166 AMERICAK GAME BIRD SHOOTING. 



strnction, rather than get over it by flymg. Hundreds 

 of grouse may be caught in a week by this simj)le device, 

 especially if the traps are carefully looked after, and reset 

 every time that a haul is made. These fences are the 

 bane of sportsmen, who look upon them with such con- 

 tempt that they seldom fail to hurl them down whenever 

 they are met. Notwithstanding the numerous foes 

 against which the ruffed grouse has to contend, it is as 

 abundant as ever on the Pacific Coast. Looking at 

 the character of the country beyond the Kocky Moun- 

 tains, it would be safe to assert that this bird must be 

 numerous for many years to come, and for this reason, 

 that it can always procure a generous supply of food and 

 ample shelter; that it increases rapidly, is solitary in 

 habit, and very vigilant; that it has a vast and trackless 

 empire to itself; and, finally, that population is scarce in 

 its haunts. 



I have shot the bird frequently in various sections of 

 the Continent west of the Rocky Mountains, but the 

 largest bag I ever made in a day was in Humboldt 

 County, California. Two friends and myself, while pass- 

 ing through the country, stopped one day at the cabin of 

 a man who shot game, principally deer and birds, for the 

 market. His loickinp, as he called it, nestled in a lovely 

 glade near a dense forest, and was five miles from the 

 nearest house. Although this man seldom saw a human 

 being, except when he went to the nearest town to dis- 

 pose of his game, he was sociable and hospitable, and 

 had a grim humor which was more suggestive than as- 

 sertive. He thought no life compared with that of a 

 hunter, as it was free from care and trouble, and inde- 

 pendent in the fullest sense of the word. His idea of 

 existence was that: — 



"If thou would'st read a lesson that will keep 



Thy heart from fainting aud thy soul from sleep, 

 Go to the woods and hilJs." 



