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Show 7 F one would learn the In--SferjT'J ' nermost secrets of the wild neighbors about him. J&ffi'lS let him go forth into jSiJ' f$ woods and fields after the 9w S first snowstorm has cov-7 cov-7 Js k ered the earth with an frl immaculate mantle of X t j) glistening whiteness. 5fes3sfe There he will find re-corded re-corded a true and exhaus-tive exhaus-tive account of outdoor I I happenings of the past twenty-four hours. Across the snow-covered field at the edge of the woods you trail the familiar fa-miliar tracks of the little cottontail rabbit. By their side, and occasionally occasional-ly joining and obliterating them, are the accusing foot-prints qf that mischievous mis-chievous pointer pup, who should have been tied up in the barn. About a small clump of swaying weed-stalks are the four-barred prints of such hardy birds as juncos, red-polls, and the larger blue-jays and crows. A powdery pow-dery mass of loosened snow comes sifting down from the topmost bough of an evergreen at the forest edge, as a large snowy owl flies noiselessly back into the silent woods. Driven from his summer hunting grounds al the far north, bv the icv hand of win ter, he will levy toll from squirrels, grouse and rabbits, before taking his departure for more congenial climes at the coming of spring. His hunting is methodical and constant. With set, silent, wings, he swoops suddenly down upon his victim, like some great white specter of the forest. Little round pellets of hair, feathers and bones found on the snow beneath his favorite perch, indicate the fate of his unfortunate prey. Fierce, rapacious and insatiable, he flies oyer the fields, and through the forest, ever ready to fall like a meteor on some unsuspecting unsuspect-ing bird or mammal. Unlike most of his kind, this bold assassin from the arctic does not confine his hunting excursions ex-cursions to the night time alone, but flies abroad during certain hours of the day as well; thereby proving even more destructive and dangerous than his ally In crime, the northern goshawk. gos-hawk. 1 Over the whitened aisles of the forest for-est wind the beautiful, delicately traced trails of the little wood-mice. Nibbling daintily at dried grass and larger weed-stalks, they wander about during the coldest weather. When the thermometer stands far below be-low zero and starvation often threatens threat-ens them, these little mice, when In the vicinity of farms, make their way to the granaries and barns, In search of food. When wandering about the woods, they, often come upon the shed antler of a deer or moose; they at once start to nibble and gnaw at the hard substance, until they finally entirely destroy it. In many Instances their winding trails disappear beneath the snow, to reappear some little distance dis-tance further on, emerging from a tiny tunnel which they have dug in search of hidden seeds. At the base of some forest, tree Is recorded the jump of the gray squirrel. squir-rel. In long, undulating founds, he makes his way over the snow. Oftentimes Often-times he pokes his nose beneath the surface and pushes and roots in search of acorns or nuts, which he knows are somewhere beneath that cold white covering. Some blue-jays scream, and, unwilling to betray his storehouse, he runs quickly to a nearby trunk and ascends as-cends to the first limbs, where he sits vociferously scolding the noisy intruders. intru-ders. Beneath the snow-laden branches of the balsams, the round cat-like imprints im-prints of the lynx show forth. Bold and prominent, they form an easily-followed easily-followed trail through the woods. The half-buried top of a fallen tree, a cavity left by the roots of an upturned stump, a thick-grown mass of rhodo-denrons.- have all been carefully examined ex-amined by this soft-footed prowler in his relentless search for food. Slightly Slight-ly further on, his trail joins that of the varying hare, or "white rabbit," and his tread becomes measured and careful, care-ful, as he creeps forward on the hot scent of his intended victim. About the edge of a dismal swamp the disturbed dis-turbed snow shows where, coming on the unwary hare, he has made his leap and secured his prize. The line by the side of his trail marks the drag of his prey on the snow as he has carried car-ried it to the top of an open knoll Here are displayed all the evidences of his savage feast. Having satisfied his hunger he has circled about and several times w-alked to the point of his commanding elevation. One can almost hear his weird, piercing scream, uttered In bold defiance from his prominence. Evidently satisfied that nothing is to be gained by tarrying tarry-ing longer in the vicinity, his restless feet have been again turned toward the denser forest in which direction his trail disappears. By the side of a gently-murmuring, lce-incrusted brook, appears the sinuous sinu-ous hunting trail of the blood-thirsty mink. The little footprints in sets of two and two, register in the snow ELHER MSSEL (MOM Pf P S'-i-YV.?.''; :':';- :':':-::"'':o:.-:'- .h ' ; r? V' ii J along both shores of the stream, for the mink in his hunting, crosses and recrosses on the ice many times In the course of a mile. Keenly alert, he travels swiftly along, watchful for anything with which he may satiate the pangs of hunger. A disabled or careless grouse, a trout, trapped in some shallow, isolated pool, an unwary .muskrat, a venturesome wood mouse, abroad from its shelter, or even the remains left from the repast of some more fortunate or powerful marauder, will suffice In his time of need. Up into the wind goes the slim, pointed head, with the little bead-like eyes; the tiny nose twitches, apprehensively at some scent borne on the uncertain breeze. Every nook and crevice beneath be-neath the shelving banks is thoroughly thorough-ly explored; into each air-hole of the ice-coated stream, is thrust the rat-like rat-like head, to peer intently Into the depths of the black pool beneath. Through one of these openings the long, slender, brown body slips, to turn and twist with