Then a short distance down the shore there was a rustling in the brush and a splash, and soon the head of a doe would be seen bending to drink, and then another and another; and then the eight-pointed head of a buck could be seen a short distance beyond the does.
“Look, father, look. How many deer are there?” Little Black Cloud was very excited, for never before had he seen such a large number of deer in one place at the same time.
“Come, my son, we must leave our gear here and go in pursuit of the fine deer. They abide all along these shores and back away from the lakes in the shaded glens and the open meadows. It may not be as easy to catch them as it is to see them.”
Once again the canoe was placed in the water, and father and son set off to hunt the deer. They moved quietly down the shore, but no sooner had they reached a spot near enough to fire an arrow when the deer would turn and disappear into the woodlands. For several hours they paddled the shore but try as they might to approach the deer quietly the animals would turn as if warned and, with a flick of their tails, were deep in the woods by the time the canoe was within striking distance.
Soon dusk was drawing nigh, and the two turned their canoe to return to where they had left their gear.
“Come,” said Little Black Cloud’s father, “we will have some supper and when it is dark we shall hunt again.”
“But, father, how can you hunt when it is dark? You cannot see the deer.”
“I will show you, my son. First we must gather some pine knots.”
And so the supper was prepared and two very hungry Indians feasted and then sat back to allow the food to settle. Finally the father rose and taking his boy by the hand they wandered into the woods to gather pine knots. Finally they had gathered about ten pine knots and these they placed in the bottom of the canoe.
Then Little Black Cloud’s father made an attachment on the front of the canoe which would hold a burning pine knot. It was getting dark faster now, and so the two Indians loaded their weapons into the canoe and then strapping a piece of birch bark to the bow of the canoe to act as a reflector they pushed away from shore after lighting a pine knot and placing it in the holder which contained sand so the fire would not burn the canoe. It was then that Little Black Cloud was able to see why his father wanted the pine knots.