Methods of Finding One' s Way in the Forest. 109 



hind, which contained two calves! All this he accomplished 

 on the simple fare above mentioned, passing the night on the 

 snow, whilst throughout the day he was constantly on the 

 move, traversing at least some thirty miles of forest. This 

 man furnishes an illustration of the extraordinary powers of 

 endurance of these hardy settlers: having some years previ- 

 ously fallen into the St. John River when crossing on the ice, 

 he swam into open water and finally ashore, where he was 

 picked up, encrusted in ice, and so benumbed that no one 

 expected he would recover. 



Of course the legitimate time to hunt the moose is toward 

 the end of summer and in autumn, before the horn drops, 

 when, however, few of the industrious settlers can spare time 

 for such occupations, setting aside the woodcraft necessary in 

 stalking the animal at this season. Although the legislature 

 attempts to put a stop to a wholesale destruction which must 

 sooner or later exterminate the animal, residents in the out- 

 of-the-way places, irrespective of the sport, find, what between 

 the value of the skin and the flesh, that a moose at all times 

 is worth killing, and therefore evade the law whenever oppor- 

 tunities occur. 



It is surprising to observe the accuracy wherewith 

 woodmen will hit off a lumber camp without any footmarks 

 to guide them. This, they informed me, is accomplished by 

 noticing the appearances of trees and the effects thereon 

 of the prevailing winds ; however, many allowed that they 

 very often get out of their reckonings, and wander about for 

 hours, until some brook or stream carries them to a familiar 

 watershed or drainage valley. The American larch, better 

 known as the Tamarack, when growing in the barren and 

 exposed to the prevailing winds, becomes bent usually in a 

 S. and S.E. direction ; accordingly it is by this circumstance, 

 and by marking the position of the moss on trees, windfalls, and 

 direction of streams, together with whatever acquaintance the 



