94 PHEASANT SHOOTING. 



rocks, layers of mauve, maroon, yellow and green shale, interbedded 

 with coal seams, overlying heavy masses of blue limestone. Woods of 

 pine, spruce, birch and poplar stretch along many of the ridges, while, 

 elsewhere thick hazel scrub, dwarf oak or thorn brush afford good 

 cover. These patches of vegetation are interspersed with stretches of 

 bare crumbling rock, or once cultivated terraces, upon which thick, rank 

 grass and brambles grow in profusion. So wild is the spot, one can 

 completely forget that within half a day's march lies a great city, so 

 that it fulfils one of the chief requirements of a holiday resort. 



It came about one fine afternoon early in the autumn 

 season, that three of us found ourselves riding westward with 

 the hopes of enjoying a restful change in a few days sport 

 mid these delightful surroundings. Arrived at the temple, we 

 made ourselves comfortable, and early next morning commenced 

 our shooting. We found the pheasants reasonably plentiful, and en- 

 joyed ourselves thoroughly. Amongst other things a small flock of 

 eared-pheasants was raised, from which I succeeded in bagging a fine 

 cock. Several woodcock were flushed, and one or two brought to bag, 

 while hares, after the first two or three that got up had been potted, 

 were ignored as being unworthy of further notice. One of our party 

 was a Frenchman, a tolerably good shot, and a most amusing fellow. 

 He put up a small pig towards the end of the day, and was much an- 

 noyed when we told him he had only seen an unusually large hare. 

 Our chaff, however, brought woe in its train, for two days later, when 

 a really magnificent boar jumped up in front of our friend, so determin- 

 ed was he that we should see it for ourselves, that he stood calling 

 to us instead of shooting, and the tusker escaped over the nearest) 

 ridge. 



For several days we ranged the \;\ood8 and pine spinnies, the 

 dense valley bottoms, or the higher rocky ridges. Most of the time 

 we carried rifles in the hopes of getting a pig or deer, but finally on 

 our last day we decided to devote our energies entirely to pheasants 

 and other small game. 



By this time we knew exactly where all the best coverts were, 

 and so, as dawn broke, lost no time in getting to work. Our first beat 

 flushed a bouquet of some thirty or forty birds, from which we bagged 

 five, the two Britishers making a right and left each, while the French- 

 man secured a good cock. Our friend was not to be despised, however, 

 for he drew level and passed us in the next beat, when four more birds 

 were added to the bag. We were now at the end of a long rocky ridge. 

 In front and below us lay the bare loess foothills, while behind us 

 stretched a long pine wood. On either side were scrub-filled ravines, 