lightning-like rapidity in the icy current. Emerging from the chilling water, its wet coat glistening, glisten-ing, its eyes flashing triuttiphantly, ' the agile little animal has its jaws fastened across the body of a luckless trout. Beneath the shelter of a fallen pine, the prize is placed and closely guarded by the suspicious mink. After Aft-er many little patrols about the near vicinity, made for the purpose of discovering dis-covering any hidden foe, if such there be, the crafty hunter has partaken of his well-earned meal. Some telltale evidences left behind on the trampled snow proclaim all this, and then the tracks lead on down the stream. At some distance from the brook-bed, brook-bed, farther back in the forest, winds the clear-cut, well-defined tracks of the red fox. The footprints are distinguishable distinguish-able from those of the lynx even at first glance. The imprints themselves are narrower, and placed more nearly in a straight line; while the stride, from the track to track. Is half again as long as in the wider lynx trail. The drag of the bushy tail is duly recorded, as the sharply outlined footprints lead up to and over the brow of a hill. From the clean, sharp tracks left on the snow, one can readily imagine the sly, red fellow daintily placing those tireless black feet. The trail leads into an old wood road along which the fox has trotted. At one place, evidently evi-dently frightened by something he has jumped far to one side, then gone on at a mad gallop.- Down to the edge of an ice-covered, snow-coated pond, the tracks lead. Evidently recovered from his unexplainable panic, he steals stealthily to the cover of the bushes that fringe the frozen lake. His trail proceeds to the outskirts of a frozen marsh, along which it follows. About several muskrat houses his wayward footprints circle; at one particular dome-shaped habitation the impatient fox has scraped away the snow and seemingly endeavored - to scratch through the impentrable, frozen mass composing the roof. Having probably caused the terrified inmates to abandon aban-don the grass-lined living chamber, and to plunge into the black, chilling water beneath the ice, he has turned and made his way leisurely across the swamp to a hemlcck grove. Cautiously Cautious-ly he has worked his way under the drooping branch's, his keen nose searching for seme promising scent. He has alarmed a torpid grouse, as recorded re-corded by the disturbed area of snow, showing the bomb-like flight of the startled bird at the near approach of the silent Etalker. At one place he has jumped for a I 3 mouse, and, judged by the imprints, has miscalculated the distance and missed his quarry. Two or three playful play-ful bounds mark the ascent of his trail to higher ground, where, reaching more open country it leads off to the right, the tracks showing he has broken bro-ken into a hurried trot for parts unknown. un-known. On the crest of a neighboring hard-wopd hard-wopd ridge is the trail of a noble white-tail buck. Differing from the trail of the doe, by the larger tracks, more rounded toes, greater length of stride between prints and drag on the snow before and after each particular footprint, the tracks are sufficiently interesting to follow. From the trail it may be gathered that the animal has walked leisurely along up-wind, browsing on laurel, birch twigs, and smaller bushes. He has carefully walked a log to cross a brook, and stood drinking of the clear, cold water. wa-ter. Occasionally he has stopped to listen and look back on his trail for the detection of any harmful follower. He has nothing to fear from the front, for his sensitive muzzle would detect the warning taint on the breeze, long before the enemy itself hove in sight. In several places he has pawed the snow clear for considerable spaces, evidently in search of 6ome winter delicacy beneath the glimmering crystals. crys-tals. Another buck track still larger than the first, which it joins, promises interesting in-teresting developments further along. For some distance it follows its rival at a walk, then impatience is shown' in the recorded tracks left by the trotting trot-ting animal. This second buck one would judge to be the bigger animal, from its larger tracks, although this need not essentially follow. At any rate he is evidently in a great hurry to overtake and challenge his predecessor, prede-cessor, judging from his tracks, which show he has broken into a graceful canter. Farther on the snow records the preliminaries pre-liminaries of battle gone through by both bucks at sight of each other. Each has pawed and stamped the snow in a circle of considerable area. Both have broken small bushes and rubbed the bark from saplings with their antlers. One has trotted forward challengingly for a short distance, given giv-en a few buck jumps and retreated to again vent his wrath on bush and tree. At last they closed with a rush; both, from the evidence recorded apparently ap-parently having been carried to their knees by the force of the impact. Rising, Ris-ing, they pushed, retreated and charged, until the snow was entirely cleared from the arena. Several times one or the other has been thrown heavily to earth; the imprints left by their bodies being plainly visible. Bits of hide, long coarse hairs and alarming alarm-ing blotches of red, prove the fierceness fierce-ness of the battle for supremacy. As is inevitably the case, the weak-at weak-at last gave way; his blood-stained trail leading off in a series of great bounds down the hillside. For some distance the second trail accompanied it, but finally branched off into a dense bit of forest, the victor evidently seeking seek-ing the shelter and solitude for recuperation recu-peration from his own wounds and bruises. As twilight comes stealing over the whitened landscape, obliterating distance dis-tance and closing in, in a gradually contracting circle, many other interesting inter-esting tracks and trails are found, but the winter days are short and the fading light beneath the trees drives I one out in the open fields, across them into the road and home. |