[Frontispiece: A strange apparition was seen crossing the lake. It appeared to have wings, but it did not fly; and though it possessed a tail, it did not run, but contented itself with moving steadily forward on its long up-turned feet. Over an arm it carried what might have been a trident, and what with its waving tail and great outspreading wings that rose above its horned-like head, it suggested … See Chapter VI.]

THE DRAMA OF THE FORESTS

Romance and Adventure

BY

ARTHUR HEMING

ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR
WITH REPRODUCTIONS FROM A
SERIES OF HIS PAINTINGS OWNED
BY THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM

GARDEN CITY, N. Y., AND TORONTO
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
1921

COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION
INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN


PRINTED AT THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N, Y.. U. S. A.

First Edition

TO
MR. AND MRS. DAVID A. DUNLAP
WITH WHOM I SPENT MANY HAPPY SEASONS
IN THE GREAT NORTHERN FOREST

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

A strange apparition was seen crossing the lake. It appeared to have
wings . . . . . . Frontispiece

I surmised at once who he was, for one could see by the merest glance

[Illustration: Oo-koo-hoo's bill.]

[Illustration: Oo-koo-hoo's calendar.]

Going to the brink, we saw a "York Boat" in the act of shooting the cataract

Minutes passed while the rising moon cast golden ripples upon the water

The lynx is an expert swimmer and is dangerous to tackle in the water

Next morning we found that everything was covered with a heavy blanket of snow

The bear circled a little in order to descend. Presently it left the shadow

Going to the stage, he took down his five-foot snowshoes

As the wolf dashed away, the bounding clog sent the snow flying

"There's the York Factory packet from Hudson Bay to Winnipeg"

"It was on my father's hunting grounds, and late one afternoon"

Oo-koo-hoo could even hear the strange clicking sound

After half of May had passed away, and when the spring hunt was over

The departure of the Fur Brigade was the one great event of the year

INTRODUCTION

It was in childhood that the primitive spirit