134 MAMMALIA. 



loaded with snow that the dark green of the few uncovered 

 branches contrasts markedly with the uniform white of the tent- 

 like cones from which they protrude. The silence is oppressive, 

 and unbroken even by the sighing of the wind. The imagination, 

 aided by the gathering shades of dusk, sees in this picture a 

 primeval forest, amongst whose time-worn trunks stands the long 

 deserted encampment of a bygone race. The well-preserved 

 wigwams of spotless white, bleached by many winters, and pitched 

 upon a floor of alabaster, mark the final bivouac of an unremem- 

 bered nation. 



Of the three methods of hunting heretofore considered, driving 

 is the least sportsmanlike, and affords the Deer the smallest chance 

 of escape. It requires neither skill nor cunning on the part of the 

 executioner ; for patience, and a very ordinary amount of common 

 sense, are the only essentials. It has this advantage, however, 

 that the Deer, if wounded at all, is almost certain to be killed out- 

 right, — which cannot be said of the other methods. 



Floating requires one of the actors to be expert in the use of 

 the paddle, and is really quite an exciting diversion. This is partly 

 because it can only be practised by night, and partly because each 

 change of position of the boat, and each curve and bend of the 

 shore brings new objects into the limited field of vision, keeping 

 the expectation in a state of acute tension. But after all, when 

 the novelty has worn off, one cannot help realizing that it is 

 like carrying a lantern, any dark night, through a frontier pasture, 

 and shooting the first unlucky cow that chances to stand in the 

 path. 



In still-htinting, on the other hand, the hunter is thrown entirely 

 upon his own resources, and it is the only method of taking the 

 Deer in this Wilderness that requires any particular skill or labor 

 on his part. The guide is here superfluous, unless it be to string 

 up the game and find the shortest way to camp when the hunt is 

 over. Still-hunting tends to toughen the muscles, to sharpen the 



