RUFFED GROUS. 
21 
woods, with great steadiness and rapidity, till she was beyond 
my sight, leaving me in great surprise at the incident. I made 
a very close and active search around the spot for the rest, but 
without success. Here was a striking instance of something more 
than what is termed blind instinct, in this remarkable deviation 
from her usual manoeuvres, when she has a numerous brood. It 
would have been impossible for me to injure this affectionate 
mother, who had exhibited such an example of presence of 
mind, reason and sound judgment, as must have convinced the 
most bigotted advocates of mere instinct. To carry off a whole 
brood in this manner, at once, would have been impossible, and 
to attempt to save one at the expense of the rest would be un- 
natural. She therefore usually takes the only possible mode of 
saving them in that case, by decoying the person in pursuit of 
herself, by such a natural imitation of lameness as to impose on 
most people. But here, in the case of a single solitary young 
one, she instantly altered her plan, and adopted the most simple 
and effectual means for its preservation. 
The Pheasant generally springs within a fewyards, with aloud 
whirring noise, and flies with great vigour through the woods, 
beyond reach of view, before it alights. With a good dog how- 
ever, they are easily found; and at some times exhibit a singu- 
lar degree of infatuation, by looking down, from the branches 
where they sit, on the dog below, who, the more noise he keeps 
up, seems the more to confuse and stupify them, so that they 
may be shot down, one by one, till the whole are killed, without 
attempting to fly off. In such cases, those on the lower limbs 
must be taken first, for should the upper ones be first killed, in 
their fall they alarm those below, who immediately fly off. In 
deep snows they are usually taken in traps, commonly dead 
traps, supported by a figure 4 trigger. At this season, when sud- 
denly alarmed, they frequently dive into the snow, particularly 
when it has newly fallen, and coming out at a considerable dis- 
tance, again take wing. They are pretty hard to kill, and will 
often carry off a large load to the distance of two hundred yards, 
and drop down dead. Sometimes in the depth of winter they 
