I could tell you of many such cases, some of which happened to me, others which happened to other hunters. Since I want to keep this as accurate as possible'as near truth as is possible without taxing credibility, always bearing in mind that truth is often stranger than fiction'I am going to tell you of a hunt where I was present, but one in which I did no shooting.
I was hunting with several men, including a man with whom I had often hunted. I will not reveal his name as it might cause him embarrassment, even though I am quite sure that there is a statute of limitations on game-law violations.
When quite near this man, I heard him shoot twice. He was using an automatic shotgun and when he pulled the trigger, anything he was aiming at would usually end up dead. He was one of the best wing shots I ever hunted with. Sometimes he would shoot twice at a particularly big deer, and I supposed that this was what he had done in this case. I waited for a short time, on the off chance that he had missed, for any deer that might be coming my way. I then went over to his position where I found him standing over a nice doe.
Two other men, strangers to me, had arrived there before me. Now this man and I were used to each other's hunting mannerisms, and were close mouthed among strangers'a Yankee habit which gives us an undeserved reputation as rather cold individuals'so that when he maneuvered to a position where the others could not see, and gave me his signal, I knew he had shot two deer. Glancing in the direction of his pointed finger, I could see nothing; however, I made no investigation until after the strangers had gone their way.
Later, when he had the opportunity, he told me of shooting two deer and of having the disappointment of watching a big buck pass by and not daring to shoot at it because of the possibility of being caught with two in plain sight. We dressed out the doe, and then went towards the spot where the other deer had been lying. Before we reached the place, a fawn jumped up and bounded away into the thick woods. We were both so surprised that we stood rooted and watched it disappear. That fawn had been slightly wounded and when it had recovered from the initial shock, it had reverted to babyhood and stayed hidden and quiet until we approached its hiding place.
The big disappointment for this man was that he had not waited for the buck, but he had a good alibi. The buck was a long, long minute behind the doe, and when you think of the distance a deer can travel in that time, you can see that he was wise in taking the doe when he had the chance and not waiting for a buck which might not come.
Most of the time, the opportunity doesn't come twice. And this also happen with the hunting. Use the opportunity in the maximize way; this will make the bigger chance for the hunter to get the result.
I made no attempt to keep track of my wanderings and I never recognized any of the natural landmarks in the region or met any other hunter who could give me my location. On the sixth day, I made my way out of the woods at a point which was about four miles from the place where I had entered. I did not carry a compass on the trip and I never knew my exact location, although I was never lost in the sense that I did not know the general direction out of the woods.
I was able to kill plenty of meat, but I was not able to eat by the clock. One night I was forced to spend the night with an empty stomach. Most of the rabbits which I snared were caught only to feed foxes and owls. I was able to retrieve two for my own use and the rest of my food was procured by shooting. I lost five pounds during my "ordeal" and I am sure that this was caused by an unbalanced diet rather than from any lack of sufficient food. I missed coffee, fruit and vegetables and my intake of meat increased as the end of the week neared, so that if I had remained for a longer period of time, I might have had trouble in shooting enough game for my needs.
This experience gave me enough confidence in my self so that I have never had fear of the woods since that time. Possibly I lacked the intelligence to recognize any existing danger and I probably lacked the imagination that would cause me to fear any possible danger before it actually materialized. In any case, it showed me that there is a big difference between being in the woods voluntarily and in being lost. This difference is in a man's mental attitude and if a lost man can overcome this fear of danger, the danger itself will disappear. If a lost man can take care of himself until the sun comes out, he can usually find his way out of the woods by himself'if searchers have not yet found him. If others do not know that he is lost, and there is no search, it is necessary for him to depend on his own efforts.
Following streams out of the woods is one way to reach civilization. This is often difficult yet usually sure. I prefer to follow the ridges where the vegetation is less troublesome and the visibility is better. Most of these ridges follow the general course of the streams and may be followed without the trouble of wading swamps and crossing streams, something which the stream follower is sure to encounter.
If a lost man can take care of himself until the sun comes out, he can usually find his way out of the woods by himself'if searchers have not yet found him. If others do not know that he is lost, and there is no search, it is necessary for him to depend on his own efforts.
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