244 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 



of Nebraska's game and fish commission, wrote fully 

 about birds in Nebraska : 



"We have both the pinnated and sharp-tailed grouse, 

 and we are so proud of them that it is a pleasure for 

 me to tell you about them. The pinnated grouse are 

 found more abundantly in the central and eastern parts 

 of the State, while the sharp-tailed grouse are found in 

 the northwest portion. 



"A peculiar thing is that we seldom find a sharp- 

 tailed grouse south of the Platte River ; when we do, it 

 is late in the season. The breeding and rearing grounds 

 are principally in the northern and western sections, 

 but a few are raised in other parts of the State. 



"During the winter months, on account of scarcity 

 of food in the north part of the State, which is prin- 

 cipally grazing country, the birds are driven farther 

 south, usually along the Platte River valley, some- 

 times going as far south as the northern counties of 

 Kansas. 



"A few days ago, while going from this city to 

 Omaha, I saw a bunch of perhaps 100 pinnated grouse 

 within eight miles of the Omaha city limits. It is 

 only through our effective game laws, passed during 

 the winter of 1901, that we have these birds to any 

 extent. Prior to that time they were being slaughtered 

 by the market hunters from everywhere and shipped 

 to the market. We were able to convince the Legis- 

 lature of 1901, that there had been shipped out of this 

 State 235,000 of these birds during the year 1900. 

 We have had this shipping stopped, and, as a result, 



