464 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Dec. 11. 1897. 
the camp. Such an adventure would, I think, effectually 
prevent me from ever making my bed in the woods minus 
a fire. 
After mending a rent in the bark roof, made by some 
other bear within a few weeks of our going there, we had 
a hearty supper, and then turned in with great expecta- 
tions for the morrow. What was our chagrin on opening 
the door in the morning to find that rain had fallen, and 
then a frost had made a nasty crust on the snow. We 
started out to the open ground with hopes at zero, and kept 
studiously to it, as to hunt in cover on such a day would 
have been worse than useless. Fortune was with us, 
and about 10 o'clock away to our right we spied some 
caribou feeding. Then began some still-hunting which 
was still-hunting in the fullest sense of the term — man's 
ingenuity against the alert and ever watchful senses of the 
animal. A slight rise in the ground enabled us to get 
within 200yd8. of them by crawling along slowly and pain- 
fully on hands and knees, gently breaking the crust with 
our hands, and removing it to make room for our bodies. 
A bitterly cold wind was blowing, and snow has little heat 
in itself. There we would be, one hand down in the snow, 
the other in the air perhaps, when one of the caribou 
would look our way, and there we had to remain, motion- 
less as statues, for mayhap five minutes^at a time. 
We crawled in this manner about an eighth of a mile; 
then our cover was gone completely. We were on top of 
the rising ground; they were below us, 200yds. away. 
Every movement we made would become instantly ap- 
parent to them. We lay and watched them some little 
time, and a pretty picture thej'^ made pawing away the 
snow, to reach the favorite moss concealed below. There 
were four old bulls with their white necks, two cows and 
a calf. Only two of the bulls had horns, the others hav- 
ing already dropped theirs. But, what's the matter? 
Every head is thrown in the air. A moment, and all 
seven are bounding away, but after half a dozen jumps 
they stop, as is the manner of cai'ibou when startled, to 
find out the cause of alarm. What a tumult of conflicting 
emotions surged through me at that moment! Must I, for 
the sake of being sportsmanlike — for the sake of the ten- 
der feelings of some of my American cousins, who on a 
previous occasion took me to task for committing an act 
such as would better befit a hungry butcher than a sports- 
man — must I for that reason see the long-sought quarry 
run away, and never try to stop it? Again they start 
away when "Shoot!" said my guide, and flinging to the 
winds all sentiment, I fired. 
To my intense satisfaction down went the noblest buck 
in the herd, the patriarch of them all. But then (and 
loath I am to admit it) I got rattled as completely as would 
the veriest greenhorn. Buck ague was no name for it. 
Several shots, sent in quick succession, went whistling 
after the flying herd, when it suddenly struck me that I 
was shooting a la shotgun, completely ignoring the rear 
sight. Of course, the caribou went away, and they de- 
served to get away from such a hunter. They were pretty 
though. It will be a long, long time before the picture 
presented by the caribou, running away over the barren 
ground, will fade from my memory. Their dark, mouse- 
colored bodies so clearly outlined against the snow on the 
hillside, as they gradually but rapidly vanished from sight 
over the hill; the white necks of the bulls, the extreme 
grace and agility with which they moved, all combined to 
make a most beautiful picture. 
However, from poetry we must come down to reality, 
and get our caribou skinned and dressed, a good hour's 
work, and not to be delayed when the mercury is hover- 
ing around zero. When the task was done, and skin and 
head were arranged in such a way that they could freeze 
without damage, we built a fire, boiled our kettle and had 
a well-earned lunch, and time for mutual congratulations 
on our luck. A long and weary carry brought us back to 
camp with our trophy and a portion of the meat, which 
we immediately sampled for supper. 
The next morning the weather, although fine, was still 
unfavorable for still-hunting, and for the day we saw no car- 
ibou. But' if we did not see them, we certainly found their 
traces. In one feeding ground, about two acres in extent, 
there was scarcely a foot of snow not tracked and pawed 
over, with here and there the beds of some which had 
been lying down clearly defined. Surely such a sight 
was almost as good as seeing the game itself. We also 
came on three very fresh moose tracks the same day, and 
following them a short distance saw where the game had 
run. I think the noise we made, slight as it was, must 
have started them. On the way back to camp we visited 
some beaver traps, set by my guide; but some wandering 
musquash, having got into the traps, had saved the beaver 
for that time at the expense of their own lives. 
