'OF A RANCHMAN 125 



served, squat down close to the ground; 

 more often they would stand very erect, and 

 walk off. If we came too close to one it 

 would utter a loud kuk-kuk-kuk, and be off, 

 at every few strokes of its wings repeating 

 the sound a kind of crowing cluck. This 

 is the note they utter when alarmed, or when 

 calling to one another. When a flock are 

 together and undisturbed they keep up a 

 sociable garrulous cackling. 



Every morning by the time the sun had 

 been up a little while the grouse had all gone 

 from the bottom, but later in the day while 

 riding along the creek among the cattle we 

 often stumbled upon little flocks. We fired 

 at them with our revolvers whenever we 

 were close enough, but the amount we got in 

 this way was very limited, and as we were 

 rather stinted for fresh meat, the cattle tak- 

 ing up so much of our time as to prevent our 

 going after deer, I made up my mind to 

 devote a morning to hunting up the creeks 

 and coulies for grouse, with the shot-gun. 



Accordingly the next morning I started, 



