PRAIRIE-CHICKEN SHOOTING. 199 



relating, in the most facetious manner, several most 

 amusing anecdotes of his previous career ; but as 

 the western sun commenced to elongate its shadows, 

 and the afternoon breeze to cool the atmosphere, 

 a start was agreed upon, and with one accord each 

 rose and shouldered his gun, intent on doing good 

 shooting and further swelling the capacity of our 

 already distended game-bags. The fresh brace of dogs 

 were uncoupled, and, amid the discordant notes and 

 piteous whining of our discarded morning favourites, 

 we started for the beat. 



The ground we were about to hunt exactly resembled 

 in appearance and vegetation what we had traversed 

 in the morning, and our anticipations of sport, from 

 former experience, were up to the boiling-point. How- 

 ever, we must have walked quite an hour before either 

 obtained a shot, although the slut ran up two birds, 

 for which she got a severe rating. In prairie chicken- 

 shooting I have frequently observed, and on this occa- 

 sion it was a corroboration of the fact, that during the 

 heat of mid-day, or immediately afterwards, pinnated 

 grouse are seldom or never to be found near cultiva- 

 tion ; why, I cannot say, but they always appear in an 

 unaccountable manner to have transferred themselves 

 to the uninterrupted prairie. 



Our lengthened tramp had now brought us to 

 ground more irregular, with vegetation more rank, 

 and sparsely sprinkled with dwarf osier and willow, 

 the surface being damp, and occasionally intersected 

 with rivulets. Our spirits were all becoming depressed 

 from our want of success, and even a new beat had 

 been proposed, and was on the eve of being accepted, 

 when both dogs stood, not ten yards apart, and each, 



