LURING WILD ANIMALS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 670, 20 May 1914, Page 7

LURING WILD ANIMALS.

VARIOUS NOISES AND CALLS IMITATED BY INDIANS OF NEWFOUNDLAND.

The Indians have a call or tolc for nearly every animal. They can bring a fox right up to within 2l) yards by making a sibilant r.oise produced by sucking the back of the hand. Reynard takes it to be the cry of a mouse in difficulties, and seldom fails to advance close to the sound.

Stag caribou are toled by grunting loudly in two different ways, a vocal effort which requires little 'skill or practice on the imitator's part. The "herd" stag will quickly answer the , caller and advance for a short distance, but the *'* travelling" stag will come very close if the calls arc properly made at suitable intervals.

Wild geese can be called when they first arrive in the Spring by waving a white rag and imitating : their "honking" call, but after the first fortnight-, they take little notice of the lure. A small white dog is also attractive to geese in tho Spring, and one Indian I know has killed numbers of these birds by using one for decoy.

Beavers, when tliey have been undisturbed for long, are very cuiious in relation to strange sounds. They will corne swimming out of their house even at the firing of a gun. The Indians nsually call them with a hissing noise or one produced by munching the lips. Another favourite tole is a sound made by tapping the trousers with the hand. The most successful beaver-caller in Newfoundland killed great numbers of ibeavers, in the open season, by making a sound that resembled the cutting oi" chips off a tree - is said that tho unfortunate beavers never failed to respond to this noise. ! The Indian has no call for tha lynx,, but one or two of ih.";n can attract the otter by 'imiluuag its shrill : whistle.—Join O. MMuir, in "Newfouatiia:iu and Its Vntrcduen "-v ay a."