8 Reminiscences of 



In August, 1880, when I accompanied a party 

 from Chicago in a special sportsman's car into Min- 

 nesota and Eastern Dakota, we found this great 

 wave of plentifulness there, and I remember my first 

 day's shooting in the fields, when I bagged twenty- 

 eight birds. We had a box freight-car accompanying 

 with ice, and were enabled to preserve our birds for 

 forwarding back to our friends, though we ate a great 

 many, as well as blue-winged teal, which were in force 

 about the waterways. 



The region was then settled largely by Danes 

 and Norwegians, and entirely open from fences ; and 

 chicken hunters were in some abundance, to the an- 

 noyance of the settlers, who came out to warn us 

 off their lands. 



Dear Uncle Jake (J. K. Armsby, of Chicago, now 

 deceased) was with us. How gently and well he would 

 take the hurrying-out settlers as we drove up to their 

 houses to ask permission to shoot over their lands ! 



Before they could speak a word he would conciliate 

 them with a hearty greeting, and, having a big flask 

 of whiskey and sundry small bags of smoking-tobacco 

 and cigars, and children's picture books, he would 

 have them placated before they could deny, which 

 would result in a hearty invitation to make ourselves 

 at home over the harvested fields. 



THE pinnated grouse, or prairie chicken, is a purely 

 indigenous American bird, and like the ruffed 

 grouse, or partridge, commonly called, was formerly 

 found extensively scattered over the continent, and 