The next day we took a bushed-out trail through the 
thick woods for Caribou Camp, at the Bald Mountains, 
where we arrived at nearly dark. The only interesting 
notes of the tramp were of several fine marten we found 
in the traps, and the tracks of a moose which we thought 
had been started by our noise. It was a most unpleasant 
day, raining heavily all the time. 
That night we had more snow, and the next morning 
proved an ideal one for the still-hunter. However, luck 
was not with us. We went out on the barren ground 
back of the mountain, but the caribou were not there, and 
as we had not time to seek new pastures that day we got 
back to camp early and had the only easy day on the 
whole trip. 
The next day was fine and clear and cold, and ca,pital 
for still-hunting. We took our way- shortly after daybreak 
to a valley some five miles from camp, and there we did 
indeed find caribou in front of us, to the right of us, to the 
left of us; yes, and behind us too. They were everywhere, 
although concealed by the thick growth. Going back on 
our track at one place a short distance, we found where a 
big bunch had crossed a place on our track which we had 
gone over ten minutes before. But what is that moving 
ahead? A careful investigation reveals a bunch of six 
cows and calves lying down; we leave them unmolested 
and keep on without disturbing them, when— good gra- 
cious, what horns ! Two reports and the horns were ours; 
it was a noble beast. Many and many a time have I 
dreamt of such a pair, but here was realization. How we 
admired them, and went over the thirty -four points again 
and again before we were content to begin the task of 
dressing it. Though this was heavier than either of our 
other heads, it felt the lightest while carrying it out. 
Surely one such animal was game enough for one day, and 
in the bigness of our hearts we allowed several others that 
offered shots to go on unharmed. I am quite confident 
that on that day alone I could have killed six or seven 
caribou had I been so minded. 
The following day we started out, and had a hard carry 
without any fun all that day and the next, when a fine, 
big bull, with the finest brow antlers I ever saw, gave me 
another by no means to be despised trophy. 
The next day we went out on our old hunting ground 
with the camera, and endeavored to ge<- some pictures of 
the live caribou; but as luck would have it, we could never 
approach near enough to get a good picture, although the 
previous day in the rain we had had several good oppor- 
tunities, but bad light. We followed one bunch heading 
toward the camp; they actually went within 50ft. of the 
camp door, and had anyone been there it would have been 
an easy matter to get a fine picture. 
It was a marvelous country altogether. The roads of 
the caribou could be seen everywhere, almost 6in. or so 
deep, trodden right down to the ground, and evidently 
so much traveled in the summer and fall as left not a ves- 
tige of vegetation growing on them. 
The rubbing was another great feature; in some places 
almost every tree showed the effects of the caribou horns 
on them. 
Glancing over the preceding paragraphs, any one will 
say: what splendid luck! Yes, it was fine luck, I will 
admit; but then, mind you, there was also an immense 
amount of splendid work about it. 
The hardship of walking through snow some 12 to ISin. 
deep — too fine for snowshoes, and so deep as to give leg-^ 
weariness with a vengeance — I have already spoken about.* 
Carrying out the heads, horns and skins was work with a 
vengeance to any one unaccustomed to such exertions. 
Not but what it was pleasant work, because it was, as 
it could not fail to be with one of the largest caribou ever 
shot in New Brunswick on one's shoulders. 
Then again: creeping on to a band of caribou, perhaps 
lying flat on your face, hitching yourself along on your 
elbows, the snow getting down your neck and up your 
sleeves, the thermometer dancing about down at zero, or 
the rain falling in torrents— prolong this form of amuse- 
ment for say two hours, and then let any one say he fepls 
comfortable. It certainly is no fit amusement for our 
friend whose health is broken down and who wants to 
recruit. Possibly we arrive at camp some night all wet 
and weary, and isome hours after daik; wood has to be 
got, the fire kindled, some tea made, and then we must 
get dried out. It looks nice on paper, roughing it, truly. 
I would rather be excused myself, although when it has 
to be done I am not the one to funk. 
Another night you are sleeping in a bark lean-to. In 
the middle of the night you wake, half frozen. The fire 
has burned down. You get up and replenish it, but you 
can't get warm. Your back may freeze while your oppo- 
site side roasts, or your feet are burning and your ears 
freezing. Great fun, I assure you. 
Here we have a beautiful day, all nature seems to be re- 
joicing, and a man is glad that he is alive and able to be 
out with nature in the beautiful woods. Hello, here is a 
little stream to cross. No! I am afraid the ice will not 
bear your weight. Well, we will fell a tree across it. 
