TREEING A GROUSE. 45 



It was in October, and the snow was just be- 

 ginning to mantle the hilltops in the livery of 

 the Frost-king, warning bird and beast that it 

 was time to retire into valley-quarters for winter. 

 The grouse had come down from the hills, and 

 were lying in the long prairie-grass, about a rifle- 

 shot from the edge of the bush. They rose 

 before my dog singly, and went off to the covert 

 like a ball. I had No. 5 shot, and I soon found 

 I could not venture to let them go very far. I 

 made, however, a very fair bag, finishing off with 

 some mallard and bald-pates, as I recrossed the 

 prairie to my camping-ground. 



A great qualification in an Indian or trapper's 

 dog is ' to tree a grouse ;' the dog flushes them, 

 and the grouse perch at once upon the branches 

 just above the dog's head, and peer down stu- 

 pidly at him, craning their long necks to get a 

 peep at the intruder thinking, doubtlessly, what 

 a rare and curious animal it is. The dog, looking 

 up as the fox did at the crow in the fable, barks 

 and yaps with all his might ; this induces the 

 gunner to come and see what it all means, and 

 he too spies the grouse. If care is used to shoot 

 the under birds, often three or four may be killed 

 before the others are sufficiently awake to their 

 danger to fly off. 



