PAGES OF HARE LORE 31 



distance which may separate any two tracks of one 

 of these animals, either one made by a hare, or one 

 made by one of the rabbits. On such a prairie as I 

 have just referred to I have, on numerous occasions, 

 fired at these animals when they have been running, 

 and at the same time beyond the range of my fowling- 

 piece ; such a shot almost invariably has the effect of 

 so alarming the game as to make it run at its very 

 best rate of speed, and, upon coming up with the 

 tracks they have left on the snow at such times, I 

 have been surprised at the distances they can clear at 

 each individual leap. Under these conditions I once 

 measured the spaces cleared by an old Mexican hare, 

 and found the first two equalled twelve feet a piece, 

 while the third effort was rather more than thirteen feet, 

 and I have never known this species to exceed this, 

 although I have tested not a few of them. Of course 

 the rabbit cannot compete with such magnificent 

 gymnastics as this : it will, however, when thus 

 frightened, make leaps of fully six feet ; and on one 

 occasion I measured one on the dead-level prairie 

 which was rather more than seven feet. At their 

 common rate of going the hare rarely clears more than 

 four feet at any single leap, while the rabbit is satisfied 

 with rather more than two feet, and when quietly 

 feeding about the sage-brush the tracks made by an 



