g is by no means poor sport. It is the most common kind
practised in the United States, because the squirrel is the most common
game. In that country it takes the place that snipe or partridge
shooting holds in England. In my opinion it is a sport superior to
either of these last, and the game, when killed, is not much less in
value. Good fat squirrel can be cooked in a variety of ways, and many
people prefer it to feathered game of any kind. It is true the squirrel
has a rat-like physiognomy, but that is only in the eyes of strangers to
him. A residence in the backwoods, and a short practice in the eating
of squirrel pot-pie, soon removes any impression of that kind. A hare,
as brought upon the table-cloth in England, is far more likely to
produce _degout_--from its very striking likeness to "puss," that is
purring upon the hearth-rug.

In almost all parts of the United States, a day's squirrel-shooting may
be had without the necessity of making a very long journey. There are
still tracts of woodland left untouched, where these animals find a
home. In the Western States a squirrel-hunt may be had simply by
walking a couple of hundred yards from your house, and in some places
you may shoot the creatures out of the very door.

To make a successful squirrel-hunt two persons at least are necessary.
If only one goes out, the squirrel can avoid him simply by "dodging"
round the trunk, or any large limb of the tree. When there are two, one
remains stationary, while the other makes a circuit, and drives the game
from the opposite side. It is still better when three or four persons
make up the party, as then the squirrel is assailed on all sides, and
can find no resting-place, without seeing a black tube levelled upon
him, and ready to send forth its deadly missile.

Some hunt the squirrel with shot-guns. These are chiefly young hands.
The old hunter prefers the rifle; and in the hands of practised marksmen
this is the better weapon. The rifle-bullet, be it ever so small, kills
the game at once; whereas a squirrel severely peppered with shot will
often escape to the tree where its hole is, and drop in, often to die of
its wounds. No creature can be more tenacious of life--not even a cat.
When badly wounded it will cling to the twigs to its last breath, and
even after death its claws sometimes retain their hold, and its dead
body hangs suspended to the branch!

The height from which a squirrel will leap to the g