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way, I went directly south toward a pair of small volcanic peaks about 8 miles from the fort.  Followed a small [[strikethrough]]cra[[/strikethrough]] ravine up the slope and placed my poison in suitable places.
The ravine has a dense growth of scruffy alder in every  sheltered nook and these with a crust on the snow just sufficient to not fear ones weight made walking anything made walking anything but pleasant. Otherwise the day was fine.
The tracks of numerous foxes and two wolves were seen and numerous mouse tracks of several species and also numerous tracks of the minute Shraw found here in abundance.
Ptarmigan were very numerous but shy, flying long before I was within range.
I found numerous places where they had stopped the night before, always in coveys and always in an open space near or surrounded by bushes.  Here they would nestle into the snow making a cup shaped hollow just the size of their bodies so that their backs would be just on a level with the surface. Each cavity contained a little heap of excrement showing that the place had been occupied all night.  In no instance did I see a cavity placed where its occupant did not have an unobstructed opportunity