CARIACUS VIRGIXIANUS. 125 



present work ; hence the methods practised in the Adirondacks will 

 alone be described. 



There are three principal ways in which Deer are hunted in this 

 Wilderness, namely : hy floating, by driving (hounding), and b}' si ill- 

 hunt i^ig. 



Floating consists in paddling up to a Deer, at night, with a light 

 called 2ijack fastened above the bow of the boat, and so arranged 

 that it casts the whole light ahead, leaving the boat and contents in 

 exaggerated darkness. 'Wi^ jack of our ancestors (used even within 

 the brief period of my own recollection), was a very simple affair, 

 constructed where occasion required. It consisted of a torch, or 

 sometimes a tallow candle, fastened upon a piece of bark, and backed 

 by a bark reflector. This rude illuminator was attached to a stick, 

 three or four feet long, that stood upright in the bow. The stick, or 

 standard of the primitive jack, still remains, and now supports a 

 lantern which is closed in on three sides so that all the light shall be 

 thrown in front. Some sort of a reflector is generally used to con- 

 centrate and project the rays to a greater distance. Sometimes the 

 liofht is fastened to the hat. 



Two people constitute a floating party, and the J7iodiis operandi is 

 as follows : The sportsman sits on the front seat, with his legs tucked 

 under the bow in a position that is, at the start, anything but agree- 

 able, and becomes distressingly uncomfortable as hour after hour 

 drags slowly on. He dare not move lest the noise thus made should 

 alarm the Deer. The guide sits in the stern and must be expert 

 with the ])addle, for it is his duty to propel the boat steadily and 

 noiselessly within easy range of the wary Deer. 



The locality is usually selected in the day-time, and is generally 

 some marsh-bordered bay, abounding in lily-pads, or a similar place 

 along the banks of a sluggish stream On nearing the feeding 

 ground not a word is spoken, not even in a whisper, and the hunters 

 strain eye and ear to discover the whereabouts of the quarry. The 

 light is turned in such a way that it covers the shore as the boat 



