Chapter 2

HOOF OF BLACK-TAILED DEER. (SLIGHTLY REDUCED)

Later in the season, when rough winds have robbed deciduous bushes of their leaves, bucks generally change their day stand, abandoning quaking-aspen thickets, and settling down among windfalls and small coniferous trees, thereby offering better chances for shots at any hour of the day. Still later, during the rutting season, the biggest specimens and best fighters will occupy those roomy, open forests, where in September and early October they make their appearance only during morning and evening hours. These old over-lords at this time select the places of a wider view, apparently to see others of their kind that may pass, to fight themoff their range if they are bucks, and to claim ownership of them if they are does. The white-tail buck does not keep a harem, as is done by the elk and to some extent by the black-tailed deer, but stays with a doe a few days only, generally two or three, and then looks out for adventures elsewhere, or, more probably, the doe does not care for his company after being satisfied, and avoids him. Before the close of the hunting season, where it is extended until January 1, bucks again stay in thickets as prior to the rutting season, and soon after migrate to their winter range, where they, in company with does and fawns, spend the rigorous season of the year.

Summing up, we have seven signs by which to distinguish a buck's trail from that of a doe, of which the first in the following list is a feature of the white-tailed deer solely, and of which the three last named cannot be regarded as always absolutely certain:

THE existence of the fan-tailed deer, or gazelle-deer, as it is sometimes called, is denied by some who know no better, but it is generally recognized by "old timers" and men who hunt it in its present restricted habitat. That its range was formerly more extensive than now, and that even now it still exists in widely separated districts, the writer infers from a letter of Justice Douglas, late of the Supreme Court of New York, whose guide apparently shot one in Michigan, and from an article in a sportsman's periodical by Mr. Ernest McGaffey, who found it in the Black Hills. The writer found relics of them in the Bad Lands of Montana and live specimens in the Snowy Mountains of the same State. It is evidently a smaller variety of the common Virginia deer, with a markedly longer tail; however, as its track shows some decided differences, by which it can readilybe distinguished, it is considered advisable to treat it separately.

FAN-TAILED BUCK DEER. (ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE)(1) Front track. (2) Hind track. (3) Walk. (4) Trot. (5) Gallop. (A) Dust heap. (B) Hillock.

FAN-TAILED BUCK DEER. (ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE)

(1) Front track. (2) Hind track. (3) Walk. (4) Trot. (5) Gallop. (A) Dust heap. (B) Hillock.

To begin with, the heels of the hoof are as broad as those of the Virginia deer, yet the hoof is considerably shorter, and consequently the track also, a feature which is, however, of value only on good tracking ground.

The buck of this deer, whose tracks always register, walks with hoofs pressed close together, puts the heels firmly on the ground, which action moves the ground or snow toward the front, and steps off by making a deep imprint with the toes. The result is a small hillock in the middle of the track and, as this deer never drags its feet, a small dust heap in front of it. In snow or mud, of course, the latter sign cannot be found.

As this deer is much smaller than the ordinary white-tail, its steps are consequently shorter, and in loose snow, where no individual track is visible, its trail may be mistaken for that of a fawn, and only by following it a distance can an error be avoided.

Once a friend and I on our way home struck a trail, and while walking alongside it we both expressed our opinion that the deer which made it was the smallest fawn in that territory. We never would have given that trail any consideration had it not run along our path. As it was, we followed it, and after we had gone a hundred yards or so, my indifference changed to intense interest; for it could be seen that the deerhad taken observations from nearly every shielding object it had passed. This caused me to express the belief that this deer was a very old fan-tailed buck, and events proved I was not mistaken. He had lost all his front teeth but two, which were badly used up, had four points on each antler, and weighed less than fifty pounds after his entrails were removed. As his conduct the day he was hunted down disclosed some features often experienced in the pursuit of deer, it is not out of place to relate it.

DEER TRACKS(1) Canter. (2) Going at a lively rate, in bounds up to twenty-four feet; lung-shot deer often run this way. (3) Top speed, bounds up to twenty-eight feet—indicates heart-shot if the animal is wounded.

