SHAKP-TAILED GKOUSE, ETC. 195 



so that in winter it is almost impossible to get a shot at 

 him. The flesh, too, has a piny flavor, and is very bit- 

 ter. Owing to the shyness of the bird, and to its method 

 of flight, the hunter at this season should load as though 

 his campaign were to be for ducks, and should never use 

 shot finer than No. 6. 



With the mountain goat, the ptarmigan is one of the 

 trophies of those sportsmen who isolate themselves from 

 even camp-fire comforts, and who are willing alone to 

 climb the lofty peaks and cross the barren ridges that 

 form the mighty continental divide; and he who has 

 filled his bag with ptarmigans has, in this country, at 

 least, nothing in the bird line left to satisfy his ambitious 

 ardor. 



