SHOOTING THE PRAIRIE GROUSE 407 



direction. It is nearly dark when I reach the house, 

 as night shuts in very quickly. How cosy the firelight 

 makes the room after the silence of the prairie. 



The luxury of field shooting is pointed out in the 

 following account of shooting in the Indian Territory. 

 It presents a striking contrast to the sorrows of the 

 eastern gunner of old times, who spent his shooting 

 days in wallowing through swamps, squeezing among 

 alders and trying to break down cat-briars and grape- 

 vines : 



Prairie chicken shooting is, par excellence, the sport 

 of the lazy man. It is the easiest of all land shooting. 

 First, because the field is always open, and if one is 

 too lazy to walk he can shoot from a horse or wagon ; 

 secondly, because early in the season, before the birds 

 are matured or have been too often disturbed, they lie 

 in the tall grass as close and as long as one wishes-; 

 and thirdly, because they make a good big mark, flying 

 true, and not too rapidly, and there is so much of them 

 that one need have no fear of blowing them all to 

 pieces, leaving nothing but feathers in the air. If 

 they happen to get up too near for a shot you can 

 measure your distance, knowing there is no bush or 

 tree for them to dodge behind. Thus, in all respects, 

 they make fine game for one not disposed to be in a 

 hurry; and for these same reasons the gentle things 

 are easy plunder for the unscrupulous market hunter. 

 Later in the season, during the last of September, the 

 birds are fully matured, have become stronger flyers, 