DEER TRACKS

(1) Canter. (2) Going at a lively rate, in bounds up to twenty-four feet; lung-shot deer often run this way. (3) Top speed, bounds up to twenty-eight feet—indicates heart-shot if the animal is wounded.

He was located in a thicket, and jumped with the assistance of the wind, a method which will be referred to later. We saw him but did not fire, as our chance opportunity was lost while we were looking for the horns so as to be sure not to kill a doe. His trail led to a creek two miles distant, and there disappeared. I knew that he had gone along in the creek, for wounded deer had often tricked me in that manner, but that a well deer should resort to that method to throw me off the track, after being so slightly molested, was rather astonishing. A quarter of a mile upstream I found where he had left the water, andI followed the trail, having resolved that I would kill that buck in one way or another. The trail led me two miles farther, and then it stopped. The snow was like sand, and prevented the individual tracks from being seen plainly. The buck had back-tracked, and I had overrun the spot from which he made the side-jump. Back I went, and after going three hundred yards I found his artful side-jump, and the trail led into a thick clump of pines. Again I sent the wind in as a driver, and that time got a shot; but I did not down my quarry. The trail showed the buck was shot through the brisket and shoulder (low). Then I sat down, ate my lunch, and smoked my pipe. After that the trail led me again to the creek. I crossed to the other side and, about fifty yards from the creek, followed its course over half a mile, knowing that the buck would not leave the water on the side he entered it to lie down. Finally the creek led past a fir tree with low-hanging branches, and as the trail had not been seen thus far, I was moderately sure that the buck had not passed that cover—and it proved that he had not. During snowless times if a deerhas been wounded and gets away, hunting a day or two after along streams in the district will often bring to bay the wounded animal. If it has the strength, it will hunt up water to cool the wound, and then crawl into the densest cover that is near. I have found many deer in this way, dead and alive—and still more skeletons to which the tracks of "varmints" led me in the later season.

The signs of the fan-tailed buck are:

THE track of the black-tailed or mule-deer, while it shows no appreciable differences from that of the Virginia (in white-tail country), undergoes—even in the mountains and breaks, its proper habitat—changes interesting not only to the student but to the hunter.

The three pictures of the hind foot of the same four-year-old mule-deer buck show what intermediate variations occur in the track of this animal. The photograph was taken when the buck was killed, and the drawings made in the rainy month of June, and at the time of the deer's death in October, respectively. That particular buck had its preferred stand on a lofty ridge, too high an altitude for white-tailed deer to make their permanent abode, though they frequent it as transient visitors.

The mule-deer always puts its foot down firmly from above, while the motion of the Virginia deer might be called rather one of sliding;and because of this the hoofs spread sideways without lengthening the tracks. This gives the track of the latter a somewhat round appearance as long as there is moisture in the ground, or if it is covered by snow that is not too dry. This form of the track is usually found during the winter and early summer. Of course, when the rim becomes prominent enough to prevent spreading, as is the case during prolonged dry weather or in the arid regions, a big mule-deer will make a rather small track, and in many instances the sole of the hoof does not show at all in the mark. The track has very much the appearance of that made by a domestic sheep, yet it is different from it because in the sheep's track the heels and soles always show, and the hoofs are spread to an extent not found in deer. Besides, the halves of the hoof of a mule-deer are as a rule almost exactly alike, whereas with the sheep that is but seldom the case.

MULE-DEER(1) Track of buck, sketched during June (flat; about half natural size). (2) Track of same buck in October (see photograph of foot). (3) Domestic sheep (flat). (4) Trail of buck; drag during rutting season from one step to the next. (5) Trail of doe. (6) Gallop.

MULE-DEER

(1) Track of buck, sketched during June (flat; about half natural size). (2) Track of same buck in October (see photograph of foot). (3) Domestic sheep (flat). (4) Trail of buck; drag during rutting season from one step to the next. (5) Trail of doe. (6) Gallop.

The buck of the mule-deer evidently has not sense enough to spend, for safety's sake, some of his time in watching from cover, and because of this his trail leads along without stopping, exceptwhere he did so to feed. Moreover, he does not vent his anger at a rival by pawing the ground as the white-tail buck does. As the rutting season of mule-deer is later in the year, the drag in the buck's trail is a most prominent feature,when in the case of the Virginia deer it has ceased to connect the individual tracks.

