270 THE WIND IN STALKING. 



Keen-scented animals of all kinds too, are quite 

 aware that they are most exposed to attack from the 

 lee-side, and their attention therefore is mainly directed 

 to watching anything approaching from that direction. 



When the wind is blowing crosswise between the 

 stalker and the game it is therefore generally best to 

 keep somewhat to windward, as he is less likely to 

 be observed in that direction. A side wind may 

 generally be said to be a favourable wind, indeed 

 Macrae, the Highland forester, in his useful handbook of 

 deer-stalking gives it as his opinion "that there are 

 more deer killed by sidewind than by any other, as 

 they generally secure the lee-side from attack." * 



When the w r ind blows across ravines, narrow valleys, 

 and passes, game are generally to be found on the 

 sheltered side in cold stormy w^eather, and on such 

 occasions if the country is hilly and broken, judgment 

 must be used in the choice of ground, as the wind is 

 apt in such localities to be subject to sudden eddies 

 and changes of direction, and to veer off its course 

 during heavy gusts. High winds indeed are generally 

 unfavourable for stalking on moorlands and open 

 plains, though as we explained in our chapter on 

 Forest Hunting, stormy weather is the very best time 

 for hunting among heavy timber. 



When shooting on great open plains, destitute of 

 any kind of cover, should game happen to be found 

 in an unfavourable position, it is sometimes a good 

 plan to send a man round by 'a long detour, so as 

 purposely to let them get the wind of him, and if 

 possible cause them to move in the direction of 

 the gun. 



* Handbook of Deer-stalking, by Alexander Macrae, 1880, p. 48. 



