setting the trap at another entrance, so I left things as they
were, after covering the instrument again. But the foxes knew
it was there all the same, and did not again try to leave their
prison by that exit, and the other entrances were guarded by that
fearful specter of paper. Finally each one died about eight feet
from the scarecrow--about five feet inside the hole, which was
examined daily--one during the nineteenth, and the other during
the twenty-second day of their imprisonment. Had the ground not
been frozen so hard as it was, the experiment would have been
unsuccessful, as each of the foxes would of course have dug out at
some other spot. The latter method of escape will be employed by
the badger in every case where the trap is not properly covered.
THE PORCUPINE
IT may appear out of place to discuss this creature which has no
sportive quality whatever, but its trail is so conspicuous in snow
that it cannot be passed without being noticed, and the tyro,
attracted by the size of the tracks, will in many instances follow
it, thinking he is on the trail of something else.
A short time ago I trailed a supposedly lost, inexperienced hunting
companion who had run across the trail of a "bear," as he thought,
and followed and killed "Bruin," who happened to be up a tree.
When I caught up with the young fellow, he was contemplating his
broken gunstock, smashed in finishing the "varmint," but proudly
exhibited, to my great hilarity, the "bear" which may have weighed
about twenty pounds, and whose fur consisted mainly of quills.
[Illustration: PORCUPINE]
Before I got acquainted with the "pine-porker," I tried in vain for
a period of four months to ascertain the identity of an animal
whose tracks I frequently saw on a road. Only the marks of the
soles were visible there, and none of the many men I asked knew
that track, though they knew the animal which made it very well,
as developed later, when tracking conditions became so that I could
follow the trail to its end.
If conditions are half-favorable, the imprints of the
toenails--four on the forefeet and five on the hind feet--are
always visible.
[Illustration: PORCUPINE TRACKS
(1) Walk. (2) Run.]
[Illustration: FEET OF THE PORCUPINE
Four toes on front and five toes on hind feet (about one-half
natural size)]
[Illustration: SIGN OF THE PORCUPINE
(Bark eaten from the tree)]
If the snow is a few inches deep, the tracks stand in a
trough-shaped trail because the animal's body almost touches
the ground. The toes point inward, and almost touch the center
line. In the snowless woods numerous small dead trees attract
the attention of even those not interested in forestry. If these
trees are examined they will reveal the mark of the porcupine,
easily recognized by the partly eaten bark.
Along the streams of the Bad Lands the limbs of cottonwood trees
are sometimes depleted of every vestige of bark, which loss
ultimately causes the death of the trees. Where forests are cared
for on an economical basis, the porcupine is certainly a proper
subject for extermination.
Their meat is excellent if fried quickly in hot lard; roasted, or
cooked slowly, it emits an odor repellent even to a hungry man.
THE SKUNK
THOUGH an inexcusable intruder in the chicken coop and where
game birds are raised, the skunk is decidedly useful from the
standpoint of the forester or of the farmer. In the writer's
opinion, sportsmen if they encounter him in the woods should
cease to kill the animal just because it is "only a skunk";
others of the fraternity advance the "just because" argument if
they are questioned why they "shoot" the nests of useful hornets.
The skunk may rob a few birds' nests during the summer, but his
main diet consists of larvæ and berries, and by destroying the
former he is of inestimable value to the forests and fields near
his residence.
I am thoroughly convinced that his introduction and absolute
protection in localities where moths, butterflies and the like,
in their undeveloped stage, have become a menace, would greatly
help to solve the problem of rendering these pests harmless.
[Illustration: SKUNK
(A) Front track. (B) Hind track (life size). (1) Easy lope. (2)
Walk.]
With every skunk we kill we interfere with the balance of nature,
and the resulting deficit has finally to be met with the pocketbook
by paying for artificial substitutes for nature, which if left
alone would do the work much better.
In the summer woods it is not so much the skunk's tracks which
tell of his presence and merits, as the numerous small holes in
the ground, about a couple of inches deep, from which the animal
procures the larvæ there awaiting the final stage of development.
The soles of the skunk's feet are similar to those of the badger,
while their size about corresponds with that of the domestic
cat; the toenails always show conspicuously under fair tracking
conditions.
The individual tracks stand about half as far apart as do those of
the domestic cat, and are always considerably out of line. Like
the other members of this group, the skunk betrays himself by his
trail; he is a slow animal, and presumably would not put on speed
if he were capable of it, since, when foraging he is never in a
hurry, and if molested it is usually the disturber who prefers to
employ speed.
