then Mustagan; then Mustagan first,
and then Alec. The one who killed five ducks or other game first was to
be considered victor. Mr Ross, who entered heartily into the spirit of
the contest, took the steering paddle while the white lad and the old
Indian tried their skill. It was a contest between gun and powder
_versus_ bow and arrow.

Soon a fine mallard duck came flying along. Alec let drive at it, and
missed. Quick as a flash Mustagan's bow was up and his arrow sighted
and sent after it with such accuracy that it caught it fairly under one
of the wings, killing it instantly.

"The best shot I ever saw!" shouted Alec, in genuine admiration.

The head of Mustagan's arrow was the thigh bone of the wild swan, which
is about solid, and makes a capital arrow head for duck shooting, as it
is heavy, and can be made so sharp as to easily pierce the body of the
game.

The next object was a solitary beaver sitting on a bank quite
unconcerned. Mr Ross said afterward that in all probability it was an
old, sullen fellow that had been driven away by the others from some
distant beaver house, and had come and dug a burrow somewhere in that
bank and was there living alone.

As it was Mustagan's turn to shoot first, he carefully selected his
heaviest arrow, the head of which was a piece of barbed steel. Having
examined the shaft to see that it was perfectly straight, he shot it
with all his strength. No need for Alec to fire, for deep down into the
skull of the animal had the steel head gone, instantly killing him.
When it was lifted into the canoe Alec was surprised at the size of its
tail, and more than amazed when told that it was one of the luxuries of
the country. It was one of the favourite dishes of the supper that
evening. The other luxuries, Mr Ross added, were the bear's paws and
the moose's nose.

As they paddled on Mustagan suddenly shaded his eyes for a moment, then
quickly said:

"Wap-i-sew! wap-i-sew!" ("Swans! swans!")

Word was quickly shouted to the other boats of their coming, and to try
and shoot some of them if possible. Swans' feathers are much prized in
that land for beds. Their meat, however, is not considered equal to
that of the wild goose. As they fly with great rapidity they were not
long in coming within range. There was a large flock of them, and they
were flying, as they usually do, in a straight line. This flock must
have risen up very recently, as they were not more than fi