130 GAME IN A GREAT FOREST. 



the facts; for plenty of living- creatures are there, but 

 the difficulty is to find them. The tree growth and 

 underwood is generally so thick that it is as a rule 

 impracticable for a man on horseback to pass through 

 the forest, except by the beaten trails, without the 

 constant use of the axe to clear away obstructions ; and 

 this being so, of course the sportsman, even when 

 on foot, is pretty well sure to betray his presence 

 by a certain amount of noise, whereupon these timid 

 and watchful creatures, whose ears are constantly on 

 the alert to catch the faintest sound of approaching 

 enemies, at once move off with stealthy tread, and 

 without so much as moving a twig, to safer quarters 

 elsewhere. No! The way to see game is not to 

 keep constantly on the tramp, but to adopt their tactics 

 to watch, and wait, and listen, in well-chosen situa- 

 tions, at the hours when the game pass to and fro 

 to water, etc. But we must refer the reader, for 

 further information on this head, to our sections on 

 hunting, shooting, etc. ; where we trust, so far as it 

 may be possible to convey the information in mere 

 words, further details of interest and utility are to be 

 met with. 



Walking in the forest, the new-comer will, by the 

 way, soon discover, is much more fatiguing than walking 

 along a road; so that an occasional rest will by no 

 means prove unwelcome ; for what with having to lift 

 the feet, so as to step over creepers and other small 

 obstructions, and being constantly obliged to climb 

 over fallen trees, or to stoop so as to pass under par- 

 tially fallen ones or else make a long detour to pass 

 round them : it will be found that eight or ten miles 

 in the forest, measured in a straight line, are at least equal 



