The Willow Ptarmigan 227 



unless exposed to too much wet, which they can- 

 not stand. 



The worst foes of the ptarmigan are the Indians 

 and Esquimaux, who rob the nests and snare 

 immense numbers of the mature birds while they 

 are on their partial migration, which merely is a 

 shifting from the almost bare summer ranges to 

 the forested valleys and lowlands. Before mov- 

 ing, the various broods unite and form huge 

 packs which travel mainly on foot. The Indians, 

 knowing this, erect brush hurdles across the 

 route and in the brush set snares, which take 

 thousands of the travelling birds. Another 

 method, of which the writer has heard the fur- 

 traders speak, but which he has not seen em- 

 ployed, is the luring of the jealous male within 

 reach of a hand net, by means of a roughly 

 stuffed skin of a male in proper plumage. Ac- 

 cording to the tales told in the Hudson Bay 

 Company's posts, the male ptarmigan will 

 promptly attack the dummy, his hate of it being 

 so o'ermastering as to cause him to forget all 

 about his own safety. The number of these 

 birds destroyed each season is enormous, but it 

 must be remembered that both Indians and 

 whites of the bleak North only take them for 

 food, which is far too precious ever to be wasted. 

 Until a few years ago, comparatively little shoot- 

 ing was indulged in except by a few military men 



