Hares in Winter. 23 



knowledge of their habits was required. The hare 

 would generally retrace the track it came by, often 

 doubling two or three times on the same track, then 

 making two or three great leaps off to one side and 

 burying itself in the snow. In following one of these 

 tracks that had more than one set of footprints, it 

 required careful watching to see the point at which 

 the hare had leaped off, When this was discovered 

 it was almost certain that the hare was lying quite 

 within gunshot. 



The old moorland farmers, Mr. Robertson says, 

 believed strongly in the hare as a weather prophet. 

 When the hares did not come down to the kailyairds 

 or low grounds in time of snow, it was deemed a sure 

 sign of approaching thaw, although this might be two 

 or three days before the thaw actually came, and 

 when no other appearance of the weather tended 

 to induce the expectation of it. 



Although winter brought its own pleasures and 

 amusements, the sheep herd had more to do in that 

 season than in the summer. In a general way, when 

 the lambs had become accustomed to the hill, he only 

 went and counted them in the morning, seeing that 

 they were all well and where they should be. But in 

 rough, uncertain weather, more supervision was 

 needec^. 



One winter day in particular David had good 

 reason to remember. It had been snowing the night 

 before. He had been out with the sheep all the 

 forenoon, and went out again to them in the after- 

 noon. The snow again began to fall, and the storm 

 rapidly increased. At length the drifting snow be- 



