588 VUCK SHOOTING. 



continue to roam the plains for many, many years; 

 but, as a matter of fact, it took only three or four years 

 to destroy these millions in this region. Of course, 

 after a time, migratory wildfowl learn to avoid regions 

 where they are continually persecuted, and, no doubt, 

 this has been the case with the geese and the ducks 

 which formerly spent weeks along the Platte River, 

 remaining until driven South by the freezing up of the 

 waters. 



By this time the fowl had become so scarce in many 

 parts of the Middle West that gunners almost gave up 

 looking for them, and turned their thoughts to more 

 distant regions, the newly-settled wheat lands of North 

 Dakota, for example; where, had it not been for the 

 wisdom of that State in limiting the number of birds 

 to be killed by one man in a day, the story of the Platte 

 River might have been told over again. 



This is one example of the effect on fowl shooting 

 of the settling up of the country, and the bringing dis- 

 tant localities within the reach of the gunner. Another 

 and still more potent cause of decrease, is the advance 

 of the settlements, which makes it impossible for the 

 birds to build their nests and hatch their young where 

 they did formerly. 



The story of many Atlantic coast shooting grounds 

 that were formerly famous is similar to that of the 

 Platte River. Yet, on these shooting grounds, the de- 

 struction has not been so complete, since the far greater 

 extent of water makes it impossible for gunners to oc- 

 cupy the feeding grounds of the birds, as they did 



