HINTS TO SrORTSMEX. 37 



what direction that blows, he may be able to extricate 

 himself from his dilemma in a short time. 



In the woods bordering the Pacific Ocean water is gener- 

 ally abundant, so that a person need not suffer from thirst; 

 yet if he should by accident be in a section where it is scarce, 

 he may obtain enough to allay his craving by digging a 

 small hole in a marshy spot, filling it with grass, then apply- 

 ing to it any hollow tube, and using the mouth for a suc- 

 tion. A refreshing drink may also be obtained from maple 

 or birch, if one has only a knife with which to scar them. 

 If one cannot find water or camp by searching on the 

 ground, he might be successful by climbing a tall tree and 

 surveying the landscape before him. If he seeks the for- 

 mer, he may discover it by noting a break in the forest ; if 

 the latter, by the smoke of the fire, which is nearly always 

 kept burning. I have found a good long lariat useful for 

 climbing the gigantic trees of the Pacific, as the boughs are 

 so high up and the trunks so thick that no ordinary person 

 can reach their summit without some such assistance as the 

 lariat gives ; and it is exceedingly useful for swinging at 

 once out of the reach of an angry bear. 



In trailing animals, one may, after a little experience, tell 

 their size by the spread of the feet on the ground; their 

 weight, by the depth of the impression made; the speed at 

 which thej^moved, by the intervals between the paces; the 

 length of time since they passed over a spot, by the fresh- 

 ness of the tracks; and whether they were startled or not, 

 by the condition of the grass, leaves, or soft ground. 



If they have been wounded seriously, it may be detected 

 by drops of blood, or by the irregular and straddling char- 

 acter of the gait ; hence it may be said that a habit of close 

 observation of the imprints on the earth will reveal to one 

 the names of animals that visit a region, their motives in 

 travelling, and their condition and numbers, almost as readi- 

 ly as if he saw them before him. 



All game quadrupeds should be hunted up wind, seldom 

 across it, and never down, as scent is to them what sight is 

 to birds and feeling to mankind. The best time for pur- 



