The Record of the Snow 



intricately interlaced are the tracks of the 

 birds and foor-footed creatures. Such a 

 medley of claws and paws ! See, here is the 

 path made by a whole bevy of quail, as they 

 crossed the little clearing, "bunched" and 

 huddled together, so that their entire track 

 is scarcely six inches wide. The snow is 

 trodden into a kind of fine lacework where 

 they passed. They were probably on the 

 run, as the quail seldom moves about at all 

 save in a perpetual fright and haste after 

 the breeding season is over. It is wonder 

 ful, for instance, how fast they will run be 

 fore a trailing dog, keeping him on a con 

 stant crouching, gliding trot for fifteen or 

 twenty minutes, before he finally overtakes 

 them along the hot scent and "points" them 

 or puts them to flight. These birds were 

 not pursued, but they were running, as may 

 be seen from the occasional scrape of an ex 

 tended and balancing wing, and the length 

 of the stride, where one of the bevy has for 

 a moment strayed a little out of the file. 

 I suppose no sportsman would think it worth 

 while to go gunning in these well-scoured 

 woods, so near the factories and the back 

 yards of the little houses where the oper- 

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