34^ Foreign Game 



United States Consul-General at Shanghai, was 

 prominent among the sportsmen interested in 

 the Americanizing of the long-tailed Mongolians. 

 The first lot of birds, as nearly as I can remem- 

 ber, numbered about fifty pairs. In this lot were 

 half a dozen species — the ringneck, the green 

 Japanese, the copper, the Tragopan, the silver, 

 and the golden. The birds were controlled by 

 the old Multnomah Rod and Gun Club, and were 

 placed on Protection Island in Puget Sound. A 

 game-keeper had charge of the pheasantry, and 

 later, when the club ceased to exist, he paid him- 

 self arrears of wages by leasing the pheasant- 

 shooting to some western men. The birds, how- 

 ever, thrived, and their descendants are plentiful 

 to-day. Later Judge Denny sent a shipment of 

 ringnecks, and these birds were turned over to a 

 number of Oregon farmers, who gave the new 

 arrivals a proper chance. As a result Oregon, 

 west of the Cascade range, has pheasants in 

 abundance, and there are plenty of the birds at 

 other points from Vancouver Island southward. 

 They are as hardy as the native grouse, thrive 

 upon the same food, and furnish very fair sport. 

 The worst feature about them is their love of 

 sprinting. For all-round running ability, the 

 Mongolian pheasant is no mean rival of a trout 

 brook in fine condition. He eats a considerable 

 quantity of grain too ; but for this he more than 



