It is idle at this late date to bewail the loss of this noble game-bird. Its ways 

 were to a certain extent incompatible with those of civilization. Experience has 

 amply proven that the rural portion of a community will not stand the sole burden 

 of support of a grain-eating bird, which genteel sportsmen from the city are 

 allowed to slaughter at periodical seasons — and there is an end of discussion. 

 Apparently the only alternative lies in imported birds of various sorts (the tamer 

 the better), and in private game-preserves. 



Fortunately the species under consideration has been fully studied in the 

 prairie states farther west, and the brief sketch which follows is based chiefly on 

 observations in Illinois and Iowa. 



During the first days of April a mellow rolling boom comes over the prairies 

 in the early morning or late afternoon hours. If the birds are plentiful the soft 

 ook-ah-oom-hoo-hoo-oo-oo may sound from several scratching-grounds or 

 "walks" at once. In the corner of some large meadow or on some prairie knoll 

 a company of twenty or thirty cocks and hens are gathered, the former bustling 

 and bursting with excitement, the latter affecting utter indifference. 



The cocks ruffle all their feathers, throw forward the erectile feather-tufts 

 of the neck, inflate the distensible air-sacs until they look like ripe oranges ; then 

 rush forward across the ball-room floor with lowered heads and scraping wings 

 while the air escapes in that tender, penetrating sob which reverberates a mile 

 away. As the show proceeds the ladies get interested, yield somewhat of their 

 frigid manner, and move about coyly among the strutting gallants. At the first 

 few dances only pleasant mutual acquaintance is promoted, but on subsequent 

 occasions, as attentions become more serious, conflicting interests are sure to be 

 developed among rival cocks, and fierce and bloody battles ensue. To the victor 

 belongs the choice of maidens, and that, too, on a generous scale. Of course, 

 under such circumstances conjugal fidelity is a thing unknown, and it becomes a 

 marvel that the females will pay daily visits to the scene of these disgraceful 

 scrimmages. 



The female hides her nest in some grass tussock of the open prairie, or in a 

 deep, feather-lined depression at the edge of a swale, and sits closely upon ten or 

 a dozen eggs. When thoroughly frightened from her nest she is not likely to 

 return, or if she does, and finds the eggs handled, she will break them up in dis- 

 gust. Incubation is completed in from three to four weeks, and the little brood 

 is promptly led off to forage or hide at the behest of the wary and devoted 

 mother. 



The flock follows its mother until nearly full grown. As fall comes on sev- 

 eral family troops are merged, and the company thus formed is joined by the 

 hitherto exiled males. Under the contingency of persecution by gunners the flock 

 scatters to right and left, each member rising in turn and making off rapidly with 

 a vocal rattle which adds to the excitement of whirring wings. The bird is capa- 

 ble of sustained flights of several miles, much of which is accomplished by stiff 

 downward sails of long duration. In the prairie states west of the Mississippi 

 the females and young-of-the-year retire several degrees south in winter, but the 

 hardier males usually endure the rigors of the season in the North. 



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