Good, and I start across. "Take care now" I hear 
Arthur pi' g out, "it would be mighty nasty to get a cold 
plunge baih to-day." The other side is reached in safety 
and Arthur follows; half way across he sways ominously, 
first one way and then the other; he has to go, can't help 
it, one foot and leg must get wet, and we are miles from 
camp. Oh, how nice! 
Coming out with our trophies was not all hard work, 
though. One day we spent on the river in our canoe will 
long linger in my memory. A heavy rain the previous 
day and night had caused the stream to rise so that the ice, 
which before was strong enough to bear a man's weight, 
was all driven out, and a furious, rushing, boiUng stream, 
between iced-up banks, was the scene of our pleasure and 
sport. For sport it was to have our long 25ft. canoe fairly 
leaping toward a place where the river, turning at a sharp 
right angle, would cause the water to pile up against the 
bank on one side with a swirl and rips which would 
make any one but an old hand pretty nervous. Or again, 
we come to a place where the river is to all appearances 
completely barred by immense boulders. There is no ap- 
parent passage through which to go. However, we are in 
the rapids and must face the music. A quick turn here, 
snub her up sharply there. Now a good push. There is 
a sharp rasping sound for a moment as we graze the side 
of a rock, and looking back we see the nasty place quickly 
receding, and for a few minutes we have a rest as we float 
down a slow reach of quiet water. 
It was a pretty sight, running down the river. All 
nature seemed to be locked in the winter's cold, silent, icy 
grip. Nothing but the water seemed to be moving. We 
ourselves were the only living things. Surely this was 
enough to lift one's mind away from all thoughts of city 
life and cares, and to give one that feeling of perfect rest 
and contentment which takes some people to the woods. 
Every few miles we came upon some new object of 
interest. Here was a famous crossing nlace for moose, and 
over there the place where, earlier in the season, two 
canoemen belonging to another party had seen a big bull 
stand in the water and watch them as they paddled 
toward him, and then calmly walk out of sight; needless 
to say, they had no gun. And so on right down the river. 
However, we at length reached our landing place back 
again at Camp Pringle, and contemplating the river for a 
moment after landing, my guide says: "Well, better than 
walking, ain't it?" 
"1 should say it was a good deal better than walking. I 
hardly like to consider the idea of carrying our heavy 
loads all that way on our backs. I was well satisfied to 
come by canoe.'^ 
An hour or so after our arrival my portage team arrived, 
and after a good night's rest we started out for home. On 
our way we shot a few partridges to take home to friends. 
They were very tame indeed and would allow us to come 
so close that the trick of shooting their heads off with a 
rifle would have been no trouble at all, even to a poor 
shot. I did not shoot any thus, however, as I think it 
spoils their appearance too much. 
An all day's ride and part of the night landed us at 
Newcastle station, on I, C, Railway, where we met the 
train for home at 2 A. M. 
I had a great deal of trouble with the railway officials 
in order to get my game home; in fact, I came within an 
ace of having to leave it behind me, so it is not only our 
American cousins who have inconvenience with the auto- 
crats in the guise of railway oflicials. However, once on' 
board the train the hunt was over, and it can fairly be i 
called a success from beginning to end. There was not a 1 
day but what was full of pleasure, and I enjoyed it thor- 
oughly. I intend to return to the same district and will 
devote my time wholly to securing a big moose head. The 
moose are there, of that I feel sure, and I will look until I 
find my big one. 
I have shot more moose and caribou in my compara- 
tively short experience than a good many much older 
hunters, and for the future I am going to let them alone 
until I find a bigger specimen of either than I already, 
have. Goodness knows, big game is getting scarce enough, 
and it ill befits one who has had success in the fullest 
sense to continue the slaughter of game which would fur- 
nish sport and more keen enjoyment to less lucky hunters. 
I took a camera with me for the first time this trip, and 
in future shall certainly never go without one if I can 
help it; I would almost as soon go without my rifle. Owing' 
to inexperience, my pictures were not very good, but next 
year I think I can promise Forest aisd Stream readers 
some pictures of live moose and caribou in their native 
wilds such as they do not often see. I do not want any 
one to run away with the idea that this is written either 
to advertise the country or my guide. I am under no 
obligation in the world to Pringle, but can truly say that 
a better woodsman I have never met, and any one going 
alone, as I did, will find in him a most congenial companion. 
