CHAPTER IV. 
THE CANADA GROUSE. 
The Canadian grouse, or spruce partridge—Size, weight and color—Its 
northern range—The Franklin variety—Large numbers killed with 
sticks—Caught with nooses placed on the end of a pole—Their 
food in winter—Flavor of the flesh—Tameness of the Franklin 
variety—Dust baths—Lie well to a point—Their fearlessness— 
Look like knobs on a tree—A grouse dog—No sport—Nests— 
Chicks—Habit of skulking and running—-Breeding in confinement 
—Haunts of the grouse—Bachelor parties—System of wooing— 
Noise produced by wings—Theory of Maret—A misleading voice 
—Temptation—An early start—A red terrier—A country hotel— 
A game of billiards and a group of critics—An Indian encamp- 
ment—Securing a guide—Our camp—Among the grouse—Ma- 
jestic scenery—Death of a forest giant—An Indian graveyard— 
Killing a fawn—How to “tote”? deer—Heavy loads—Forest 
cookery—How Indians look upon graveyards—Sudden disappear- 
ance of our red guide—Electing a camp cook—Bears, wolves, and 
beavers—A mysterious thief—A storm in the forest—Destruction 
of our camp—Homeward bound—A piece of news—Abundance 
of grouse. 
The Canada grouse, or spruce partridge (Canace Cana- 
densis) has a tail of sixteen broad rounded feathers, 
and a reddish-yellow strip of naked skin over the eye. It 
has no inflatable air sacs nor tufts of peculiar feathers on 
the neck. The prevailing hue of the plumage is blackish, 
marked below with streaks and bars of white, and undu- 
lated above with dark gray. The throat has a whitish 
border; and a broad band of orange-brown extends across 
the extremities of the tail feathers. The female is barred 
with black, brown and buff, and some gray above. The 
male has a length of sixteen inches, and frequently at- 
tains a weight of two pounds. This species ranges as 
far north as 70°, but it is supplanted in the regions 
adjoining the Pacific Ocean by the Franklin variety, 
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