200 PRAIRIE AND FOREST. 
same land, not one solitary bird was. to be found. Now, 
this prairie had not been burned, although others in the 
vicinity had undergone the operation. Early in the season, 
before the young have attained maturity, and ere the cold 
and boisterous winds of autumn have caused them to pack, 
the sportsman must indeed be a bad shot who can not tum- 
ble them on nearly each discharge, for they are easy of ap- 
proach, lying very close, and rising and flying slowly, with- 
out making much of that disconcerting disturbance so ap- 
parent in the flushing of partridge and of ruffed grouse. 
Again, the ground in which they are found is open and 
clear from interruptions, affording an abundance of time 
for the most precise and formal to take aim; but after the 
autumnal equinoctial gales have whistled over the unpro- 
tected landscape, and the sharp night-frosts have changed 
the verdant leaves to a vermilion or golden hue, rapid and 
precise shooting is required, for not only will they rise at 
long range, but take hard and fair hitting to bring them 
down; and instead of finding the quarry on the sun- 
warmed, open, grassy slopes, the dense tall corn will be 
more frequently selected as their chosen retreat. 
Of course, the farther you proceed West, the nearer you 
reach the ultimate extremities of civilization, the greater 
will be your prospects of heavy bags, and more particular- 
ly so late in the season, as the population being sparse, and 
the intrusion of cattle, sheep, and dogs less frequent, the 
birds still continue comparatively tamer than in the more 
densely settled quarters. However, it is not convenient for 
all, nor even would many choose to sacrifice every comfort 
for the sake of slaughter, and turn a pleasure into a labor 
and a pursuit of discomfort; for living in a squatter’s hut 
is scarcely, as an old friend used to say, “ what it’s cracked 
up to be;” besides, what can you do with the results, a very - 
small portion of which will satisfy your own demands. For 
