I 7 4 HUNTING TRIPS 



The day after killing the cow and calf 

 I went out in the morning by myself and 

 hunted through the woods up toward the 

 rocky peaks, going above timber line, and 

 not reaching camp until after nightfall. In 

 hunting through a wild and unknown coun- 

 try a man must always take great care not 

 to get lost. In the first place he should 

 never, under any conceivable circumstances, 

 stir fifty yards from camp without a com- 

 pass, plenty of matches, and his rifle; then 

 he need never feel nervous, even if he is 

 lost, for he can keep himself from cold and 

 hunger, and can steer a straight course 

 until he reaches some settlement. But he 

 should not get lost at all. Old plainsmen 

 or backwoodsmen get to have almost an in- 

 stinct for finding their way, and are able 

 to tell where they are and the way home in 

 almost any place; probably they keep in 

 their heads an accurate idea of their course 

 and of the general lay of the land. But 

 most men cannot do this. In hunting 

 through a new country a man should, if 



