However, he pointed out the track of a large buck among
the many others, and told me that from the manner in which this buck
had started off he was certain the animal had been wounded. As the
ground was beaten in every direction by animals, it was only after a
tedious search that we found where the buck had struck off. But no
blood was seen until, passing through a thicket of willows, he
observed a drop upon a leaf, and next a little more. He then began to
examine more strictly, to find out in what part of the body the
animal had been wounded; and, judging by the height and other signs,
he told me the wound must have been somewhere between the shoulder and
neck. We advanced about a mile, but saw nothing of the deer, and no
more blood. I was for giving up the chase; but he assured me the wound
was mortal, and that if the animal should lie down he could not rise
again. We proceeded two miles farther, when, coming out upon a small
open space, he told me the animal was at no great distance, and very
probably in this meadow. We accordingly advanced a few yards, and
there we found the deer lying at the last gasp. The wound was exactly
as I had been told. The sagacity of the Saulteurs [Ojibwes] in tracing
big wood animals is astonishing. I have frequently witnessed
occurrences of this nature; the bend of a leaf or blade of grass is
enough to show the hunter the direction the game has taken.
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