would get a glimpse of it as it would
move.

Sometimes it would appear white and then a fire red. I could see that
it was coming in my direction. As I always wore steel gray, or what
was commonly known as sheep gray clothing, which is nearly the same
color of most large timber, I stepped to a large hemlock tree, leaned
close against the tree, set my gun down close to my side and stood
waiting to see whether the thing was natural or otherwise.

It was not long before I could see that I had been frightened without
any real cause, for it was a hunter who had dressed in fantastic
array to put a spell on or charm the deer. He had on a long snow
white overshirt and had tied a fire red cloth over his hat and a
black sash was tied about his waist. I stood perfectly quiet against
the tree until the man was within a few feet of me, I could no longer
keep from laughing, and I burst out with laughter. The man jerked his
gun from his shoulder as he turned in the direction in which I was
standing and gazed at me for a moment and then said, "You frightened
me." I replied that I guessed that he was no more frightened than I
was when I first caught sight of him.

Well the man explained that he always dressed in that manner when the
underbrush was loaded with snow, as the deer would stand and watch
him with curiosity until he was within gun shot. When in New Mexico
many years after I had tied a red handkerchief to a bush to attract
the curiosity of the antelope, and it reminded me of the hunter that
I had seen working the curiosity dodge on the deer.

That night when I got into camp, Bill had not got in but came soon
after, and he had hardly got the shack door open when he began
roaring with laughter. I inquired what it was that pleased him so.
"Pleased me so?" "I guess I was pleased, and had you seen the dog-on
nondescript that I did, you would have laughed your boots up." I
asked if he had seen the man dressed in red, white and black. Bill
asked, "Did you see it too?" I told him of the hunter that I had met
and talked with. Bill said that he had not been close enough to speak
to it, and he was dog-on if he knew whether it was safe to get too
close to the dog-on thing or not.

We had good tracking snow from this time on during the remainder of
the hunting season. We now each hunted by himself, working as usual
over the ground that would bring us in the locality of our traps,
which we would look after and relieve any fur bearers t