78 FRANK SCHLEY'S PARTRIDGE AND PHEASANT SHOOTING, 



birds, make him go slowly; if you do not, he will be almost 

 sure to flush them wild, and they will get up too far in 

 advance to get any kind of a shot at them, and should 

 they fly, it will then be a toss up whether you will find 

 them again inside of an hour, or find them at all. When 

 the dog is on the trail, if he attempts to run, or go fast, 

 check him, and make him go slow, and follow him up 

 close, and make as little noise when following as possible. 

 When the birds come to long grass, brushwood, thicket, or 

 swamp, there are nine chances out of ten, that then hero 

 the}" will stop and settle, and when the dog gets up to 

 them and points, if he is broken properly, as he should be, 

 so that he will obe^- the command, all you have to do, is to 

 hie him in, and flush the birds and scatter them; then they 

 will lie for the dog to point them; and if the dog goes in 

 at the command with a rush, as he should go, this will 

 scatter the covey, and they will fly in all directions; and 

 when they get up fire at them, and take your chances on 

 using them up, in marking them down, and in following 

 after them, as soon as the gun is recharged. In this way 

 I have often broken up many covios that were wild and 

 running, and have had good sport with them. When the 

 snow covers the ground, and a crust is formed on the top 

 of it, I have seen covies act much in the same manner. 

 The snow covers up their hiding places, and changes the 

 appearance of their haunts, and they get confounded, and 

 do not know where to go. They, however, all keep to- 

 gether, and run over its surface, and are generally very 

 wild, and they will but seldom allow a dog to get close 

 enough to point them, but will fly and alight, and com- 

 mence running again, before the dog gets up to them. 

 Whenever you come across covies on the snow, that are 

 disposed to act in this way, the onl}' plan to pursue, to be 

 successful, is to call the dog in, and keep hira behind you, 

 and follow them up. On coming up to the covey, if they 

 rise, fire into it, and scatter the birds. If they fly to a hill 

 or mountain side with a southern exposure, where the* 

 snow is soft, or to a broken hillside where there are pro- 



