§22. WILD SCENES AND WILD HUNTERS. 
148 old-position. The bruised and crippled hunter who had 
been thus summarily tossed, seized his gun, limped up close 
to the moose, and shot it dead in his rage, just as if he had 
any right to have expected any other treatment for his folly. 
This party was thoroughly satisfied with their single experi- 
ment, and have very safely promised their anxious mothers 
and sweethearts, never to make another such. 
But crust hunting is by far the most destructive method 
of pursuing the deer known in this region. The deer form 
“yards” on the bleak northern sides of the mountains, and 
the e are sometimes five or six miles in extent, and containing 
s great number of deer. They have deep roads or paths 
leading in every direction, through the snow, and will never 
leave these unless forced by the dog to do so. The deer 
seldom runs far, but stops to fight until the hunter comes 
up and kills it with his rifle, and sometimes with a club 
or axe. 
There is a well authenticated instance in illustration, that 
I will relate. My guide has been a famous hunter in his 
day. When he was about sixteen his father lived upon «¢ high 
hill, in sight of my shantee. In a valley half a milo from 
the hut, he had a small sugar camp. One bright morning, 
early in March, when a slight snow had fallen over night, 
upon the old crust, which was thin and melted through 
in places, Clark, who was a stout yvuth, started to the 
sugar camp to clean and set the troughs, as it promised to 
be a fine day for the sap to run. He said he would be back 
in time for breakfast, and followed by a noble hound, he was 
soon out of sight. 
‘rhe family waited and, waited in vain for his return, until 
noon, when his father, overcome by uneasiness, started in 
pursuit of the bny—for knowing that he had no kind of 
weapon, noi even a pocket-knife, with him, he could not 
but fear that some accident had happened. He met him 
returning, panting up the hill. 
