8 CHANGES IN THE COUNTRY SINCE EARLY DAYS

awaiting any that love to wander far afield. There is
also within easier reach much ground where all-round
sport can be had at a more moderate outlay. The visitor
to this country must, however, not let himself be deceived
by some of the enticing pamphlets that are occasionally
distributed, from the perusal of which it is easy to get
the idea that great herds of game swarm everywhere,
even in close proximity to the railways. This country
has not and never had the abundance of game that there
is in parts of Africa. Moreover, the habitat of nearly all
our various species being in the mountains, their hunting
necessitates much leg work and often the endurance of
considerable hardship, at, any rate for any person who is
really keen on obtaining the picked specimens. There
are, it is true, in parts of the northern interior, places
where hunting can be done on horseback up to a certain
stage, but taking the country as a whole a man needs
to be sound in wind and limb and have plenty of pluck to
earry him along when his legs and lungs are praying for
rest or his body is half perished with cold.

That our game should not be too plentiful or too easy
to kill only adds zest to the stalk and value to the trophy
when obtained. What is there in life that is really easy
to obtain which is worth while having? If we eliminated
all the toil and hardship and difficulties and dangers
that hourly beset the big-game hunter, the spice of the
outing would be gone, all the excitement of the stalk and
exhilaration of seeing your quarry fall to a well-directed
shot would be taken away. What trophy conjures up
such pleasing memories as the one you secured at the
cost of a severe struggle ? If perchance you had to with-
stand much exposure and hardship or even risk your life
while getting it, your memory of the struggle is the more
treasured. What decent sportsman cares a snap for a
trophy he secured with ease? It may be a fine specimen
and a welcome addition to his collection, but it does not
bring joyful recollections. There are so-called big-game
hunters of a class whose sole object is to gather an imposing
collection of heads and skins, superior to that of anybody