FRANKLIN'S GBOUSE. 57 



southern limit at iibout latitude 45°. Eastwnrd it i-auo-es tliroua'h the hlf>-her 

 mountains of uortlierii and central Idaho, and northwestern Montana to the 

 Belt range. In Alaska, north of latitude 60°, it is replaced by DeHdragapus 

 canadensis, wliich likewise reaches the coast here, and the present species occu- 

 pies but a conij)aratively small portion of this extensive territory. Within the 

 United States, Franklin's Grouse is perhaps most common in suitable localities 

 throughout northern and central Idaho, in the almost imi)enetral)le and densely 

 timbei'ed mountain ranges jjordering the IrMd waters of the north and .south 

 forks of the Clearwater, and tlic tributaries of the Salmon River. Throuo-hout 

 this region this species is known as the "Fool Hen;" an eminently proper and 

 well-deserved name, it being entirely unsuspicious, adowing- itself frequently 

 to be knocked off the trees with sticks or stones, and it can often be cauo-ht 

 by iiand. 



My friend. Dr. T. E. Wilcox, U. S. Army, says: "The cocks of this species 

 are fearless and pugnacious, refusing to flee from man, and even attacking an 

 intruder. I huxe been able to get within 3 or 4 feet before they would hop 

 to another branch or twig. I always found them near running water or along 

 the borders of high marshes. Its flight is not noisy like that of other Grouse 

 or Partridges." 



Mr. George Bird Grinnell says: "When alarmed or uneasy, Franklin's 

 Grouse, as well as the Uusky Grouse, has the habit of erecting the feathers of 

 the neck just l)elow the head. This is done very commonly, and gives the bird 

 a very odd appearance. It is analogous to the habit of the Rufl'ed Grouse, 

 which, under the influence of certain emotions, erects the black ruff', and as 

 does the Pinnated Grouse its little falciform feathers on the neck." 



While stationed at Fort Lapwai, Idaho, from 1SG8 to 1871, I saw these 

 birds on several occasions, and learned a good deal al)out them from pack- 

 ers and trappers. In those days the town of Lewiston, situated at the junc- 

 tion of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers, 11 miles west of Fort Lapwai, 

 was the main supply depot for the various mining camps in northern Idaho, 

 and every pound of freight for the mines had to be carried there on jiack 

 mules. The main trails to Oro Fino, Florence, and Warrens, the three 

 principal mining centers at that time, passed right through the garrison, and 

 it was no unusual sight for a half dozen pack trains, numbering a couple of 

 hundred mules, to pass l)y there in a day. The route followed by these 

 trains passed, for a j)ortion of the way at least, over as rough and rugged a 

 country as can be found anywhere, up one mountain and down another; 

 some places being so rocky and steep that it seemed impossible for the 

 heavily laden mules to keep their footing, and the umlerbrush so dense and 

 thick on either side that it was almost impenetrable. The few narrow moun- 

 tain valleys met with were no better. The melting of the deep snows ren- 

 dered them nearly bottomless during the greater portion of the summer, 

 making them a shaking, trembling quagmire in which the ])oor nudes floun- 

 dered up to their bellies in mud and mire. If }'ou desired to l)ecome 



