28 
MAMMALIA. 
glides silently on, for the Deer may be gazing at it from the bank, 
standing motionless and silent. Indeed, he is often seen, not more 
than a couple of boat lengths away, before any sound has forewarned 
them of his presence. 
Bright moonlight nights are undesirable because the animal can 
then detect the outline of the boat, and is apt to take to the woods 
without delay. 
Let us note the course of events in an ordinary floating expe- 
dition, premising only that the sportsman is somewhat of a novice. 
Unless there is direct water communication between the camp and 
the place selected for the hunt, the party eat an early supper and 
set out at once in order to reach the spot before the gathering 
darkness obscures the way. The guide, placing the boat upon his 
sturdy shoulders, takes the lead, following some old trail or blazed 
line, or, if the spot be unfrequented, finds his way by certain fea- 
tures of mountain or valley that are familiar landmarks to his 
practised eye. The sportsman follows, carrying the jack and gun, 
as well as a bottle of tar oil for protection against insects. 
The start is well timed, for the outlines of near objects have 
already become indistinct, and the shades of dusk are fast blending 
the dim forms of the evergreens, transforming the coniferous 
forest into a uniform mass of darkness, when they emerge upon 
the open shore of a small and shallow lake and launch the canoe in 
its black but unruffled water. Night is upon them, and with it the 
flies and mosquitoes. Tar oil is applied freely to face and hands, 
the jack is lit and placed, and they step quietly into the boat and 
move noiselessly off, — the sportsman on the front seat, his over- 
coat buttoned up to his chin, and his feet crowded uncomfortably 
under the bow, one on each side of the jack-stick ; the guide 
astern, silently plying his paddle. The nearest marsh-bordered 
bay is soon reached, and as the light skims along the bank, falling 
in turn upon clumps of bushes, old logs and stumps, and the dark 
cone-like forms of the young spruce and balsams, the sportsman’s 
