THE SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 83 



slope of he^ivy prairlc-grass mixed with ferns and 

 flowers, making the best of cover to induce the 

 birds to He. Even as we looked upon it the 

 slow swing of the dog's tail ceased and his eyes 

 began to look serious. He raised his head and 

 smelt the air with deep satisfaction. Then look- 

 ing around at us for an instant, he started on at 

 a slow pace. A hundred yards he went, with 

 tail becoming slower and slower in its oscillation 

 and legs more and more draggy. Another fifty 

 yards he went, then stood for a moment with 

 nose upraised to the cool western breeze. Ex- 

 pecting the birds to lie close after such a long 

 flight and in such long cover, we moved up to 

 the dog. But all was silent except great sheets 

 of wild pigeons, from the vast roost on the Chip- 

 pewa bottoms, that made the air hiss as they 

 darkened the sky above us. After standing a 

 moment the dog broke his point, went slowly 

 ahead for another hundred yards, and there he 

 gradually settled to a point more rigid than the 

 last, with certainty in every wrinkle of his nose. 

 We went to where we thought the birds were 

 hidden, but nothing moved. Had it been two 

 weeks earlier they might have been lying in the 