In determining whether one stands before the trail of a mule-deer or some other kind, the locality where the track is found has to be considered, which often solves the question. Their natural habitat is usually higher mountains, and even the treeless breaks where no white-tailed deer are to be found. The possibility of confounding a big mule-deer track with a small elk track is not remote; however, if one observes closely, mistakes will not occur often, as the young elk places his feet nearer the center line under the body than an old mule-deer buck, and never makes any drag. Then again a full-grown elk always makes a track at least twice the size of that of the mule-deer.

The signs of the mule-deer buck are:

IN the pursuit ofCervus canadensisthe aim of the tracker is to distinguish the signs of the bull from those of the cow. As the number to be killed per season by each hunter is limited by law to one or two bulls, the pursuer is naturally interested in knowing how to tell the signs of the old ones.

They are:

ELK. (ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE)(1) Bull track. (A) Closeness of track. (B) Hillock. (2) Cow track, flat (note spread). (3) Trail of bull. (4) Trail of cow. (5) Trail of calf.

ELK. (ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE)

(1) Bull track. (A) Closeness of track. (B) Hillock. (2) Cow track, flat (note spread). (3) Trail of bull. (4) Trail of cow. (5) Trail of calf.

A male yearling has a bigger hoof, and consequently makes a larger track, than a female ofthe same age, and as the track of a three-year-old bull is the size of that of a large cow, it is obvious that even the track of the largest sterile specimen of the hornless sex cannot approach in size that made by an old bull. As the general size of the elk differs in their various districts, this fact has to be considered; an elk in the Coast country, for example, is much inferior in weight to an elk of the same age in the Rockies. For this reason it is necessary to know the general size of the elks in the territory in which the tracking is done to estimate with approximate correctness the number of points on their horns from the size of the track.

ELK(6) Gallop. (7) Trot.

ELK

(6) Gallop. (7) Trot.

The bigger the bull, the farther, of course, stand the tracks away from the center line. What has been said about this, and about the pointing outward of toes in the chapter on Virginia deer, applies also to the elk, with the difference, however, that in the latter it is always asuresign of the bull, as is also the lagging back with the hind feet.

Like the fan-tail buck, the elk bull, in his manner of walking, makes a hill in his track, but thereis no dust heap in front of the latter's, as the elk apparently does not step off so clean.

The bull elk always manages to walk with tightly closed hoofs, at variance with the cow, which lets the hoofs spread more.

By reason of his weight and his habit of pawing the ground, the points of the hoofs or toes of an old bull become rather blunt, causing a much rounder track than a cow makes; and in a big track, like that of an elk, such features show up conspicuously, while it would be a hard matter to detect them in a much smaller deer track, even on the best tracking ground.

The dew-claws, being much thicker and blunter in the bull than in the cow, are a certain distinctive feature, but their imprint can be seen only in mud or snow, and there the other more prominent signs of the bull track are, as a rule, visible also and will be found more reliable.

The young bull often oversteps the forefoot track with the hind foot; therefore in case the tracks do not register it is necessary to examine the two individual tracks of one side. If the bigger track is in front, an old bull made it, and ifthe reverse is the case, the animal is not worth following, because it is a young one.

Like all members of the deer tribes, the elk bull cleanses his horns of the velvet on trees, and, in addition to pawing the ground with the hoofs, he often belabors it with his horns in his anger with a rival.

Some consider the distance between the individual tracks in the attempt to determine the size and other points of the elk, and if the animal has been seen, this is well, but if there is only the trail to decide by, it appears to be a far-fetched "sign," because the foundation, a knowledge of the speed, is lacking.

THE favorite rendezvous, in summer or winter range, of any other member of the deer tribes may be ascertained by the observant trailer, and the animal found within a given area with moderate certainty, but not so our most gigantic game, the moose; he is far too much of a traveler. True, he too has his range, but its limits are so extended that he may return to the same place but once within a month or two. Here to-day and elsewhere to-morrow seems to be his rule.

