Rural Retreat times. [volume] (Rural Retreat, Va.) 1892-1918, 1912-03-22


has miscalculated the distance and
missed his quarry. Two or three play
full bounds mark the ascent of his trail
to higher ground, where. reaching
more open country it leads off to the
right, the tracks showing he has bro
ken into hurried trot for parts I'M
known.
On the crest of neighboring hard
wood ridge is the trail of a noble
Whitehall buck Differing from the
! trail Of the doe. by the larger tracks,
more rounded toes. greater length of
stride between prints and drag on the
snow before and after each particular
footprint. the tracks are sufficiently
interesting to follow. From the trail
it may be gathered that the animal
has walked leisurely along up-wind,
browsing on .drel, birch twigs. and
smaller bushes. He has carefully
walked log to cross brook, and
stood drinking of the clear, cold wa
ter. Occasionally he has stopped to
listen and look back on his trail for
the detection of any harmful follower.
for his sensitive muzzle would detect
the warning faint on the breeze, long
before the enemy itself hove in sight
In several places he has paved the
snow clear for considerable spaces,
evidently in search of some winter
delicacy beneath the glimmering crys-
tails.
hIlo oa1- NksIl Al
the first, which it joins. promises in
teresting developments further along.
For some distance it follows it's rival
at walk, then Impotence is shown
in the recorded tracks left by the trot-
ting animal. This second buck one
would Judge to be the bigger animal,
from its larger tracks, although this
need not essentially follow. At any
rate he is evidently in a great hurry
to overtake and challenge his prede-
cessor, judging from his tracks, which
show he has broken into a graceful
canter,
Farther on the snow records the pre-
liminaries of battle gone through by
both bucks at sight of each other.
Each has paved and stamped the
snow in circle of'eonsiderable area.
Both have brokene Small bushes and
rubbed the bark from sablings with
their antlers. One has trotted forward
challengingly for short distance, Civ
en- few buck jumps and retreated to
again vent his wrath on bush and
tree.
At last they closed with rush;
both, from the evidence recorded APP
parently having been carried to their
knees by the force of the impact Ris-
ing, they pushed. retreated and
charged, until the snow was entirely
cleared from the arena. Several times
one or the other has been thrown
heavily to earth; the imprints left by
their bodies being plainly visible Bits
of hide, long coarse hairs and alarm
ing blotches of red. prove the fierce
ness of the battle for supremacy.
AS is inevitably the case, the weak
at last gave way; his blood-stained
trail leading off in series of great
bounds down the hillside. For some
distance the second trail accompanied
it. but finally branched off into dense
bit of forest, the victor evidently seek
ing the shelter and solitude for recu-
peration from his own wounds and
bruises.
AS twilight comes stealing over the
whitened landscape, obliterating dis
lance and closing in, in gradually
contracting circle, many other inter
esting tracks and trails are found,
but the winter days are short and the
fading light beneath the trees drives
one out in the open fields. across them
into the road and home
Happiness is the natural flower OF