OF A RANCHMAN 153 



luxuries being limited, I bethought me of 

 a sage cock which I had shot during the 

 and had hung to the saddle. I had 

 drawn it as soon as it was picked up, and 

 I made up my mind to try how it tasted. A 

 good deal to our surprise, the meat, though 

 dark and coarse-grained, proved perfectly 

 well flavored, and was quite as good as 

 wild-goose, which it much resembled. Some 

 young sage fowl, shot shortly afterward, 

 proved tender and juicy, and tasted quite as 

 well as sharp-tails. All of these birds had 

 their crops crammed with grasshoppers, 

 and doubtless the nature of their food had 

 much to do with their proving so good for 

 the table. An old bird, which had fed on 

 nothing but sage, and was not drawn when 

 shot, would, beyond question, be very poor 

 eating. Like the spruce grouse and the two 

 kinds of prairie fowl, but unlike the ruffed 

 grouse and blue grouse, the sage fowl has 

 dark meat. 



In walking and running on the ground, 

 sage fowl act much like common hens, and 



