Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-12-04

Putnam's Sons, New York and London. |
/ Ii kinds Of hunting on
/ "a horseback and most
III hunting on horseback is
done with hounds-tend
E&TMAa@SsH to bring out the best and
| VStEX3D} manifest qualities in the
! men who follow them,
and they should be encouraged In
every way. Long after the reheman
as well as the game he hunts, shall
have vanished from the plains, the
cattle country will afford fine sport in
coursing hares: and both wolves and
deer could be followed and killed with
packs of properly trained hounds, and
| such sport would be even more excit-
ing than still-hunting with the rife
1t is on the great plains lying west of
the Missouri that riding to hounds will
in the end receive its fullest develop.
ment as national pastime.
But at present it is almost unknown
in the cattle country; and the ranch
man who loves sport must try still
hunting-and by still-hunting is meant
pretty much every kind of chase where
single man. unaided by a dog, and
almost always on foot, outgenerals
deer and kills it with the rifle. To do
this successfully. unless deer are very
plenty and tame. implies certain
knowledge of the country, and good
knowledge of the habits of the game.
The hunter must keep sharp lookout
for deer sign; for. though man soon
gets to have general knowledge Of
the kind of places in which deer are
likely to be, yet he will also find that
they are either very capricious, or else
that no man has more than partial
understanding cf their tastes and lik-
ings; for many spots apparently just
suited to them will be almost uninhab-
tied, while in others they will be found
where it would hardly occur to any
one to suspect their presence. Any
cause may temporarily drive deer out
of given locality. Still-hunting, es.
pecially. is sure to send many away.
while rendering the others extremely
wild and shy. and where deer have be-
come used to being pursued in only
one way, it is often an excellent plan
to try some entirely different method.
A certain knowledge of how to track
deer is very useful. 70 become really
skillful tracker is most difficult; and
there are some kinds of ground, where,
for instance. it is very hard and dry,
or frozen solid, on which almost any
man will be at fault. But any one with
a little practice can learn to do a Ger
tain amount of tracking. On snow, Of
course. it is very easy: but on the other
hand 1t is also peculiarly difficult to !
avoid being seen by the deer when the I
ground is white. After deer have been |
frightened once or twice. or have even |
merely been disturbed by man. they |
get the habit Of keeping watch back
OH their trail: and when snow has fall
en-, man is such q conspicuous object |
deer see him long way off. and even
the ta1nest become wild A deer will
often. before lying down, take half
circle back to one side and make its
bed few yards from it's trail. where
it can. itself unseen. watch any person
tracing it up. A man tracking in snow
needs to pay very little heed to the
footprints. which can be followed with
out effort. but requires to keep up the
closest scrutiny over the ground ahead
of him, and on either side of the
trail.
In the early morning when there is
o heavy dew the footprints will be as