Yet, in spite of the moose's habits, the tracker may bag him in any given locality by ascertaining in what umbrageous thicket or on what wooded hillside the moose prefers to stay during his visits, that is, if the hunter does not wish to run him down by sheer endurance, which would take him over deep, crusted snow, cost about a week's hard work, and furnish poor sport.

On account of its extraordinary size, it is out of the question that the track of a bull moose should be mistaken for that of another deer; rather it might be taken for that of a big ox, except the track of the latter is always rounder and the entire hoof-form different. Where any doubt exists, a close examination will invariably dispel it. In forming a conclusion about a moose track the chief aim is always to decide if it was made by a bull or cow. The hoof of the bull is bulkier than that of the cow, and should therefore produce a rounder track. The immense weight of the animal tends to obliterate such minor distinctive features in most cases where the ground is not very hard.

The dew-claws on the bull are always farther apart than on the cow, and as they are much blunter they make a good mark to consider.

The individual tracks of the bull are farther off from the center line than in the case of the cow; but as the stride is long, this feature is not apparent to any appreciable extent.

MOOSE BULL TRACK(About one-half natural size)

MOOSE BULL TRACK

(About one-half natural size)

The length of the steps, if it is possible to estimate the gait he was traveling from his otheractions (feeding, etc.), is one of the best signs of the bull, since he makes markedly longer strides than the cow of equal size.

MOOSE TRACKS(1) Trail of bull. (2) Trail of cow. (3) Trot. (4) Gallop.

MOOSE TRACKS

(1) Trail of bull. (2) Trail of cow. (3) Trot. (4) Gallop.

From all the foregoing it is obvious that it is a rather doubtful possibility for the beginner to tell the track of a bull from that of a cow, but actual observations in the woods will impart to him the ability to distinguish between them with a considerable degree of accuracy. Until he so learns he should follow every likely looking track until it enters a thicket, and if he is following a bull with a halfway good set of horns he will notice overhead broken twigs and bent branches, or perhaps he will find along the trail blazed trees, broken bushes, or the ground torn with hoofs or horns, and may know by these also that a bull made the signs.

Unlike any other deer previously discussed, the moose, when trotting, oversteps the forefeet tracks with the hind feet to a considerable extent. (See sketch of trail.)

As signs of the bull moose we may consider:

Where first the early sunbeams glowOn rugged cliffs, through morning shrouds,Where icy winds in summer blowOn crests among the thunder clouds,Way up on mountains high and steep,There lives and roams the bighorn sheep.

Where first the early sunbeams glow

On rugged cliffs, through morning shrouds,

Where icy winds in summer blow

On crests among the thunder clouds,

Way up on mountains high and steep,

There lives and roams the bighorn sheep.

THE king of sports, undoubtedly, is the pursuit of the bighorn, but on account of the habitat of this game, under normal conditions, it is restricted to comparatively few hunters, since perfect physical condition and unswerving perseverance are required to endure the hardships which present themselves in mountain climbing and "camping out of camp," and to bear cheerfully the many discouraging experiences which are commonly the lot of the sportsman who desires to secure the finest trophy to be taken in our country.

No other reminder of the chase will bring back to memory so many pleasant recollections as thehead and horns of an old mountain ram after time has obliterated the memory of the hardships endured, and has woven around the trophy a halo through which the mind's eye sees again sublime views from lofty mountain peaks, roseate dawns and glowing sunsets, which bathed cliffs and crests and crags in a flood of molten gold. Again the hunter feels the thrill of care-free independence of the trifling world below, and experiences boundless elation as the crack of the rifle, sounding and resounding from a thousand crags, proclaims to the Alpine world the triumphant end of the chase.

The tracking of this game consists chiefly in locating it by the signs left on high meadows, or near springs or salt-licks. Except for the larger spoor of the ram, there is no difference in the track or trail of either sex.

Generally on meadows or near springs, where the big tracks of a single animal, or at most a couple of them, are frequently found, and where the tracks of lambs are conspicuous by their absence, one may expect, with moderate certainty, to see game worthy of a shot, as rams prefer torange alone, except at rutting time and during the winter.

MOUNTAIN SHEEP. (ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE)(1) Front track. (2) Hind track. (3) Trail. (4) Leaps.

