to
whether it was the track of a buck or a doe. Generally, at noon, we met
and compared our game, noting at the same time the peculiar
characteristics of everything we had killed. It was not merely a hunt,
for we combined with it the study of animal life. We also kept strict
account of our game, and thus learned who were the best shots among the
boys.

I am sorry to say that we were merciless toward the birds. We often
took their eggs and their young ones. My brother Chatanna and I once
had a disagreeable adventure while bird-hunting. We were accustomed to
catch in our hands young ducks and geese during the summer, and while
doing this we happened to find a crane's nest. Of course, we were
delighted with our good luck. But, as it was already midsummer, the
young cranes--two in number--were rather large and they were a little
way from the nest; we also observed that the two old cranes were in a
swampy place near by; but, as it was moulting-time, we did not suppose
that they would venture on dry land. So we proceeded to chase the young
birds; but they were fleet runners and it took us some time to come up
with them.

Meanwhile, the parent birds had heard the cries of their little ones
and come to their rescue. They were chasing us, while we followed the
birds. It was really a perilous encounter! Our strong bows finally
gained the victory in a hand-to-hand struggle with the angry cranes;
but after that we hardly ever hunted a crane's nest. Almost all birds
make some resistance when their eggs or young are taken, but they will
seldom attack man fearlessly.

We used to climb large trees for birds of all kinds; but we never
undertook to get young owls unless they were on the ground. The hooting
owl especially is a dangerous bird to attack under these circumstances.

I was once trying to catch a yellow-winged woodpecker in its nest when
my arm became twisted and lodged in the deep hole so that I could not
get it out without the aid of a knife; but we were a long way from home
and my only companion was a deaf-mute cousin of mine. I was about fifty
feet up in the tree, in a very uncomfortable position, but I had to
wait there for more than an hour before he brought me the knife with
which I finally released myself.

Our devices for trapping small animals were rude, but they were often
successful. For instance, we used to gather up a peck or so of large,
sharp-pointed burrs and scatter them in the rabbit's furrow-like path