92 Grouse. 



usually sustained for a mile or over before they light. 

 They are very easy marks, but require hard hitting to 

 bring them down, for they are very tenacious of life. On 

 one occasion I came upon a flock and shot an old cock 

 through the body with the rifle. He fell over, fluttering 

 and kicking, and I shot a young one before the rest of the 

 flock rose. To my astonishment the old cock recovered 

 himself and made off after them, actually flying for half a 

 mile before he dropped. When I found him he was quite 

 dead, the ball having gone clean through him. It was a 

 good deal as if a man had run a mile with a large grape- 

 shot through his body. 



Most of the sage fowl I have killed have been shot 

 with the rifle when I happened to run across a covey 

 while out riding, and wished to take two or three of them 

 back for dinner. Only once did I ever make a trip with 

 the shot-gun for the sole purpose of a day's sport with 

 these birds. 



This was after having observed that there were several 

 small flocks of sage fowl at home on a great plateau or 

 high plain, crossed by several dry creeks, which was about 

 eight miles from the cow-camp where I was staying ; and 

 I concluded that I would devote a day to their pur- 

 suit. Accordingly, one morning I started out on horse- 

 back with my double-barrel lobore and a supply of 

 cartridges loaded with No. 4 shot ; one of my cowboys 

 went with me carrying a rifle so as to be ready if we 

 ran across any antelope. Our horses were fresh, and 

 the only way to find the birds was to cover as much 

 ground as possible ; so as soon as we reached the plateau 



