, a plan to make an authentic
record of animal tracks. Armed with printer's ink and paper rolls I
set about gathering a dictionary collection of imprints.

After many failures and much experiment, better methods were devised.
A number of improvements were made by my wife; one was the
substitution of black paint for printer's ink, as the latter dries too
quickly; another was the padding of the paper, which should be light
and soft for very light animals, and stronger and harder for the
heavy. Printing from a mouse, for example, is much like printing a
delicate {196} etching; ink, paper, dampness, etc., must be exactly
right, and furthermore, you have this handicap--you cannot regulate
the pressure. This is, of course, strictly a Zoo method. All attempts
to secure black prints from wild animals have been total failures. The
paper, the smell of paint, etc., are enough to keep the wild things
away.

In the Zoo we spread the black pad and the white paper in a narrow,
temporary lane, and one by one drove, or tried to drive, the captives
over them, securing a series of tracks that are life-size, properly
spaced, absolutely authentic, and capable of yielding more facts as
the observer learns more about the subject.

As related here, all this sounds quite easy. But no one has any idea
how cross, crooked, and contrary a creature can be, until he wishes it
to repeat for him some ordinary things that it has hitherto done
hourly. Some of them balked at the paint, some at the paper, some made
a leap to clear all, and thereby wrecked the entire apparatus. Some
would begin very well, but rush back when half-way over, so as to
destroy the print already made, and in most cases the calmest,
steadiest, tamest of beasts became utterly wild, erratic, and
unmanageable when approached with tracklogical intent.

Trying It on the Cat

Even domestic animals are difficult. A tame cat that was highly
trained to do anything a cat could do, was selected as promising for a
black track study, and her owner's two boys volunteered to get all the
cat tracks I needed. They put down a long roll of paper in a hall,
painted pussy's feet black, and proceeded to chase her up and down.
Her docility banished under the strain. She raced madly about, leaving
long, useless splashes of black; then, leaping to a fanlight, she
escaped up stairs to take refuge among the snowy draperies. After
which the boys' troubles began.

Drawing is Mostly Used

These,