RUFFED-GROUSE SHOOTING. Ill 



pices, the beating of the ruffed grouse upon his 

 log may remind one of Macdonald's phantom 

 drummer, whose story was beautifully and forcibly 

 told in verse by General William H. Lytle, 

 who fell, covered with glory and renown, at 

 Chickamauga : 



" And still belated peasants tell 



How, near that Alpine height, 

 They hear a drum roll loud and clear 



On many a storm-vexed night. 

 This story of the olden time 



"With sad eyes they repeat, 

 And whisper by whose ghostly hands 



The spirit-drum is beat." 



I have often seen the tops of old logs divested 

 of their mosses and worn smooth by the constant 

 drumming of the cock ruffed grouse, and have 

 stood within thirty yards and seen the bird per- 

 form the operation. Just before rain the grouse 

 drum frequently, and the repetition of this sound 

 from various quarters in the daytime is a pretty 

 certain indication of the near approach of wet 

 weather. The female builds in the Western 

 States about the first of May. The nest is 

 formed of leaves and dead grass, and is built in 



