DEER TRACKING. 183 

lying down. Seeing this writing on the snow you step back- 
ward and sly away out of his sight, remarking as you do so: 
‘¢now if I had my duck gun and buck shot you might jump 
as high as you please, and I should take you on the fly.” But 
you walk right away from him as if gone, and marking the 
very spot you know he lies in, by some tree or clump of them, 
circle around and use all your strategy to see him before he 
sees you, and not give him the wind of you. He is dozing, 
one eye half open, and is always most too quick ‘‘o’ hearin ;” 
and when first seen it is often with his head down, pitching 
for the lowest hollow at the first jump, his black heels and 
white tail are seen in the air once or twice and he is gone. 
Or if you are below him and he must run up the hill, he will 
bounce from right to left as if to dodge the bullet. If you do 
not down him, note his range, again try the detour plan, 
watching keenly to see him first if possible. 
After tracking a deer over the light snow from early morn- 
ing until eleven o’clock, I came in sight of a thicket of young 
fir trees into which the track was leading 
D>) 
me and within three or four rods I saw he had been back as 
when just ahead of 
usual to look around before lying down, leaving three tracks 
with the one I had been following. Knowing he was very 
handy, I took a step to one side to get out of his sight, when 
immediately I saw him jumping away through the evergreens. 
I had approached a little too near and he had heard or seen 
me. Following his jumps until he commenced his walking, 
I moved away to the right far enough to be surely out of his 
sight and then hurried on the same way he was going fora 
good piece, and again struck up to look for his track. «After 
passing away by his probable line of travel, I-was satisfied I 
was ahead of him, and turning down again I found his tracks 
