60 THE DRAMA OF THE FORESTS 



open country, in a violent snow-storm — I should allow for 

 drifting, much in the same way as one would if travelling by 

 canoe. 



By that time, however, the women and children had gone 

 to sleep upon their evergreen beds, while we three men con- 

 tinued to converse in whispers over the glow of the fading 

 fire. Next I asked Oo-koo-hoo in which direction men usually 

 tm'ned when lost in the woods — to the right or to the left? 

 He rephed that circumstances had much to do with that, for 

 the character of the country affected the man's turning, as it 

 was natural to follow the hne of least resistance; also it de- 

 pended somewhat on the man's build — whether one leg were 

 shorter than the other. But though he had repeatedly ex- 

 perimented, he could not arrive at any definite conclusion. 

 However, when trying blindfolded men on a frozen lake, he 

 noticed that they had a tendency to turn to the south regardless 

 of whether they were facing east or west. And he concluded 

 by remarking that he thought people were very foolish to put 

 so much faith in certain statements, simply because they were 

 twice-told tales. 



Upon my questioning him as to how a hunter would act, 

 if, for instance, he were trailing a moose, and suspected that 

 he was being followed by enemies, say a pack of wolves, or 

 strange hunters, he informed me that if that happened to 

 him — that if he suspected some enemy were following his trail — 

 he would not stop, nor even look around, but at the first 

 favourable opportunity, when he was sure he couldn't be ob- 

 served, he would leave the game trail, circle back a mile or so 

 through the woods, and upon cutting his old track would at 

 once learn what was following him. Then if it were worth 

 while he could trail his pursuers and, coming up behind them, 

 could take them unaware. But if all this happened on a lake 

 or in open country, where he could not circle back under cover, 

 he would suddenly turn in his tracks, as though upon a pivot. 



