AN INTERESTING TRAIL 145 



the bird of prey as well as the grouse, but we 

 found no breast feathers of the hawk, while 

 the snow was well covered Avith those of his 

 victim. Thus the snow enabled us to see in 

 retrospect the whole tragedy as if we had 

 been eye witnesses of it. 



Says John Burroughs: "A man has a 

 sharper eye than a dog or a fox, or than any 

 of the wild creatures, but not so sharp an ear 

 or a nose; the trained observer like most 

 sharp-eyed persons sees plenty of interesting 

 things as he goes about his work." 



It has always been my habit — which seems 

 to be an instinct largely developed in me — to 

 use my eyes, cars, and sometimes nose, when, 

 in pursuit of game, no matter where I may be 

 hunting or what the character of the game 

 may be. 



In the wilderness of Maine in the year '94, 

 I was early one morning following the fresh 

 trail of a large bull caribou. The trail ran 

 through a dense piece of spruce forest with a 

 few pin-oaks scattered through. The ground 

 was heavily carpeted with a thick and yield- 

 ing moss. The path of the animal had been 

 much traveled by a herd of caribou, and so 

 there was no trouble whatever in following it. 

 It was, of course, in the fall of the year; the 



