186 AMERICAISr GAME BIRD SHOOTING. 



their plumage in April, brown feathers then making their 

 appearance on the neck and the edges of the wings. The 

 Aleutian Indians capture them by hundreds at certain 

 seasons, by using snares made of twisted sinews of 

 deer. These are made into running looj^s and fastened 

 to poles, each pole being ])alanced between two branches 

 of a tree, and caught over another pole placed horizon- 

 tally, by means of a small pin which is tied to the snare. 

 Euslies are tlien piled on each side of the tracks in which 

 the birds run, in order to induce them to pass through 

 , the spot 111 which the snare is set. Should they touch 

 the snare, the pin is loosened, the heavy end of the pole 

 falls, and they are swung into the air, where they hang 

 until the Indians take them away. The number of 

 grouse destroyed in a year by the red men cannot even 

 be estimated, but, judging from the constant warfare 

 waged against them, it must be very large. The 

 birds of Alaska are not so finely flavored as the more 

 eastern species, owing to the exclusive character of 

 their food, which is mainly composed of willow buds. 

 They are fond of frequenting sandy spots during the 

 day, if the wind is not too high and biting, and at 

 night they seek refuge in the thickets, or under the snow, 

 into which they work their way for a distance of three or 

 four yards, in order to secure shelter and avoid the at- 

 tacks of foes. This species is partially migratory in por- 

 tions of the extreme northern countries, but in New- 

 foundland and sections of Canada it is not so to any 

 appreciable extent; hence, it is within easy distance 

 of some of the smaller villages, and is quite abundant 

 in districts remote from settlements. 



The rock, or mountain ptarmigan {Lagopns rvpesfris) 

 is much more boreal in habitat than the preceding, its 

 favorite haunts being the region north of the fifty-first 

 parallel. It is a regular denizen of Alaska and the 

 north-western division of British America, and descends 



