not to 

 break. So when the great brute whirled with a snort 



