208 .SYWv' T1XG AD] TEXTURES 



meet they engage in desperate and often deadly encounters. 

 They are so busily engaged in fighting, roaring, and wooing 

 during this period that they fade to skeletons, for they eat 

 very little; and the haughty morarchs that stalked through 

 the forest in September so conscious of strength and proud of 

 mien, skulk through it in November ragged, dingy, listless 

 and starved-looking wretches. They that would boldlv lace 

 man, if necessary, a few weeks before, would not now light a 

 cur ; and their only desire seems to be to mope and hide them- 

 selves in the thickets. 



During the running season the woods resound with the 

 cries of the animals that are in search of mates, and persons 

 who can imitate the call of the female can then lead many a 

 bull to destruction through it. This syren-like cry consists 

 of a series of low, deep grunts that end in a wild, loud, 

 prolonged and hideous roar, which may be heard a distance of 

 two or three miles on a fine night. The males on hearing 

 this rush towards it from all parts of the forest, and should 

 they meet, dire is the result to some of them. The female 

 looks on during these contests in the most disinterested 

 manner, then quietly strolls away with the victor, as if to 

 prove the correctness of the adage that " the brave deserve 

 the fair." Some old Indian hunters are excellent callers, but 

 it requires natural aptitude for imitating sounds, and a long- 

 experience to become proficient in the art. The best appa- 

 ratus for " calling " is a tube or trumpet made of the flexible 

 bark of the birch. This is generally about an inch in diameter 

 at one end, and four or five inches at the other, and is 

 eighteen or twenty inches in length. One who can use this 

 properly may deceive any erotic male that runs in the forest ; 

 but let the least false intonation be uttered and even the most 

 unsophisticated youngster would detect the imposition and 

 keep far away from it. One of the great secrets in " calling " 

 is to know how to modulate the sounds so that the cautious 

 lover may be lured to within close range, for a person cannot 

 afford to waste any lead on him, or he might never see him 

 again. 



The " calling " commences in September and is practised 



