If he had only known.
The men were now almost lifting the canoe with every stroke of the
paddles, and she threw the water from her bows like a little
steamer. We were soon up with the caribou, and I pulled my hat
down over my eyes while the deed was done. We were so close that
George thought he would try to kill him with his pistol. When I
looked up, after the first shot, the caribou was ploughing through
the water just as before. After the second I could see him
trembling and blood on the water--but he was still going on. Then
I asked George to take his rifle and settle the matter quickly. He
did, and the sound of the water as the caribou made his way through
it ceased. I did not need to look again to know what had happened.
He was towed ashore, skinned and dressed, but how I wished I could
think of him as speeding over his native hills, rather than as he
was. Yet, too, I knew it was well for us that we had secured the
supply, of fresh meat, for although we had considerably more than
half the original supply of provisions, we were still far from the
journey's end.
It was a three-year-old stag, Job said, and when the operation of
skinning and cutting up had been performed, we had about 250 lbs.
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