ANIMALS SOON RECOVER FROM WOUNDS 229 him owing to darkness. The next day I stuck to him from soon after daylight to nearly dark, but he always chose an impossible thicket to hide in, and in the end the bleeding stopped and I lost him for good, owing to his tracks becoming confused with those of other deer, He could not have been so badly injured as it first appeared, and the chances are he recovered. Wounding a beast and not putting it out of its pain as soon as possible is the essence of abhorrence to every decent sportsman, but, even if you fail in your endeavours to find a wounded animal, it is some consolation to know that they most certainly do not feel pain or suffer from shock anything like as much as a human being. It is marvellous with what rapidity nature heals horrible wounds in animals and birds—wounds that a man, no matter how hardy and strong, would soon die of unless a surgeon’s aid were quickly obtained. Wild ducks, pheasants, and other birds that have badly shattered wings, broken legs, and other wounds, are soon flying again unless they fall a prey to vermin. Deer, too, recover from fractured ribs and compound fractures of limbs in an astounding way. Beaver, musk rats, otter, and other animals that spend much of their time in the water seem the least sensible to pain of any animals, and recuperate in even shorter time. Some years ago I had a most instructive lesson in the healing powers of animals, and of beaver in particular, A number of beaver were required for an exhibition, and it fell to me to secure them. Now beaver, as well as several other species of fur-bearers, invariably gnaw off the leg that is held by a trap unless precautions are taken so that they are either drowned or killed the instant they are caught. However, as the beaver in question had to be secured alive, a method had to be adopted so that they should not be injured unnecessarily. The trap was therefore set to a “spring pole,” on which was hung a bell. When a beaver was caught it would be slung up off the ground, the bell would ring, and a man who was waiting near by would make a rush for the trap. The beaver was then dropped into a sack