DEER TRACKING. 189 


walk about but little, yet feed until mid-day, visit the brook 
for a drink, perhaps cross, and try the sprouts upon the other 
side, buck or doe leading, whilst the young follow in their 
tracks, making but few paths the first day, as they do not 
tramp down large yards as some might suppose. (These 
yards, so called, are usually but paths, they following after 
each other in near the same track, all lying down within a 
few feet of each other at night, and the hunter can tell after 
seeing this sleeping place the next morning, the number of 
old and young, and their sex, as readily as if he had seen them 
all standing there). 
The next day the snow may fall steadily and perhaps con- 
tinue all through the night following, yet they having found 
good pickings on these paths already made, still keep in 
their old tracks, breaking out no new path, again visit the 
brook at noon for a drink, then turn back on the old path a 
little way and lie down for their usual mid-day rest, then up 
again and around, to feed until near night and only over their 
very few paths. The snow is deep enough now to keep them 
in these old roads for days. Then comes the rain and 
immediately after the freeze, and this settles the question for 
them in regard to new roads to get better feeding. Their old 
path is now excellent walking, while all outside of them is 
sharp crust and they continue to follow only in their hard 
track, finding poor feeding until the next rain or a thaw 
softens the crust, when they sometimes wade slowly around, 
making new roads, or perhaps over the ridge to another 
brook or branch of the same. y aes 
Toward spring, often after a very long rain SPN OR ye 


the snow well down, the night changing to gatill a 
gives them a crust which delights them, for now‘ =the cog 
a, "sig 
Ss 
