Bob Whites, Grouse, etc. 



enormously abundant, but now confined to Martha's Vineyard, 

 where in 1890 there were about one hundred of the birds left, and 

 now, for the want of sufficient protection, even this pitiful rem- 

 nant has diminished to very near the extinction point. So it 

 will be inevitably with the prairie chicken. Modern farming 

 machines destroy thousands of eggs and young annually as they 

 steam over the prairies; in the small, new settlements there is 

 little respect paid to game laws when a dull monotony of salt 

 pork sets up a craving for fresh meat; and since the prairie 

 chicken has strong preferences for certain habitats, and will not or 

 cannot live in others, evidently the day is not far distant when 

 either missionary effort on behalf of this and many other birds 

 must be vigorously applied, or they will certainly perish from 

 the face of the earth. Since the coyote, or prairie wolf, which 

 has preyed on this grouse, is being killed off, and sportsmen are 

 endeavoring to enforce the law against trapping the birds in 

 winter, and to induce farmers to burn off their fields in autumn 

 instead of in May, there is still hope that its extinction may be at 

 least postponed. 



Early in the morning in spring the booming of males assem- 

 bled on the " scratching ground " — some slight elevation of the 

 prairie — summons the hens from that territory to witness their 

 extraordinary performances until the whole region reechoes 

 with the soft though powerful sound, like deep tones from a 

 church organ — harmonious, penetrating, more impressive to the 

 human listener than to the apparently indifferent females. Inflat- 

 ing the loose yellow sacs on the sides of their head, that stand out 

 like two oranges; erecting and throwing forward their Cupid- 

 like feathers at the back of the neck ; ruffling the plumage until it 

 stands out straight; drooping the wings and spreading the erect 

 tails, the males present an imposing picture of pompous display 

 and magnificence that melts not the flinty hearts of the coquetting 

 spectators. Now the proud cock, incited to nobler deeds by the 

 indifference of his chosen sweetheart, rushes madly forward, 

 letting the air out of his cheek sacs as he goes, to produce the 

 booming noise, repeating the rush toward her and the boom until 

 she gives some sign that his mad endeavors to win her awaken 

 some response in her cold little heart. Toward the end of court- 

 ship she moves about quickly among the performers, then stands 

 perfectly still for a time, evidently taking note of the fine points 



279 



