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PAGES OF HARE LORE
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distance which may separate any two tracks of one of these animals, either one made by a hare, or one made by one of the rabbits. On such a prairie as I have just referred to I have, on numerous occasions, fired at these animals when they have been running, and at the same time beyond the range of my fowling-piece; such a shot almost invariably has the effect of so alarming the game as to make it run at its very best rate of speed, and, upon coming up with the tracks they have left on the snow at such times, I have been surprised at the distances they can clear at each individual leap. Under these conditions I once measured the spaces cleared by an old Mexican hare, and found the first two equalled twelve feet a piece, while the third effort was rather more than thirteen feet, and I have never known this species to exceed this, although I have tested not a few of them. Of course the rabbit cannot compete with such magnificent gymnastics as this: it will, however, when thus frightened, make leaps of fully six feet; and on one occasion I measured one on the dead-level prairie which was rather more than seven feet. At their common rate of going the hare rarely clears more than four feet at any single leap, while the rabbit is satisfied with rather more than two feet, and when quietly feeding about the sage-brush the tracks made by an