THE. RABBIT. 239 



branch will be dragged along crosswise, or at right 

 angles to the path chosen by the rabbit. Thus if 

 he tries to hole-up he is detained at the mouth ; 

 while if he keeps to the open he is not likely to 

 travel far, the branch hitching up in the first fence 

 or wall he encounters. At all events, the plan 

 generally enables one to recover the snare, if not 

 to capture the rabbit. 



Very good results are often obtained by placing 

 the snares in a wood where the runways are distinct, 

 and where there is ample natural cover for the wire 

 noose. 



The Indian snare is by far the most humane, 

 being designed to hoist the captured animal high 

 into the air, out of the way of forest thieves such 

 as cats and foxes. The noose is arranged as in 

 an ordinary peg-snare, but instead of the cord 

 being attached to a peg driven into the ground, 

 it is fastened to one notched to engage with a 

 separate ground-peg. The notched peg is attached 

 at its other extremity to a cord holding down a 

 sapling (or a branch) so that when the snare is 

 sprung this sapling springs back into its natural 

 position, hoisting the captured animal off its feet, 

 and practically hanging it on the spot. There is 

 not much chance of an animal escaping from a 

 snare of this kind, as it is never able to obtain a 

 fair purchase on the ground, and the device is 

 used by the Indians not only for rabbits, but for 

 foxes, bears, lynxes, &c., which would very soon 

 gain their freedom by biting through the detaining 

 cord were they able to get hold of it. The same 

 plan is used for deer even the gigantic moose and 

 caribou though there is no need to express an 

 opinion on the matter of snaring such noble 

 game in any country save in one where they are 



