THE STILL-HUNTER. 



CHAPTER I. 



INTRODUCTION. 



STILL-HUNTING, the most scientific of all things 

 pertaining to hunting, has hitherto been almost con- 

 fined to the backwoodsman or frontiersman, and has 

 been little enjoyed by those born and reared at any 

 distance from facilities for learning practically the 

 ways of the wild woods and plains. Thousands of 

 our best shots with the shot-gun are men born and 

 bred in the city. But of the thousands who enjoy 

 the still-hunt the majority are backwoodsmen. One 

 great reason of this is that the art is one requiring 

 for proficiency more life in the forest than the aver- 

 age city man can spend there. But another great 

 reason has been the almost utter lack of any informa- 

 tion or instruction upon the subject. For this, the 

 greatest and most important branch of the whole art 

 of hunting has, I may safely say, been totally neg- 

 lected by the great body of writers upon field-sports. 

 Most attempts in that line have been like " The Deer- 

 Stalkers" of Frank Forrester a short fancy sketch, 

 not intended to convey any instruction. And where 

 the subject has been touched upon at all in works 



