THE MUSKOKA LAKES 9 



left his shelter, and is feeding upon some rich, 

 tender grass. Soon an unwary movement 

 causes alarm, and with four bounds* he has 

 nearly gone ; but now, for a moment, he stops, 

 his ears are erect, and every instinct is alert. 

 Then, as though conscious of approaching danger, 

 he slowly vanishes. Now I hear a heavy splash, 

 and, looking round, perceive a stag swimming 

 from an island to the mainland. As he reaches 

 the shore and shakes the dripping water from 



* The northern hare (Leus americanus], like most 

 others of the genus, seeks its food only by 'night or in the 

 early part of the evening. To this habit it is more exclusively 

 confined in autumn and winter. During the spring and 

 summer I have frequently observed them in the morning 

 cautiously proceeding along some solitary by-path of the 

 forest. Two or three may often be seen associated together, 

 appearing full of playfulness and activity. When disturbed, 

 they sometimes stamp upon the ground, making a noise so 

 loud that it can be heard at some distance ; then with four 

 bounds they reach the thicket, sitting with ears erect, seem- 

 ingly listening to ascertain whether they are pursued. It 

 occasionally retires to the same cover for a number of nights 

 in succession ; but this habit is by no means common, though 

 there is no other species of hare so attached to particular 

 and beaten paths through the woods. I have frequently 

 caught three or four in one night with a simple wire noose 

 placed over his path. Their weight averages about 5 Ibs. 

 or 6 Ibs. ; the length varying from 16 in. When pursued, he 

 runs so swiftly and struggles so hard to escape, that 

 sometimes he dies from these exertions. 



