38o The Book of Woodcraft 



in snow drifts that were yellow with tall dead grass sticking 

 through. This was promising, so I went thither, and on 

 the edge of the drift found a jack-rabbit form or den, with 

 fresh tracks leading out and away at full speed. There 

 were no tracks leading in, so he must have gone in there 

 before the last snow came, and that was the night before. 



When a jack runs without fear of any enemy at hand, 

 he goes much like a fox or an antelope, leaving a trail, as 

 in No. 5. But when an enemy is close at hand he runs 

 with long, low hops, from six to seven in succession, then 

 gives an upright leap to take an observation, leaving 

 a trail thus. (Illustration 7.) 



A silly young jack will lose time by taking one in three 

 for observation, but a clever old fellow is content with one 

 in ten. Here was the trail of this jack straight away, but 

 taking about one observation in twelve hops. He had 

 made a fence a quarter-mile off, and there had sat for some 

 time observing, had then taken alarm and run toward a 

 farmyard, a quarter-mile farther, taking occasional observa- 

 tions. A dog was lying on a doorstep by the road, and 

 past this dog he had run, doing twenty-foot leaps. Two 

 hundred yards down this road he had turned abruptly, 

 as though a human still in sight had scared him. I now 

 began to think the jack was near at hand, although so far 

 I had not seen him. The trail led through several barbed- 

 wire fences and some hedges, then made for another barn- 

 yard half a mile off. I was now satisfied that he was only a 

 little ahead of me, therefore I ceased watching the track so 

 closely, watching rather the open plain ahead; and far on, 

 under a barbed-wire fence, sitting up watching me, I soon 

 saw my jack. He ran at once, and the line of his hops, was 

 so — (Illustration 8) — the high ones being for observation. 



No. 8. 