MOUNTAIN SHEEP. (ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE)

(1) Front track. (2) Hind track. (3) Trail. (4) Leaps.

If there is no snow, one may learn to know the track of every individual sheep which frequents the range, and if he spends much time there he will see an animal at too great a distance to beshot at, but if he has any memory at all, he will recognize its track if he finds it anywhere in that region. This, of course, does not refer to mountain sheep below the average, which, I assume, are of little interest to the sportsman who takes the trouble to hunt for a trophy; nor does the meat hunter go up into these regions for the pot, as he will get something easier lower down.

If the feeding ground or watering place of an old ram is once known, about the best thing to do is to wait for the quarry. If the game is seen, and it has not already observed the hunter, it usually can be flagged as antelopes were in former days. The oldest bucks, however, seldom respond to the summons, and are seldom lured within rifle range by this method.

Hunting bighorn has much in common with hunting antelopes, but in the pursuit of the former there is grander scenery and more physical exercise.

The tracks of mountain sheep often show the cross-step, seldom register, and, as the animals when running have to place their feet where they can, the trail gives no indication of where an animalhas been hit. Infinitely greater vigilance is required than in deer hunting to observe the signs at the moment of firing, and in the study of hair and blood.

HOG TRACK; WALKING. (ABOUT HALF NATURAL SIZE)To save the novice from ridiculous experiences this illustration is given. The hog track is always spread, very seldom registers, and, if the ground is not very hard, the dew-claws are always shown.

HOG TRACK; WALKING. (ABOUT HALF NATURAL SIZE)

To save the novice from ridiculous experiences this illustration is given. The hog track is always spread, very seldom registers, and, if the ground is not very hard, the dew-claws are always shown.

The hoof of the bighorn spreads easily and evenly; therefore, in the track the distance betweenthe heels is as great as between the toes, and frequently greater—a fact which makes it impossible to confound it with that of any other animal.

As stated, there is but one sign by which to tell the ram: Size of the track.

THE track of the antelope looks like a combination of a bighorn track, which it resembles somewhat in length and prominence of the outer rim of the hoof, and that of the domestic sheep, to which it bears a likeness in the shape of the heels. To confound it, however, with either one of them is a rather remote possibility, since the heels are broader and closer together than those of a mountain sheep, with which in the Bad Lands the antelope is sometimes found in the same range, and the spread is different from that of the domestic sheep. In the case of the domestic sheep the greatest spread is at the point of the toes, while in the case of the antelope, the hoof being hooked, it is more between the soles.

An antelope buck of moderate size makes at all times a bigger track than any range sheep, the track of the latter always being rather flat. Asantelopes live on the open plains where they are generally hunted by sighting them, and as a sportsman is allowed to kill but one in a season, we will therefore consider only the signs of the old bucks.

There are but two signs, and these can be condensed into one, because they are usually found at the same spot: Pawing of ground, and droppings.

The droppings are of similar size, and though more or less connected, always comparatively dry, while from does and fawns they are either dry and scattered, or, if moist, in a lump and always irregular in size; the cause of which seeming phenomenon is a certain amount of glutinous substance in the droppings of the buck.

HIND FOOT OF ANTELOPE. (LIFE SIZE)

The pawing is usually done in old buffalo trails, cattle runways, and roads, or where coal deposits come to the surface making the ground barren of vegetation; where this sign is found, an old buck is always near, even if the locality cannot properly be considered antelope country. Old bucks, before and after rutting season, frequently make their habitat in roomy forests orin the breaks of the Bad Lands, sometimes several miles distant from the grounds where the herds roam.

ANTELOPE. (ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE)(1) Track of antelope. (2) Domestic sheep (flat), note spread. (3) Trail of antelope. (4) Gallop (no dew-claws; the antelope has none).

ANTELOPE. (ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE)

(1) Track of antelope. (2) Domestic sheep (flat), note spread. (3) Trail of antelope. (4) Gallop (no dew-claws; the antelope has none).

