File:Camp-fire musings - life and good times in the woods (1894) (14782569042).jpg

Identifier: campfiremusingsl00gray (find matches)
Title: Camp-fire musings : life and good times in the woods
Year: 1894 (1890s)
Authors: Gray, William Cunningham, 1830-1901
Subjects: Natural history Outdoor life
Publisher: Edinburgh : D. Douglas
Contributing Library: Harold B. Lee Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Brigham Young University

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his brain. He will stopto inquire with his eyes and nose into any noveltythat may present itself to his attention. The variousanimals of the cat kind have much self-confidence.They can fight or climb or run, and they are liable tohesitate fatally in deciding which they will do. Nodoubt there is a temporary paralysis of the will, in allanimals, as there is in man, on a sudden appearanceof danger. I have amused myself by throwing abunch of deer into a brown study by displaying thered flannel lining of my vest. Still hunting brings out these resources of the hunt-ers knowledge. He dresses himself in a dark color,from head to foot, any color from the dark gray of aNorway pine to black, will do, provided the wholesuit is of the same. He must wear moccasins orother footwear of soft stuff, so as to avoid thatgreatest of annoyances in still-hunting, the snapping 146 Camp-^ire ItTusings of twigs under the feet. When a lynx, bear, deer, orany of them, hears a twig snap, it will attend to noth-
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ing else till it knows what snapped that twig. It is asmall sound, but to them it is full of significance.He must not even wear corduroy pantaloons. Noone would ordinarily notice the rustle of the ribs of 147 the goods striking against each other in walking, butin the stillness your game will hear it before you getwithin rifle-shot. Ihe Indian was described by thediscoverers as taciturn. He does not speak unlessthere be necessity for it. This he learned from all thequadruped tribes of the wilderness. If he wouldcompete with them, either as enemies, or seek them asprey, he must keep his mouth shut and walk circum-spectly. In still-hunting I first go to the lake-shoreand dip my feet in the water to soften my mocca-sins. If I happen to wish to stalk game when Ihave shoes on, I take them off, fasten them to mybelt and go in my stockings. With hard-soled shoesthe snapping twigs sound to you like a park of artil-lery. The movement must be against the wind, be-cause if an animals nose tell i

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