Grouse. 79 



waters of O'Fallon Creek, across the Big Sandy, when it 

 became a matter of a good deal of interest for us to kill 

 something, as otherwise we would have had very little to 

 eat. We had camped near a succession of small pools, 

 containing one or two teal, which I shot ; but a teal is a 

 small bird when placed before three hungry men. Sharp- 

 tails, however, were quite numerous, having come in from 

 round about, as evening came on, to drink. They were in 

 superb condition, stout and heavy, with clean, bright 

 plumage, but very shy ; and they rose so far off and flew 

 so strongly and swiftly that a good many cartridges were 

 spent before four of the plump, white-bellied birds were 

 brought back to the wagon in my pockets. 



Later than this they sometimes unite into great packs, 

 containing hundreds of individuals, and then show a strong 

 preference for the timbered ravines and the dense woods 

 and underbrush of the river bottoms, the upper branches of 

 the trees being their favorite resting-places. On very cold 

 mornings, when they are feeling numb and chilled, a man 

 can sometimes get very close up to them, but as a rule they 

 are very wild, and the few I have killed at this season of 

 the year have been shot with the rifle, either from a tree 

 or when standing out on the bare hillsides, at a consid- 

 erable distance. They offer very pretty marks for target 

 practice with the rifle, and it needs a good shot to hit one 

 at eighty or a hundred yards. 



But though the shot-gun is generally of no use late in 

 the season, yet last December I had a good afternoon's 

 sport with it. There was a light snow falling, and having 

 been in the house all the morning, I determined to take a 



