On the Trail: An Outdoor Book for Girls

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ness, keenness of sight and hearing, you may obtain a certain amount of knowledge of their ways, but when you add real sympathy and kindly feeling you gain their confidence and friendship. Make them understand that you will not interfere with or harm them, and they will go about their own affairs unafraid in your presence. Then you may silently watch their manner of living, their often amusing habits, and their frank portrayal of character

ds with a ru

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u must be willing to exercise great patience and conform to their method of hiding by remaining absolutely still. It is the thing that moves tha

s, or the ground sends up unnoticed stones of torment; if your foot "goes to sleep" or your nose itches, bear the annoyances bravely and your reward will be sure and ample. If the wait is unduly long and movement of some kind becomes imperative, let such moveme

efore you. Then it is you will find that, in some mysterious way, all bodily discomfort has vanished. Your whole being is absorbed in the movements of the creature wh

on the

mouse, panther, kangaroo

very-day family life; but you do not know the plot nor how many actor

Found on

the bear, mountain-lion, lynx or wildcat, and the timber-wolf. The wolf is, however, equally at home in the open and at this day is most plentiful on the wide plains of the west. Unless your trail leads through the remote wilderness, you will hardly come across the more savage animals, and when you do invade their territory it will give you greater courage to call to mind the fact that they, as well as the smaller wild things, are afraid of man. Our most experienced h

er w

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the birds prefer the edge of the woods, where they can dip into the sunshine and take long flights through the free air of the open; but the hermit-thrush, shyest and sweetest of singers, makes his home deep in the s

-kwit? Pr-r-r-rt, pr-r-r-rt!

is: "Dum! dum! dum! dum-dum-dum-dumdumdum!" The drum-call is made by the male bird who, beating the air with his wings, pro

y m

the Ruf

ou to peer around and have a good view of your game. It may sometimes be necessary to drop to your knees in order to keep out of sight. If you have heard the drum it is the cock that you have stalked and, if early in the season, you will soon see his demure little mate steal through the underbrush to meet her lordly master as he stands proudly

crest proudly. His shoulders bear epaulets of dark feathers, called the ruff, and his fan-like tail is banded and cross-barred. The nest of the grouse is on the ground, usually against a fallen log, at the foot o

od

, hiding again as quickly as he can. You will know the woodcock from the ruffed grouse by his long bill, his short legs, and his very short tail. He frequents

ng wil

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nging to the marten family called the fisher. These are all interesting, each in its own way, and well worth hours of quiet observation. The beaver, otter, and fisher choose wild

ver is rarely seen early in the day, most of his work is done at night, so the best time to watch for him is just before dusk or perhaps an hour before sundown. It is not well to wait to see the beaver if your trail back to camp is a long one, leading through dense forests. You would far better postpone making its acquaintance than to risk going over the, perhaps, treacherous paths after dark. Night comes early in t

Hawk,

look into it, though, as the accompanying photograph shows, it is sometimes found on rocks near the ground. The young hawks have a way of their own of defending themselves from any climbing creature, and to investigators of the nest the results are disas

e detected near the surface of the water. Fish are fish to the osprey and salt waters or fresh are the same to her. I have watched the bird plunge into the waves of the ocean, on t

e H

gure on the bank. He flies slowly and majestically, with his long legs streaming out behind. When out in a small boat on Puget Sound a large heron escorted us some distanc

l sometimes build

the Tomoca River, Fla., the home of the alligator, when a small, brilliantly blue heron flew

s game. It matters not how long he must remain immovable, there he will stand until the fish comes within stri

eat Nort

ys a matter for guessing when the loon dives, for you can never tell where she will come up. This great diver is a large black-and-white bird, about the size of a goose. The breast is white, head black, and a white ring encircles its black neck. Its beak is long, its legs very short and placed far back on the body. It is essentially a water-bird, and on shore is both slow and awkward. I do not think it possible to become very intimate with the

nd Birds

woodchuck, the rabbit, the fox, and the hare in the fields and farm lands as well as in the woods. The weasel, too, mak

ld-

reature with a thick neck and of a red-brown color. It feeds on grain an

Rat, Jump

ing habits. In the Southwest it is called the kangaroo-rat, but North and East it is known as the jumping mouse. The name kangaroo-rat is given because of its short fore legs, stro

et-G

ong, with long nails for digging. The fur is soft and silky and dark brown in color. Where the gopher is there may be found the weasel, his greatest enemy.

te

and gentle antelope, though that animal is fast disappearing, wh

, Prai

It is a cowardly animal and not dangerous, but its contemptible character could not prevent a wave of compassion that came over me when I saw on

rmo

rts of a village. One variety wears spotted brown and yellow stripes down its back, another is gray, but all are about the size of a gray squirrel. On the w

of the wes

bo

obolink of the north is a sweet singer and is pretty in his black and white feathers with a touch of yellow at the back of his head. There are creamy-yellow feathers down his back, too, but they are not noticeable. When he goes south

dow

a large brown bird with yellow breast and a black crescent on his throat. The meadow-lark is about the size of a quail. He stands erect when he sings,

nged B

-ree-e!" you will also find on the meadows and marshes. He builds his nes

Spa

ng a country road at midday, when most of the other birds are still, you will fi

egin slow, careful movements, gradually becoming more natural, and in time the birds will allow you to walk among them as you please, if you are careful never to frighten them. You can do this in ca