THE SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 95 



baffffed twelve brace in about three hours in Montana, 

 without the aid of a dog, and I could have done much 

 better if I wished. The number that can be killed when 

 the birds "pack " can only be estimated; and during cold 

 weather, when they are loth to leave their perches, the 

 veriest tyro can slioot them down with as little trouble as 

 he would so many domestic fowl. 



Bagging them in this manner does not, of course, 

 come under the head of sport, no matter how pleasant 

 it may be to the market or pot hunter. I have been out 

 after sharp-tails, late in the autumn or early in winter, 

 when my bag for the day did not amount to more than a 

 brace or two; and I have known others, who knew their 

 haunts very well, and who therefore ought to be more snc- 

 cessful, tell the same story, so that they cannot always be 

 slaughtered in large numbers. They are, on the whole, 

 comparatively easy to kill in the early part of the sea- 

 son; but, later on, they are wild and shy, and flush at 

 such long distances that it requires a good ten-bore gun 

 and a heavy charge of No. 6 shot to bring them down. 



Dogs are almost a necessity for pursuing them with any 

 degree of success, owing to their color, and the habit they 

 have of lying close. A person may be in the midst of a 

 brood, and yet not detect them, although he may be 

 looking directly at them. Their liquid brown eyes 

 chiefly betray them, for they stare at the intruder with 

 an expression of fear, caution, and suspicion. They seem 

 to say, as well as looks can express it, "I wonder if he 

 sees me; I'll keep still for fear he might, as I know that 

 is my only safety. " They appear to have an intuitive feel- 

 ing that their hue is their best protection against 

 enemies, and tJiat humility is safer than daring and de- 

 fiance. I have wandered about among families without 

 flushing them, by moving slowly, and have been amused 

 at the way in which they would s([uat on seeing me, and 

 turn one of their bright brown eyes cunningly upwards, 



