442 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 



where the birds had paused to feed, and found they 

 had wandered about in all directions, spreading among 

 the leaves. At such places the trail became so in- 

 volved that it was difficult to find the direction taken 

 when the birds left. When we came to hard or stony 

 places a few misplaced leaves or an overturned stone 

 or stick were the only things to guide us. Where the 

 trail became dim one of us usually went a trifle to the 

 right and the other to the left, so that unless the flock 

 changed its course abruptly, one or the other was pretty 

 sure to find some signs every few yards. Occasionally 

 we lost the trail altogether and had to go ahead and 

 to 'cut other tracks' in softer ground. For a while the 

 course followed was very crooked, and several times 

 it even doubled back and crossed itself, but late in the 

 afternoon it became evident that the flock was working 

 toward a branch of Clear Creek Canyon. Shortly be- 

 fore sunset the trail became so fresh that we kept a 

 sharper lookout ahead, expecting to sight the flock at 

 any moment. It was still proceeding in a leisurely 

 manner, as was plainly shown*by the number of places 

 where birds had paused to scratch out deep pits in 

 search of food. At sunset we were quite close to the 

 canyon, and I began to fear they would be able to 

 roost before we could overtake them. With the idea 

 that I could hear for a considerable distance the heavy 

 wing strokes they would make in rising to the roost, 

 I decided to go ahead and listen, leaving my companion 

 to follow the trail as best he could. I had only ad- 

 vanced about two hundred yards, to some higher 



