LOOKING FOR DEER THAT ARE ON FOOT. 59 



Such are the days when the snow is crusty and stiff 

 or grinds under your feet, while the trees snap and 

 crack with the frost; in short, all days when you can- 

 not walk without making a noise that a man could 

 hear at forty or fifty yards; though even on such 

 days it will pay you to go out and study the move- 

 ments of deer and the " lay of the land." And if it 

 should be very windy, by moving against the wind 

 you may get a shot, though when the trees are creak- 

 ing and rattling with wind the deer are often in a 

 very nervous condition all day; but against a strong 

 wind they cannot smell you and cannot hear you as 

 well as usual. 



But when the autumn rains have softened down 

 the dead leaves and sticks, or during or just after a 

 gentle rain, or when the ground is covered with an 

 inch or more of soft snow, then is the time, especially 

 if a gentle breeze sighs through the tree-tops, when 

 your heart may well bound high with hope. 



We will first consider hunting on bare ground. 



To find a deer on foot you had better be in the 

 woods about the time the morning star begins to fade 

 in the first smile of coming day. This exactness is 

 not always necessary. But if deer are not very plenty, 

 or if they have been much hunted, or if the moon is 

 near or past the full, the earlier you are in the woods 

 after it is light enough to sec a deer at all, the better. 



Let us first try the oak ridges, as these form the 

 easiest ground upon which to take your first lessons. 



The first questions that arise are, from which way 

 shall we approach the ridges? and, in which direction 

 shall we traverse them? 



In determining these points, the first thing in im- 

 portance is the wind. Be cautious how you decide 