As to the country, there is lots of game and lots of room 
in it for many a hunter; still I hope the day is long dis- 
tant when one pai'ty up there hears the dull and distant, 
boom of some other parties' rifle. Tram. 
Halifax. Nova Scotia. , 
REMINISCENCES OF AN OLD SPORTS- 
MAN.— VI. 
{.Continued from page M ) 
One-Eyed Shots, 
One October morning Mr. Boyden came down for a I 
shoot rather unexpectedly, I was suffering untold agony 
from a stj^e on the upper lid f^f my right eye that was as 
large as a robin's egg, and over it was a poultice larger 
than my hand; so, after giving all the facts m the case 
careful consideration, I came to the conclusion that I was 
not in flrst-class condition for a tramp through the brush, 
but Mr. Boyden appeared to be so disappointed that I , 
finally agreed to his proposal that I should go and work 
the dog while he would attend to the shooting. Binding 
up my sick eye with a handkerchief, we started for a 
favorite woodcock cover where I knew we would find two 
or three birds, and I thought that these would just about 
keep him busy for the day unless we should lose track of 
them, as 1 did not believe that he would kill one. When i 
we arrived at the cover the dog at once pointed, and as 
Mr. Boyden took position in a little opening I went in to 
flush the bird, when I saw by the fresh markings that 
there had been a new arrival, and more than ever I wished i 
that my eye was all right and that I had my gun. But I 
had not niuch time for thought, as the birds began to rise ' 
and he began to shoot. Indeed, I am not quite sure that 
I did not hear his usual bang — bang! before a single bird 
left the ground; at any ra'e, the two events were so close i 
together that it is possible I may have been deceived. 
Three birds flushed from the first point, and two from the > 
next one a short distance further on, and before we came i 
to the place where the first ones went down we had seen 
seven others, making ten in all in one small corner of the . 
cover. 
After this I could not keep tally, as birds that we had 
started had become mixed up with fresh ones, but I i 
judged that there were at least twenty birds in the cover, 
ami I do not think that one of them escaped at least two 
barrels, while some of them had three or four times this 
number. But never a feather had we to show and I was 
in quite a state. Mr. Boyden appeared to take it easy and 
only complained that he was a little ofi", and blazed away 
at every opportunity regardless. Finally he declared that 
the gun had become too hot for effective work and pro- 
posed that we eat our lunch and give it a chance to cool 
off. So we sat down on a^ big rock and discussed the 
morning's work with our repast, and came to the unani- 
mous conclusion that unless there was a decided change 
in the programme our proposed game breakfast on the ■ 
morrow would lack some of its essential features. After 
Mr. Boyden had uttered this self-evident truth he ap- ' 
peared to realize the condition of affairs, and after turning ] 
it over in his mind a short time his face lighted up as he 
turned to me and proposed that I should take the gun and 
try my hand at it, as I certainly could do no worse than i 
he had, and as I always shot with both eyes open I might 
by chance secure enough to keep us from starving. 
Now, I had been wishing for my gun, and thinking that 
possibly I could once in a while hit one even if my best 
eye was tied up in a handkerchief, and as his gun hung 
precisely like mine, I agreed to make the trial, and with 
hope renewed we again started, and soon had a point 
when I stepped in front, and as the bird topped the 
birches I pulled for him and was delighted to see him 
tumble. Soon after I brought another one down, and thea 
tried to have Mr, Boyden take the gun, but he refused, 
saying that this was the most wonderful performance that 
he had ever seen, and he wanted a little more of it. So I 
kept on and in a short time we had eleven of the beauties, 
with only three or four misses. Boyden always told the 
story eleven straight, but as he was always a trifle mixed 
on the question of misses, his shortcomings in this line 
should be looked upon with lenient eyes. 
Four years later Mr. Boyden by appointment met Mr. 
George Ashmun and myself at Holland, and as we were 
walking from where we had left the team to the sawmill 
cover Mr. Boyden repeated the tale to Mr. Ashmun, who 
received it as a gentleman should, but we could both see 
that he took but little stock in its truthfulness. When 
the dog found a bird I requested him to allow me to ban- 
dage his right eye in order that he might see just how it 
was done. As he also shot with both eyes open, I had no 
fears for the result, and after securely tying on my hand- 
kerchief he walked up the bird and grassed it as neatly 
as he could have done with the use of both eyes. "Why," 
said he, "I did not believe that story, and you must pardon 
me for my unbelief. While I thought the feat impossible, 
it is a very easy thing to do." 
