290 WILD LIFE AND THE CAMERA 



far enough you will usually see that where mice 

 have been dug out of the snow, a ruffed grouse or a 

 poor bunny has been stalked and killed by his most 

 dreaded enemy. 



The most numerous tracks in woods and fields 

 in the region of civilisation are those of mice, 

 shrews, rabbits, and white, red, and grey squirrels. 

 Go where you will through woods, fields or swamps 

 you will always find the tiny footprints of mice. 

 They begin and end at a hole in the snow, show- 

 ing where the little creature has left the kindly 

 protection and risked its life in the open ; usually 

 his journeyings on the surface are very short, while 

 sometimes one, more courageous than wise, travels 

 as much as thirty or forty yards without burrowing. 

 Under the snow they live in comparative safety, 

 and when the snow begins to melt, their runs, 

 forming a perfect network, are clearly visible. The 

 mouse in its method of progression over the snow 

 somewhat resembles a squirrel ; its tracks therefore 

 are much the same in form except that a fine line 

 usually shows where the tail has dragged. Much 

 smaller and more delicate than the mouse-tracks 

 are the lace-like trails of the shrews, the smallest 

 of our quadrupeds. One can seldom see their 

 tracks very clearly, as it is only when the snow 

 is in perfect condition that the fine footmarks are 

 at all sharply defined. 



The track of the "cotton tail," the common 

 hare, or rabbit, as it is usually called, is unmistak- 

 able. Owing to the well-furred foot the track in 

 the snow is never sharp, but even so, the large 

 prints of the hind feet, which are placed in front of 



