SHOOTING THE PRAIRIE GROUSE 419 
by a white chalk-like bluff, some two miles to the right 
of our trail, which I visited and examined. Near it 
was a warm spring, which came out of the hillside, and, 
spreading over the prairie, kept a few acres green and 
fresh, strongly contrasting with the universal brown of 
the landscape. In this little oasis I found some, to me, 
new flowers, many reptiles, and a considerable number 
of sharp-tailed grouse, of which I killed several, the 
whole presenting attractions sufficiently strong—as we 
were to remain in camp one day—to take me over there 
next morning. I had filled my plant-case with flowers, 
had obtained frogs, and snakes, and chalky infusorial 
earth enough to load down the boy who accompanied 
me, and had enjoyed a fine morning’s sport, dropping 
as many grouse on the prairies as we could conveniently 
carry. Following up the little stream toward the spring 
on the hillside, a dry, treeless surface, with patches of 
sage brush (Artemisia tridentata), I was suddenly 
startled by a great flutter and rush, and a dark bird, 
that appeared to me as large as a turkey, rose from the 
ground near me, and uttering a hoarse hek fiek, flew off 
with an irregular but remarkably well-sustained course. 
“T was just then stooping to drink from the little 
stream, and quite unprepared for game of any kind, 
least of all for such a bird, evidently a grouse, but so 
big and black, so far exceeding all reasonable dimen- 
sions, that I did not think of shooting him, but stood 
with open eyes, and, doubtless, open mouth, eagerly 
watching his flight to mark him down. But stop he 
did not—so long as I could see him, now flapping, 
