The Reaches of the Prairie 131 



in the face of perils of frost and flood is beyond my wit to 

 explain. 



The prairie-chickens and the quail are still abundant 

 throughout the Middle West. In some of the states good 

 laws have resulted in an increase in quail numbers, and the 

 prairie-chickens in many sections fairly may be said to be 

 holding their own. These birds live veritably in the shadow 

 of death. They are shot ruthlessly, and yet they have learned 

 to match their own cunning against that of man. They are 

 in very truth game birds, and one cannot scrape acquaintance 

 with them on the same terms with which he meets the robin 

 and the bluebird. Nevertheless, that walk afield in the cool 

 of the evening will lack much when the whistle of Bob-White 

 fails to come down the wind from the fence post near the 

 corn field. 



There are places in plenty on the Grand Prairie where 

 birds that are not essentially field lovers make their homes. 

 Along the tree-bordered streams, in the trees of the village 

 streets, and about the farm-houses may be found nearly the 

 whole range of songsters, with the woodpeckers, the flycatch- 

 ers and the rest. It was while on an outing for the purpose of 

 getting nearer the hearts of the prairie birds that I had an 

 interesting experience with the members of a bird family, that 

 I was going to say wouldn't know a prairie if they saw it. I 

 stayed for a month in the early summer in a little village on 

 the Grand Prairie. I lived during my stay in what was half 

 hotel, half farm-house. At one time in the life of the pro- 

 prietor it was his determination to have his place as hotel-like 

 as circumstances would admit, and to this end he had put up 

 a real lamp-post which held in position a steady light for 

 the direction of possible travelers. Not many guests were 



