SPORTS OF THE WINTER WOODS 301 



woods in his hunt for breakfast, but who sees him 

 do it? There the white-footed mouse has made 

 a curious pattern of foot-dots from his hom^ 

 stump to some other entrance to a w^ay beneath 

 the snow, the straight trail of his tail showing 

 between the tiny foot tracks. In another place 

 the fox has left his curious one-two-three, one- 

 two-three footsteps. 



It is sufficient sport for the morning to take the 

 early rabbit trails and see what has become of 

 their maker. Some woodsman may have seen 

 the rabbit making these tracks unconscious of 

 supervision, but I will confess that I never have. 

 Up North I have often watched the varying hare 

 about his business when he had no idea that I 

 was one of the party, but the sophisticated Mas- 

 sachusetts rabbit has always been too clever for 

 me. But it is not so difficult to follow the tracks, 

 confusing as they sometimes are in their labyrin- 

 thine route, to their end for the forenoon. This 

 is usually a snuggery under some brush or in a 

 tangle of dried grasses and ferns. Here I fancy 

 the rabbit backing in and crowding out a sitting- 

 room and then sitting in it. He will stay in this 

 "form" until you fairly kick him out, and when I 

 have done this, as politely as possible under the 



