146 NOISES IN THE FOREST. 



woods, as also do certain sorts of bears but unless 

 emboldened by hunger, all these animals are extremely 

 wary, stealthily avoiding the approach of man, and 

 when they are come upon it is mostly unexpectedly, 

 both on the part of the man and the beast. 



The tracking of all these to their lairs is an arduous 

 work requiring the aid of a skilled hunter, as both the 

 ears and noses of these animals are particularly keen, 

 and the slightest crackling of a dry stick will set 

 them off. 



Now as regards noises in the forest, questions here 

 arise of high importance, from the hunter's point of 

 view. We have ourselves no doubt that noises are 

 heard there more readily, and at a greater distance 

 than elsewhere. In fact it is practically certain that 

 slight sounds, such as the rustling of dry leaves, the 

 crackling of twigs, and other rubbish under the human 

 foot, the switching of branches catching in his clothing, 

 or the slight packing noise made by the hunter's feet 

 in snow time, which would hardly be noticed in the 

 open country, are audible to the keen ears of game at 

 extraordinary distances in the forest. 



These things are very seldom alluded to, except in 

 general terms, in books that profess to treat of sport 

 in a forest country. Mr. Van Dyke however has 

 stated his opinions of such matters, and says 



" It is probable that sounds can be heard a trifle farther 

 in the woods" (than elsewhere) "owing to there being less 

 wind, and some cover overhead. At any rate it seems so, 

 with noises not too distant, though the point is a hard one 

 to prove." * 



* The Still-Hunter, by Theodore S. Van Dyke, New York 1888, p. 44. 



