GROUSE. 129 



ning- and taking wing to some tree where they remain closely con- 

 cealed under the branches near the butt, until the sportsman has 

 passed. When the Ruffed Grouse is young, however, they lie 

 better, but at all times silence should be observed when the near 

 proximity of game is suspected, as it will more readily bear the 

 approach of the dog than the sound of the human voice, or the 

 noisy footstep of the shooter. The most favorite resorts of the 

 Grouse are the sides of hills overgrown with hemlock and cedar, 

 with undergrowth of laurel. In level countries they frequent 

 swampy coverts and scrub oak patches, and if such places have a 

 briery bottom, they will lie all the better, as this impedes their 

 running. 



When a Grouse is put up at the foot of a hill he will most 

 likely ascend it in his flight, and if not alighting on its side, can 

 generally be found directly over the summit, and will lie better 

 and give a closer shot than when first disturbed. One may usu- 

 ally have some success when he can find a swamp or thicket at 

 the base of a mountain to which the birds come in the morning 

 to feed, and posting yourself between the hill and their feeding 

 place, while a companion starts the Grouse, may obtain fair shots 

 as they pass near. 



Fully two-thirds of the Ruffed Grouse we see in the markets 

 are either snared, trapped or killed by professionals, who tree 

 them by the aid of small dogs trained for the purpose; and while 

 the poor bird is gazing at what he most probably takes for a fox 

 beneath him, the pot-hunter murders him as he sits. 



In many localities we may now walk for hours through the 

 most attractive covers, where Grouse were once abundant, and 

 see nothing, hear nothing of the noble bird. The familiar drum- 

 ming, the sudden whirr and flash of wings as he passes swiftly 

 before us, and is lost in the leafy mazes of the glade, all gone ; 

 nothing remains to tell that this splendid game was once a denizen 

 of the forest, save the broken brush fence with its deceptive open- 

 ing. One to whom forest nature is dear, cannot but be painfully 

 affected by such scenes. It should be made a felony to capture 

 with snares any of our game birds. 



The Ruffed Grouse often takes refuge from the sportsman 

 amidst the thickest cripples, deepest gullies and densest foliage, 

 6* 



