Hunting in Many Lands 



and illegible pedography. At last we had the 

 trail upon the mountain side once more, where, 

 after such difficulties surmounted, following it 

 was a comparative luxury. 



After having proceeded in this manner for 

 perhaps two hours, we entered timber, and 

 were obliged to advance with greater caution 

 to avoid the slightest sound which might be- 

 tray our presence and give the alarm. With 

 two men the risk of doing this is increased in 

 geometrical ratio. One person alone, travel- 

 ing through the woods, may, and almost cer- 

 tainly will, break an occasional twig under 

 foot. If game is within hearing, the sound 

 will inevitably be detected ; the deer, if it be a 

 deer, will lift his head and listen ; but if the 

 hunter stops and waits for a time, the chances 

 are that the animal will, after due interval of 

 silence, resume his feeding if so engaged, or 

 his rumination, be it physical or moral, and 

 the alarm may not prove fatal. Not so when 

 companions are hunting together. It would 

 seem as if the second man, with dreadful 

 promptness, never failed to snap his twig also, 

 which sounds as loud as a pistol coming upon 

 the strained attention of the listening beast, 

 who is off like a streak, leaving the disap- 



212 



