104 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING. 
to account for this peculiar sound, for, according to his 
idea, in this form of flight the webs of each stiffened 
feathers of the pinions are set obliquely, and the fila- 
ments acting like taut harp strings, the air current pro- 
duced in falling plays upon them so effectively as to pro- 
duce a metallic resonance. These birds do not jerk their 
tails like their congeners, the ruffed grouse, and do not 
burrow in the snow, but keep in trees throughout the 
winter, except in those regions where snow is rarely seen, 
and there they never change their habits, owing to the 
comparative abundance of food, and the mildness of the 
climate. 
I have spent many an hour in quest of the dusky 
grouse in the dense forests of the Far West, but the best 
bag that I ever made in a day was sixteen brace, and the 
majority of these were shot from the tops of towering 
firs and spruces. HowI came to be so unusually suc- 
cessful might as well be related in full, as it had features 
which were quite pleasant and the reverse. The first in- 
timation that I had of my good fortune was an invitation 
from a party of four gentlemen to join them on a 
“shoot” for a week or more in the woods, it being their 
intention to camp out all the time, in order to be both 
able to commune with Nature and to kill game. I did 
not feel at the time as if I could accept the invitation, 
owing to the fact that more pressing matters required my 
attention; but after arguing the case with myself for two 
hours or more, I finally decided to accompany them, 
though somewhat against my better judgment. Had I 
had a friend to tie me in my room, as Ulysses of old was 
tied to the mast by his followers, in order that he might 
not be lured away by the songs of the sirens when he 
was passing the enchanted island, I might have resisted 
the temptation presented to me, but not having one, and 
the flesh being weak, I concluded to follow my weakness. 
Haying sent a note to that effect, the party called at 
