148 THE STILL-HUNTER. 



upon the nature of the ground, the size of the deer, 

 the distance it is likely to travel, the age of the track, 

 its direction, the time of day, etc., that it is quite im- 

 possible to lay down any useful rule. It is a thing to 

 be decided by the circumstances of each particular 

 case. 



But though it may not be worth while to track a 

 single deer on bare ground, the case is often quite 

 different when there are several. A band of five or 

 six deer is quite easy to follow, and even a doe and 

 two fawns will keep so close together that where 

 the track of one is extremely faint that of another 

 near by it is very plain. So long as they keep near 

 together, so that one fills up the dim part of the trail 

 of another, a band is quite easy to track; but when 

 they begin to straggle out and wander here and there 

 they get harder to follow, and, as before, in tracking 

 on snow, it is now best to leave the tracks for a while 

 and look out for the game from behind some ridge. 

 Still it will not always be advisable to follow even a 

 band, if deer are plenty enough without doing so; for 

 though it is easier for you to see some of them, it is 

 also much easier for them to see, or hear, or smell 

 you. So if the ground is very level or brushy, with 

 no good lookout-places or facilities for circling well, 

 or if the wind be wrong, it is often best not to bother 

 even with tracking several deer if others are plenty 

 enough to give you a fair chance elsewhere. 



If you only expect to hunt a little at long intervals 

 it will not be worth while to study tracking on bare 

 ground, for to acquire sufficient skill to do it rapidly 

 enough, and with certainty enough, requires unques- 

 tionably a large amount of practice. But, on the 

 other hand, if you intend to do any considerable 



