When The Dew Is
Heavy Upon The Ground At Break Of Day, You Are Strolling Noiselessly
Along With The Rifle, Scanning The Wide Plains And Searching The Banks
Of The Pools And Streams For Foot-Marks Of The Spotted Deer.
Upon
discovering the tracks their date is immediately known, the vicinity of
the game is surmised, the tracks are followed up, and the herd is at
length discovered.
The wind is observed; dry leaves crumbled into powder
and let fall from the hand detect the direction if the slightest air is
stirring, and the approach is made accordingly. Every stone, every bush
or tree or tuft of grass, is noted as a cover for an advance, and the
body being kept in a direct line with each of these objects, you
approach upon hands and knees from each successive place of shelter till
a proper distance is gained. The stalking is the most exciting sport in
the world. I have frequently heard my own heart beat while creeping up
to a deer. He is an animal of wonderful acuteness, and possessing the
keenest scent; he is always on the alert, watching for danger from his
stealthy foe the leopard, who is a perfect deer-stalker.
To kill spotted deer well, if they are tolerably wild, a person must be
a really good rifle shot, otherwise wise he will wound many, but seldom
bag one. They are wonderfully fast, and their bounding pace makes them
extremely difficult to hit while running.
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