PART TWO
FEATHERED GAME
FEATHERED GAME
IT is out of the question to treat the signs and tracks of birds
with the same thoroughness as those of mammals, because the tracks
of several birds reproduce exactly those of domestic fowls, and
those made by young birds of one kind may look like those of old
birds of another variety. A description of bird tracks will,
however, be found interesting, and perhaps useful at certain times,
especially by the inexperienced hunter.
The locality where a given track is seen is the main point to be
considered. Tame turkeys and domestic chickens do not, as a rule,
venture great distances from the barnyard, so if tracks similar
to theirs are seen far from human habitation, it is usually safe
to conclude that wild birds made them. In the case of waterfowls,
however, even the consideration of the locality, under certain
circumstances, does not exclude errors; so the hunter, if he sees
tracks from which he might deduce the presence of these birds
in his immediate locality, should employ his resources to find
out for certain whether his deductions are correct or not. The
descriptions are of necessity limited, and the reader should study
the illustrations as the more important part of the matter.
UPLAND BIRDS
_The Turkey_
The tracks of this, the largest of game birds, differ in nowise
from those of the domestic kind. In the woods--in wild turkey
country--they usually indicate their presence by scratching up the
ground cover in search of food, just as domestic fowls do under
similar circumstances, and by their droppings. The latter are the
more important as a means of identification.
Wild turkeys, when habitually or temporarily frequenting a given
locality, have their favorite trees upon which they roost, and
under these trees the droppings will be very plentiful. Some
hunters wait at such roosting places during the evening or morning
and get their game; sometimes the bird may have treed five hundred
yards or more away, but the expert, who is not given to guesswork,
makes it his purpose to ascertain all the turkey trees in a
district, notes the easiest way to approach them, and then, during
the early evening hours he will, from a convenient point, mark
down the birds which he hears treeing. Then during the hour before
daybreak he will go noiselessly as near as possible to a roosting
tree which he knows harbors one or more turkeys, and after it is
light enough to shoot he will experience little trouble in stalking
as close as is necessary to get his bird.
_The Sage Grouse_
The track of the sage hen is about the size of that of a small
domestic chicken, but the toes at their base are somewhat broader,
giving the entire track a different aspect.
In the spring and autumn months the birds frequent sagebrush flats
and hillsides, and during the early autumn they seek the vicinity
of water, and there, if it were not that their toes are rather
short in comparison with their broadness, the tracks might be
mistaken for those of the pheasant in any place where that game
bird has been introduced.
[Illustration: TURKEY. (LARGE DRAWING TWO-THIRDS NATURAL SIZE)
(1) Walking. (2) Strutting.]
[Illustration: PHEASANT. (NATURAL SIZE)]
_Pheasant_
The middle toe of the pheasant stands almost in a straight line in
the trail, and this feature is the most striking one whereby to
distinguish its track from the tracks of any of our native game
birds.
[Illustration: Ruffed Grouse. (Two-thirds natural size) Blue
Grouse.]
_Grouse_
The members of this class, in which are included the various
varieties of the ruffed grouse and those of the Spruce or Blue
grouse, all spread their feet in similar fashion, and walk with
the middle toes pointed inward to a considerable degree. Because
of this similarity the size of the tracks and the length of steps
are the only means by which to identify the particular species
which made them. The ruffed grouse make the shortest steps and the
smallest tracks.
[Illustration: RUFFED GROUSE]
[Illustration: BLUE GROUSE]
The illustrations show the tracks and trail of a dusky grouse of
ordinary size, and of an unusually big ruffed grouse cock.
[Illustration: SHARP-TAILED GROUSE]
The drawings were made under ideal tracking conditions; and only
then is it possible to note the difference in the number of the
knots of the middle toe. Though, as a general rule, the ruffed
grouse usually frequents rather low country and the blue-grouse
tribe is generally found on high grounds, the locality where a
track is seen gives no sure indication of the species. The writer
has frequently encountered the ruffed grouse at altitudes of over
seven thousand feet, and the blue grouse lower down than he ever
found the ruffed variety.
[Illustration: Sharp-tailed Grouse. (Two-thirds natural size)
Sage Grouse.]
_Prairie Chickens_
From the prairie hen to the sharp-tailed grouse, they all belong to
one order as far as their tracks are concerned. A prairie chicken
does not spread the toes to the same extent as does the grouse of
the woods, and the middle toes stand also somewhat straighter in
the line of the trail. The tracks made by the sharp-tailed grouse
are always of a rather blurred appearance because of the heavily
feathered feet.
