A Bit of Grouse Hunter's Lore. 195 



them easily to their places of concealment. 

 A grouse will not often remain before the 

 pointing dog for more than two or three 

 minutes, and then he bursts forth with the 

 startling roar that reminds one of the sud- 

 den dumping of a coal cart upon the pave- 

 ment, unnerving the hunter who is not 

 cool and steady in his aim. If the bird 

 makes a high flight at first he may be ex- 

 pected to alight upon the ground on de- 

 scending. If he goes off low he will 

 probably slant upward at the end of his 

 flight of a few hundred yards and alight 

 in a tree, barring accidents which are lia- 

 ble to happen at the hands of the gunners. 

 Grouse are sometimes caught in snares 

 that are set for them on their feeding- 

 grounds, and hunters who cannot kill a 

 flying bird are not beneath chasing them 

 with spaniels which bark at the flushed 

 birds and cause them to stop, out of curi- 

 osity, and alight on limbs overhead in 

 order to watch the antics of the dogs. 

 The hunter can then approach closely 

 before attracting the attention of the 



preoccupied grouse. It is a very difficult 

 13 



