7 Grouse. 



but, after all, when one is hunting for one's dinner he takes 

 an interest in his success which he would otherwise lack, 

 and on both occasions I felt a most unsportsman-like glee 

 when I found how many I had potted. 



The habits of this prairie fowl vary greatly at differ- 

 ent seasons of the year. It is found pretty much every- 

 where within moderate distance of water, for it does not 

 frequent the perfectly dry wastes where we find the great 

 sage cock. But it is equally at home on the level prairie 

 and among the steep hills of the Bad Lands. When on 

 the ground it has rather a comical look, for it stands very 

 high on its legs, carries its sharp little tail cocked up like 

 a wren's, and when startled stretches its neck out straight ; 

 altogether it gives one the impression of being a very an- 

 gular bird. Of course it crouches, and moves about when 

 feeding, like any other grouse. 



One of the strangest, and to me one of the most attrac- 

 tive, sounds of the prairie is the hollow booming made by 

 the cocks in spring. Before the snow has left the ground 

 they begin, and at the break of morning their deep reso- 

 nant calls sound from far and near, for in still weather they 

 can be heard at an immense distance. I hardly know how 

 to describe the call ; indeed it cannot be described in 

 words. It has a hollow, vibrant sound like that of some 

 wind instrument, and would hardly be recognized as a bird 

 note at all. I have heard it at evening, but more often 

 shortly after dawn ; and I have often stopped and listened 

 to it for many minutes, for it is as strange and weird a 

 form of natural music as any I know. At the time of the 

 year when they utter these notes the cocks gather together 



