The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1902-12-13
TRAILING WILD ANIMALS.
There Is Much Fascination for the
Hunter In FoiIowipg The& by
Their Footprints.

Trailing deer is one of the ~
sports of America, either up-
SHOWS of Manitoba or down.
south and west whore the black -
deer abound in the hills says
dali, in Parsons Magazine. ThS~
il swift and cunning. and the hunter
must needs be strong in wind and limb
TO follow where he leads, and very wise
TO unrayel the story OF his footprints.
The elegant hoof-mark OF the deer
could never be anything but deer's
imprint 10 the old hunter-but mem
may live for years in places where
deer are found, and yet. ON coming
acros. a footprint, be unable 20 deter
mine whether it was made 10y deer
or by a sheep or a pig indeed, the
footprints OF deer, sheep and pig. seen
singly are remarkably alike, and only
an expert can tell the one from the
other.
TO trail deer successfully needs the
cunning Of the North American Indian,
who knows from the mere touch ana
smell Of the track not only how long
ago the track was made but also the
size and condition Of the deer who
made itl The hunting Indian is as cum
ming as the hunted deer himself; he
seems TO enter into the very workings
Of the brute mind.
The first mistake made by the young
deer hunter is TO follow too closely
on his game. If the hunter watches
the trail AZ his feet, instead Of looking
ahead, he may stumble on his deer uh-
awares.
This Is what the boy hunter dad in
Mr.. Thompson Seton's little story OF
The Sandhill Stag"
Sneaking along, watching the tracks
at his feet, he was so startled when the
big-eared, brayish animal he was after
sprang suddenly up before him that
he could only stand still and gaze as
they bounded away, rising higher ana
higher at each bound. Then, when
he goes to examine their trail, he reads
n wonderful story. Between one track
and the next he finds blank space OF
is feet. then another blank after the
next track the blanks increasing TO is
feet, then to 20, TO 20 and sometimes
even to 30 feet.
The tracks made by running deer
have spaces between them Of from IS
TO 30 feet!
Running deer are wingless birds.
"They do not run at all they fly" said
MIR. Tompson Seton, "and once in
awhile come down again TO tap the
hittops with their dainty hoofs,"
If the hunter always followed on the
deers trail he might follow for thou
sands Of miles without having shot.
lie must leave the trail when il grows
new and hot. make a detour and lie up
in ambush in front BY clever mas
neuyerng a strong man can always
run down the swiftest deer, and then
at the end of long chase the short
ened blanks between the tracks wi
tell story Of a deer grown weary.s =
The deer often goes back on his own
trail. Sometimes, when the track q
dim. it is hard TO tell which way il
leads. But the footprint is little
sharper at the toe than at the heel,
and when the trail leads over n hill the
hunter can always tell which way the
animal came, for II he went up the hill
his spaces would be short, through the
labor OF climbing.
All manner Of tricks are played by
hunted deer who know that they are
hunted. One thing they often do Is 10
return little way along their own
track, and then, making a great leap
to one side race away in mother d.
rection Sometimes when hard pressed
deer repeat this maneuyer time after
time, finally lying down to rest (hav-
ing bounded aside from the last traiD
in spot where they can smell and hear
the hunter long before he comes dam
gcrously near. The hunter, constantly
finding himself on cold scents, must pa
tiently unrayelsall the twisted story
by the deer's feet, barking back on the
cold scents until he finds where the real
trail begins anew.