104 AMERlCAlSr GAME BIHD SHOOTING. 



to account for this peculiar sound, for, according to his 

 idea, in this form of flight the webs of each stiffened 

 feathers of the pinions are set obliquely, and the fila- 

 ments acting like taut harp strings, the air current pro- 

 duced in falling plays upon them so effectively as to pro- 

 duce a metallic resonance. These birds do not jerk their 

 tails like their congeners, the ruffed grouse, and do not 

 burrow in the snow, but keep in trees throughout the 

 winter, except in those regions where snow is rarely seen, 

 and there they never change their habits, owing to the 

 comparative abundance of food, and the mildness of the 

 climate. 



I have spent many an hour in quest of the dusky 

 grouse in the dense forests of the Far West, but the best 

 bag that I ever made in a day was sixteen brace, and the 

 majority of these were shot from the tops of towering 

 firs and spruces. How I came to be so unusually suc- 

 cessful might as well be related in full, as it had features 

 which were quite pleasant and the reverse. Tlie first in- 

 timation that I had of my good fortune Avas an invitation 

 from a party of four gentlemen to join them on a 

 " shoot " for a week or more in the woods, it being their 

 intention to camp out all the time, in order to be both 

 able to commune with Nature and to kill game. I did 

 not feel at the time as if I could accept the invitation, 

 owing to the fact that more pressing matters required my 

 attention; but after arguing the case with myself for two 

 hours or more, I finally decided to accompany them, 

 though somewhat against my better judgment. Had I 

 had a friend to tie me in my room, as Ulysses of old was 

 tied to the mast by his followers, in order that he might 

 not be lured away by the songs of the sirens when he 

 was passing the enchanted island, I might have resisted 

 the temptation presented to me, but not having one, and 

 the flesh being weak, I concluded to follow my weakness. 



Having sent a note to that effect, the party called at 



