We o-o back to lliv car. have l)rcakrasl, and olT we 

 trani]) lo Crane l.akc, al)()Ul tour miles awav. kcachni.i; 

 the water, we Inul it literall\- covered in phices with 

 ducks, snipe, geese, yelk)W legs, pelicans, curlew an<l 

 plover. .\ few shots starteil tlie whole aggregation in 

 motion— mallards, plover and Wilson >ni]i begin to 

 tundile until we are loaded with all we can carry. A 

 ^i;unner away off across the ])rairie is heard to hre two 

 barrels, then to shout, jumi», run, and throw his hands 

 up. No one seemed to know what was disturbing him, 

 but in a moment we see two dogs coming at a furious 

 rate. No: one is a coyote, the other is a dog in lull 

 chase. Four g\uis are discharged with No. 5 shot at the 

 slinkin"- covote, but he gets out of danger in a tew 

 minutes. Then a monster bird comes flapping lei-urely 

 around the shore. It is a ])elican, and, as if to tease us 

 and waste our shells, he tla])s serenely by in fn .nt of each 

 gunner several times, each time -etting the contents ot 

 shells from No. 5 down to buckshot. He is hit from 

 every angle, some twenty-hve shells in all having l)een 

 fired at him. We could hear the shot strik^' and then 

 drop into the water, an<l yet Mr. Pelican is still ■' winkin- 

 the other eye" and will continue to wink it at an\ tlnng 



less than a rifle. 



With our ^ame belts loaded to their fullest ca])acity 

 • mine nuist liave wei.uh-^-d fort\- pounds, althou-h it lelt 

 like a ton ), we started back, killing more ])rairie chickens 

 on the road, and arrivini; in time tor dinner > live o'clock), 

 having been out just twehe hours. What exhilaration 

 was crowded into tho>e twelve hours: One wlio has 

 never been out in this rarified highly electric atmosphere 



