236 HUNTING TRIPS 



should happen to stumble on a snake while 

 crawling along on all fours. But moccasins 

 are beyond all comparison the best footgear 

 for hunting. In very cold weather a fur 

 cap which can be pulled down over the ears 

 is a necessity ; but at other times a brimmed 

 felt hat offers better protection against both 

 sun and rain. The clothes should be of 

 some neutral tint buckskin is on this ac- 

 count excellent and very strong. 



The still-hunter should be well acquainted 

 with, at any rate, certain of the habits of his 

 quarry. There are seasons when the black- 

 tail is found in bands ; such is apt to be the 

 case when the rutting time is over. At this 

 period, too, the deer wander far and wide, 

 making what may almost be called a migra- ! 

 tion ; and in rutting time the bucks follow 

 the does at speed for miles at a stretch. But 

 except at these seasons each individual 

 black-tail has a certain limited tract of coun- 

 try to which he confines himself unless dis- 

 turbed or driven away, not, of course, keep- 

 ing in the same spot all the time, but work- 



