CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME. 



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the hunter of the sex of the animal he is trailing. After some part of 

 the lion's beat has been learned, that part miLst be hunted first every 

 day, continuing the hunt then from there. If one day is missed and 

 the lion passes, the track may be too old for the dogs when it is found 

 the next day, and this may mean four or five days before the trail is 

 again found fresh enough for the dogs to follow. A dog can not follow 

 any but a very fresh trail on hot and dry ground or in dust, so the 

 hunter must use his eyes to help the dogs past such places. In the 

 cool, damp weather of winter a twenty-four hour trail can usually be 

 successfully followed, while in the hot, dry weather of summer a six- 

 hour trail is found difficult. When snow is on the ground, trailing is 



Fig. 



54. Doe and fawn killed by mountain lion near Bear River on north fork 

 of Mokelumne River. 



easy and a four or five-day-old track should be followed, as a lion may 

 make a kill at any point on his beat and may have returned for a feed, 

 allowing the hunter to get a fresh track at the kill. I estimate that 

 while killing 120 lions I advanced an average of about fifteen miles 

 the day the lion was killed. This distance does not take into account 

 many loops made in looking for tracks when it was necessary to help 

 the dogs. Many times I have trailed a lion this distance each day for 

 three or four days before bagging him. Several times I have advanced 

 twenty-five miles, and once thirty miles, the day I got the lion. Gen- 

 erally the hunter travels on foot over 100 miles for each lion killed. 

 I estimate that on the average trail my dogs will travel about five times 

 the distance advanced. To me it is very interesting to watch a hound 

 on the trail. He rushes along with nose close to the ground, head 

 sweeping from side to side and tail wagging furiously, stopping sud- 

 denly as he catches the scent, smelling intensely for a moment to make 

 sure, then throwing up his head and baying loudly as he rushes ahead 

 for a hundred feet or so, then trying again for the scent, and circling 

 until the trail is located. Now another rush ahead, and so on for 

 twelve or fourteen hours, or until the constant baying indicates that 



