no breaking of branches or dead twigs to improve the shoot-ability of one's position. If we found it necessary to do a littleclearing or blind building, we should do the clearing or cut-ting with a knife and cut our way through. A dead brancheven cut with a knife gave a noisy crack if the cutter workedtoo fast or didn't cut both ways.
The drives were usually short and deer might be closer tothe posters than to the drivers. A deer could hear a voice along way, or a cough or a sneeze. These and the cracking oftwigs would be plenty warning to a deer to keep away fromthat area.
John also impressed upon us the value of concealment. Onthis matter deer hunters differ. Some say (mostly rifle hunt-ers), "Just stand perfectly still and the deer won't see you evenif you are in the open." This might happen occasionally in thecase of a driven deer spooked by a fusillade of rifle shots. Awily old buck or doe forced down wind against his or her willuses eyes to good advantage. Even such a smart one might mis-take an immovable man for a tree stub if there were other treestubs in his vicinity. That man from then on tells of the pooreyesight possessed by deer.
