88 Hunting Trips of a Ranchman 



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 considerable 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 shotgun 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 morn- 

 ing, I determined to take a stroll out in the after- 

 noon with the shotgun. A couple of miles from the 