THE SIGN OF THE ANTELOPE (BUCK)

The rutting season begins about the middle ofAugust. The old bucks are first in selecting their does, but they have to leave their respective adherents on account of the stronger young bucks, which fight off their old and emaciated rivals. During the rutting season all bucks have such an emphatically disagreeable odor that it is absolutely impossible to eat the meat; afterward they are but skin and bones, and before they can pick up again and are fit for food, they shed their horns. The sportsman, in consequence of the law, which opens the shooting season for antelope September 1st, is put to two disagreeable alternatives: either to shoot a buck and let the meat rot, saving horns and skin as a trophy of the sport (?), or to kill a doe or fawn, to feast on excellent venison, and incidentally hasten the extermination of the most beautiful creature of the plains.

Sport with antelope bucks in the full sense of the word, can be had only during the summer months; then they tax the hunter's skill, and their meat is fit for the table of an epicure.

When their natural range is absorbed by private preserves, or when human progress is advancedso far that it demands even of politicians the exercise of some common sense, then, no doubt, laws will be passed befitting the game. Until then, the sportsman, to keep his shield of honor bright, must abstain from the killing of antelope; else, ridiculous and inconsistent as it may seem, if he decides he must have a trophy of this kind, in any event, he must disregard the statutory laws.

Flagging old bucks seems to me an inexcusable waste of time; those which I have tried to flag have invariably heeded the signal, and left immediately for distant ranges, apparently having profited from previous experiences.

The distress cry of a jack-rabbit, however, invariably causes antelope to investigate. Often when I have been calling for wolves and coyotes, antelopes have appeared seemingly from nowhere and approached so close that they could easily have been killed with a shotgun. If there is a herd of cattle in the known range of an old buck it is almost a sure thing that he will associate with them during the late afternoon. In timbered country bucks will be found frequenting comparativelysmall parks where it is easy to stalk them.

The antelope has the widest range of vision of all our game, but like the others it is unable to distinguish objects when looking toward he sun, a fact which at times has its advantages when hunting the antelope or bighorn sheep.

The wound-signs are the same as in deer; but as antelope are usually shot at in open country, they can generally be seen until they drop dead or lie down. In the latter case it is more merciful to let them die without disturbing them, unless it is possible from the lay of the country to stalk them so that their misery may be ended by a second well-aimed shot.

By reason of the hoof-form, the very prominent hillock in the antelope track is of no value in ascertaining the sex, and neither is the irregular stepping in the trail.

Comparisons of the Male Signs as Found in the Various Hoofed Game Animals

PREDACEOUS ANIMALS

HUNTING bears with the assistance of guides supplied with a well-trained pack of hounds may be satisfactory, if merely the killing of them is desired, but it certainly is not sport, and does not even deserve to be ranked with trapping bears, as in the latter case the hunter must possess at least some knowledge of the quarry's habitat and habits. Unlike a fox, a bear when once found by the hounds stands no chance of escaping, and there would be just as much sport in shooting the animal in a park or pen as in killing a run-to-bay bear. This applies also with truth to mountain lions, although perhaps there is in the case of the cougar the excuse of the animal's destructiveness.

The employment of dogs in the chase would never exterminate or even appreciably lessen the number of deer in any hunting country where lakes are not abundant, but everywhere it surelymeans the downfall and extinction of that relic of gray ages, the bear.

Where not plentiful—and the places where they are found in number are to-day quite few and remote from civilization—bears are, on the whole, harmless, and decidedly more useful than injurious. The damage they do is almostnil, while they serve man in many ways. The meat of young bears is equal to the best venison; their fat is decidedly superior to the "fancy" lard we buy, of the source and handling of which we are ignorant; and the hides give excellent service as robes, rugs and clothing. In my opinion bears should be protected to a certain extent rather than shot down merely to make a record.

Sport should be conducted in a spirit of fairness to the game, and while a couple of dogs is perhaps permissible in bear hunting, still-hunting is the better sport, because it requires the utmost skill and knowledge of woodcraft on account of the quarry's sagacity and cunning, which is superior to that of any other of our wild animals. Even if one is able to read the habits of the bear clearly from its trail, it is necessary to possessan abundant supply of patience, for, barring lucky accidents, no one can reasonably hope to outwit Bruin at the first attempt.