_Quail_
The size of the quail's track is about that of a domestic pigeon.
A peculiarity of the track is that the mark of the hind toe stands
comparatively far off from the track on account of its singular
disproportion to the size of the foot.
In the pursuit of grouse, chickens, etc., the hunter usually
notes tracks less than other signs. Foremost among the latter are
the places where the birds take sand baths, where stray feathers
will usually be found. Countless interwoven small paths, leading
everywhere and nowhere in grass and grain fields, are infallible
signs that birds have fed there.
[Illustration: QUAIL. (NATURAL SIZE)]
_Woodcock_
The neatest bird track seen in upland hunting is, in the writer's
opinion, that of the woodcock. True, this fascinating Long-face
has generally gone to warmer climes before winter sets in, but
occasionally an early snowstorm catches him, and then his tracks
are a striking feature near springy places in forests, or under
dense trees that hold most of the snow aloft on their branches.
The splendid imprints are as unmistakable among bird tracks as the
tracks of the mountain sheep among big game, and as unforgettable
if once seen.
[Illustration: WOODCOCK. (NATURAL SIZE)]
WATERFOWLS
_Swans, Geese, Ducks_
The tracks of these aquatic game birds are so much alike that
only the difference in size makes it possible to distinguish the
species and varieties of ducks and geese; if they are of similar
size they cannot possibly be told apart. Where the tracks are seen
during cold weather at small open streams or springs, it is certain
that the birds visit there at night, doubtlessly coming from a big
stream or lake, perhaps many miles distant; by waiting for them
at sundown royal sport can be obtained. During summer, on grassy
places near water, young geese and ducks usually make numerous
small paths, similar to those made by upland birds, but broader.
[Illustration: Tracks of (1) Rail, (2) Coot, (3) Crane, (4) Swan.
(One-half natural size)]
[Illustration: (A) Duck, mallard size. (One-half natural size)
(B) Goose. (One-half natural size)
(C) Trail of Swan, Geese and Ducks.]
PREDATORY BIRDS
_The Great Horned Owl_
The great horned owl is of interest to the sportsman merely by
reason of the depredations which some members of this tribe commit
on small game. Where not forced by a scarcity of small game to
subsist on mice, etc., this owl lives almost exclusively on rabbits
and birds. The writer remembers an instance where one specimen
killed every beaver kid and muskrat on a creek several miles
along its course. The owl's tracks are very rarely seen, but from
the undigested refuse which he ejects through his mouth (for he
swallows all his prey, hair, bones, etc., when feeding) frequently
found thickly strewn under his favorite roosting trees (usually
densely branched), it can readily be ascertained what the light-shy
fellow lives on, and if he proves to be an outlaw, his death will
benefit the hunting ground.
_Hawks_
Notwithstanding claims to the contrary, all hawks, with the
exception of the sparrow hawk, are injurious. Even the much-lauded
marsh hawk in open districts lives exclusively on small birds,
that is, at least, in the West. In timbered country, where he is
too ungainly to catch winged prey, by force of necessity he has to
subsist on small injurious rodents which he can catch in the open.
Whoever has observed with open eyes and an open mind the actions
of hawks, knows that it will pay the sportsmen well to fill them
with lead at every opportunity. Imitating their mating call--an
easy matter--is the most satisfactory method of getting them within
range, and it is also a very entertaining pastime during the close
season. The hunter selects a good cover for himself in a locality
which he knows or suspects to be infested by the pests, and sounds
his _cac-cac-cac_--or, _kee-kee-kee-e-e_--dependent upon which
variety of eagles or hawks he wishes to call, and if a hawk is
within hearing, he is never long in coming.
[Illustration: SHARP-SHINNED HAWK]
[Illustration: HERON TRACKS. (ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE)
Bittern is the same form, but smaller. (The large drawing is of
the right track.)]
[Illustration: WILSON'S SNIPE]
_Various Birds_
[Illustration: HERON TRACKS. (ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE)
Bittern is the same form, but smaller. (The large drawing is of
the right track.)]
[Illustration: Tracks of (1) Flamingo (one-half natural size).
(2) Plover (one-half natural size). (3) Gull (one-half natural
size). (4) Dove (full size).]
For the sake of comparison, and because also some of them are very
interesting, results of my observations of the tracks of several
birds not of the game class are herewith given.