136 THE WILDERNESS HUNTER. 



vary greatly in their behavior accordingly as 

 they do or do not live in localities where they 

 have been free from man's persecutions. The 

 ruffed grouse, a very wary game bird in all old- 

 settled regions, is often absurdly tame in the 

 wilderness ; and under persecution, even the 

 spruce grouse gains some little wisdom ; but 

 the latter never becomes as wary as the for- 

 mer, and under no circumstances is it possi- 

 ble to outwit the ruffed grouse by such clumsy 

 means as serve for his simple-minded brother. 

 There is a similar difference between the sage 

 fowl and prairie fowl, in favor of the latter. 

 It is odd that the largest and the smallest 

 kinds of grouse found in the United States 

 should be the tamest ; and also the least savory. 

 After tramping all day through the forest, at 

 nightfall we camped in its upper edge, just at 

 the foot of the steep rock walls of the moun- 

 tain. We chose a sheltered spot, where the 

 small spruce grew thick, and there was much 

 dead timber; and as the logs, though long, 

 were of little girth, we speedily dragged to- 

 gether a number sufficient to keep the fire 

 blazing all night. Having drunk our full at 

 a brook we cut two forked willow sticks, and 

 then each plucked a grouse, split it, thrust the 

 willow-fork into it, and roasted it before the 

 fire. Besides this we had salt, and bread ; 

 moreover we were hungry and healthily tired ; 

 so the supper seemed, and was, delicious. 

 Then we turned up the collars of our jackets, 

 and lay down, to pass the night in broken 

 slumber ; each time the fire died down the 

 chill waked us, and we rose to feed it with 

 fresh logs. 