BEAR FEET—RIGHT SIDE (ONE-QUARTER NATURAL SIZE)

The end of their hibernation depends largely on the weather, but about March or April bears frequent snowless slopes and gulches in search of roots, bulbs, and similar food, and it is there one must look for signs at that time. If a cold spell interrupts the spring weather, as is often the case, a trail, sometimes a week old, will often lead the hunter to a nearby thicket where Bruin has made himself a bed on the ground, with the intention of sleeping until another thaw. He usually changes his bed every two or three days, but ordinarily will not leave the thicket unless he is disturbed. If a bear is found to be in such a thicket, the hunter should curb his impatience and suspend following up the trail until the snow gets soft, when he can work carefully against the wind toward his quarry. However, as it is usually impossible to see farther than ten or twenty feet ahead, Bruin has, in this kind of hunting, much the best of the hunter, and the latter finds in most cases an empty bed.

BEAR TRAIL. (STEPS ABOUT TWO FEET APART)

If the thicket is not too large the wind-hunting method before described will, no doubt, often give satisfaction; but as a rule the thickets which the bears make their spring habitat are of too great an extent. The surest and easiest way to get him is to persuade some other fellow to follow the trail while you intercept and shoot the bear when he leaves the thicket. Knowledge of Bruin's cunning then furnishes the means to decide where he will pass, since, as a rule, he will sneak off under the densest cover and try to reach another thicket under shelter of bushes, rocks and the like. Anyone, not altogether a tyro in the woods, can easily decide from the lay of the country where to wait for His Bearship. When the place is selected, one should be sure that there is an absolutely clear opening at least a couple of feet wide. A bear is bulky and clumsy-looking enough, but he is able to pass without offering a chance for a shot at places where another animal could hardly escape an average hunter's lead. I am by no means slow with my trigger finger, but before I learned to appreciate this fact I was chagrined on several occasions by havingbears pass me unharmed at a less distance than fifty yards, and that too at places where I thought I could kill a running rabbit if I wished to do so.

TRACKS OF BEAR, RUNNING

If a bear succeeds in leaving a thicket without giving opportunity for a shot, there is no need for disappointment—he will pass the same spot when he happens to be in the same thicket again, and this is a certainty if he does not abandon that part of the country. This statement has met with some disbelief among a few of my personal acquaintances, and to prove my claims I had to shoot a bear within a month from a given point. I killed Bruin, or rather Old Eph, as it was a grizzly, less than ten feet from where I said I would, and that settled the matter.

A mile and a half from my home there is such a thicket not over one acre in extent, and if fresh bear signs are seen anywhere in the surrounding woods, which cover several thousand acres and contain many larger and just as dense thickets, I wait there, reasonably sure that I will see Bruin soon after sunrise or at sunset. Experience has proved to me that it is a waste of time to watchfor bears where signs are most numerous. They invariably leave their home thicket very quietly before dark, and start their noisy feeding, chewing up logs, and breaking down berry bushes, not less than half a mile from their abiding place, near which no signs except a few tracks are visible.

BEAR TRACK. (HIND FOOT; TWO-THIRDS NATURAL SIZE)

For the entertainment of a visiting friend the thicket was driven a few times by the wind method, which worked splendidly. An "old mule," which was shot through the lungs with a .30-40 rifle on the previous evening, was the only one that left the shelter slowly. All the others, presumably the same on every occasion, appeared to be very much frightened, and ran for about three-quarters of a mile after they had passed the danger point.

BEAR STUMP. (ANTS WERE CHEWED OUT SEVEN FEET ABOVE GROUND)

To locate the abode of bears in such thickets during the summer and early autumn, it is best and simplest to trail them by the signs they make during their nocturnal rambles, such as overturned logs, etc.; and if only a few of such signs are found near dense cover, facing north or northwest, the ground should be carefully examinedfor tracks. These are usually difficult to see, and if no moist places are near such cover, the apparently used paths that lead into it, but on which there are no signs except an occasionalclaw mark, must serve as base for a conclusion, which must be verified by watching at a good point near the thicket during the morning or evening. The snapping of a twig or the breaking of a log on which Bruin carelessly steps often confirms the conclusions, though the bear may sometimes remain invisible to the hunter for several consecutive visits.

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