Part 11 (1/2)
”I had noticed a clulade, and not far from where we had built our house Our attention had been called to therance of their flowers, that blew around us all the ti They were low, crooked trees, not over thirty feet in height--with oval leaves, six inches in length, and of a bluish-green colour The floere about the size of a rose, although more like a lily in appearance, and white as snow Their perfuathering a bunch of the them in a vessel of water
”I have already said that my wife understood botany, and all botanists take a pleasure in ie to others She explained to us, therefore, the nature and properties of this sweet-scented tree
It was a species of e flowers, but another kind It was the _lauca_, soenerally known a hunters and trappers as the 'beaver-tree' It is so named by them, because the beaver is fonder of its roots than of any other food; so fond of it, indeed, that it is often used as a bait to the traps by which these aniht
”Whether our beavers had already discovered their favourite tree in some other part of the valley, we did not know Probably they had; but, at all events, Cudjo and I by a very little labour, with our spade and axe, could save thereat deal; and so we set about it
”In a few hours we dug up several ar roots, and carried the them into the water at a place where we knew the ani In a short time the aromatic roots were discovered, when a whole crowd of beavers were seen hurrying to the spot, and swiain to their houses, each with a root or a whole bunch of therand festival for the beavers”
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
A BATTUE OF ”BLACK-TAILS”
”Of course we could do nothing more for our beavers at present It was not our intention to trap any of them until they should becoe nuood to eat--in fact, quite a delicacy-- but we could not afford to kill one of the his tail; and the other parts of the beaver's flesh are by no around was soft,the tracks of deer and other animals
”By the time we had fairly furnished our house, the flesh of the elk was beginning to run short, so that a grand hunting excursion was deter expedition, as up to this time we had not visited any part of the valley except that which lay immediately around our house Frank, Harry, and myself, were to foruard the fereat spear
”Everything being ready, we started out with our three rifles, and took the route up the valley As we passed along under high trees, we could see squirrels upon all sides of us; so on their hind-quarters like littlelike toy-dogs; while others, again, leaped about a up the trees, or streaked off along the ground so swiftly that it see of a four-footed anienerally keeping on the opposite side to that on which ere, so that they et the better of their fears, and when they had cli or the branches, they would stop there and gaze down upon us, all the while flourishi+ng their light bushy tails We had excellent opportunities of getting a shot at thehtful as his brother, wished veryhim that we could not afford to throay our aht that frequently entered my mind, and made me anxious about e should do when our ammunition became exhausted I cautioned both le shot on any animal smaller than elk or deer, and they proone about a rew thinner as we advanced, and then opened into se and flowers, usually called 'openings' This, surely, was the very place to find deer--much more likely than in the thick woods, where these aniar and carcajou, that occasionally drop upon thes, beforefresh tracks They were oat than those of a deer, except that they were e as the tracks of the elk, but we knew they were not these
”We advanced with great caution, keeping in the underwood as lade before us, er than any we had yet passed We could tell this by the wide clear spaces that appeared through the trees We stole silently forward to the edge of this glade, and, to our great satisfaction, saw a herd of deer feeding quietly out upon the open ground
”'Papa, they are not deer,' said Frank, as we first caht of them 'See! who ever heard of deer with such ears as those? I declare they are as long as a mule's!'
”'Yes,' added Harry; 'and who ever heard of deer with black-tails?'
”I confess I was myself puzzled for a while The anis and great branched antlers testified; but they were very different from the common kind--and different, too, froer than the red or fallow-deer, though not unlike thee, as my boys had at once noticed, was the peculiarity of their ears and tails The for as the ears of a mule, and reached more that half-way to the tops of their antlers
Their tails, again, were short and bushy, of a whitish colour underneath, but on the top and above as black as the wing of a crow
There were also so the neck and shoulders, while their noses on each side were of a pale ashy colour--all of which inian or English deer
”I have said that I was at first puzzled; but I soon recollected having heard of these anih they are but little known to naturalists They could be no other than the 'black-tailed deer' of the Rocky Mountains--the _cervus macrotis_ described by the naturalist Say
This was evident, both froth of their ears-- but more than all from the colour of their tails, froiven the to examine them We were too anxious to have a shot at theh? There were seven of thelade, and that was more than three hundred yards wide The nearest of the seven was beyond the range even ofrifle What, then, was best to be done?
”After thinking about this for a lade through the trees on the other side It was a wide avenue leading into solade; and I knew that the deer when startled would be most likely to make off in that direction I determined, therefore, to creep round to the other side, and intercept theh Frank was to reo half-way along with me, and then take his stand behind a tree We should thus enclose the deer in a sort of triangle, and soe before they could escape
”I had scarcely got to the edge of the opening when I saw that the herd was browsing in towards Frank They were every erly for the shot I kneould not fire until they were very near, as I had cautioned him not to do so, on account of the smallness of his rifle Presently I saw the strea from the leaves; then followed the sharp crack, and then the yelping of our dogs as they broke forward At the sa upward and fall dead in its tracks The others wheeled and ran, first one way and then another, in their confusion; until, after doubling several ti where I stood In their flight, however, they had gone too close to Harry, and as they were running past his stand, the tiny crack of a rifle was heard a the bushes; and another of the black-tails rolled over on the plain
”It was now my turn; and I prepared myself to make the best shot I could or be beaten by my own boys So as they ca theht at the moment It soon appeared, however, that I was mistaken in this Castor and Pollux swept past upon the heels of the herd; and before they had disappeared out of the long avenue, I saw the dogs spring upon the haunches of one that lagged behind, and drag hi the wounded animal by one of its antlers, soon put an end to it with my knife I had wounded it in the flank; and that had enabled the mastiffs to overtake it, which they could not have done otherwise, as its companions were at the tiether, exulting in the fine fortune we had lad that none of us had oodthese beautiful creatures out of wanton sport, but froratulated the others upon their good shooting, and said nothing of his own--although it was plain that all three of us were proud of our respective shots To do justice, however, that of Harry was decidedly the best He had knocked his one over while on the run--no easy ularly as other deer, but bound forward, lifting all their feet together, as you will so is one of the peculiarities of their species--which, perhaps, uishes the out, and then reloading, our rifles, we rested theaed in this operation, Harry complained of thirst Indeed, ere all thirsty as well, for the sun was hot, and we had walked a good distance We could not be far froh ere not sure of its direction; and Harry, taking the tin cup which we had brought with us, set out to find it, pro soon to return ater for our relief He had only left us but a short while, e heard hi that soht have attacked hi up, ere surprised to find hi the cup=full of water in his hand
”'Why did you bring us away?' asked Frank