The Holbrook news., 1912-04-19

mouse, and, judged by the imprints, 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 of to the right. the tracks showing he has bro
 ken into a hurried trot for parts un- 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 tran 1t may be gathered that the animal has walked leisurely along up-wind.
 browsing on laurel. birch twfgs, and smaller bushes. He has carefully walked log to cross a 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. He has nothing to fear from the front, for his sensitive muzzIe would detect the warning taint 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- tals.
 Another buck track still larger than the first. which it joins, promises in- teresting developments further along. For some distance it follows its rival at a walk, then impatience 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- hminaries of battle gone through by both bucks at sight of each other. Each has paved and stamped the snow in circle of considerable area. Both have broken small bushes and rubbed the bark from saplings with their antlers. One has trotted forward challengingly for a short distance, giv- en a few buck jumps and retreated to again vent his wrath on bush and tree.
 At last they closed with a rush; both, from the evidence recorded ap- 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 of in series of great bounds down the hillside. For some distance the second trail accompanied It. but finally branched of into dense bit of forest, the victor evidently seek ing the shelter and solitude for recu- from his own wounds and bruises.
 As twilight comes stealing over the whitened landscape. obliterating dis .ance and closing in, in a gradually contracting circle. many other inter ssting tracks and trails are found. put the winter days are short and the 'ading light beneath the trees drives ,ne out in the open fields. across them nto the road-and home.