Field, cover, and trap shooting

Front matter

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CHAPTER I. General Introductory Remarks

Great Increase of Field Shooting— Delights of the Sport— Experience in the Field— Beginning in Albany County, New York, at Ruffed Grouse and "Woodcock — Removal to Sangamon River, Illinois — Great Abundance of Game— Numerous Deer — Removal to Elkhart, Logan County — Vast Numbers of Pinnated Grouse — Gillott's Grove— Osage Orange Hedges and Quail— Pinnated Grouse shot too early — Diminution of Breeding Places — Migration of the Grouse late in Fall— Ducks and Geese in Corn-Fields —Nesting Places of Grouse and of Quail— Evil of Prairie- Burning late in Spring— Snipe, Golden Plover, and Upland Plover —The American Hare or Rabbit— Hawks after Game— The "Winnebago Swamp Breeding-place of Ducks and Crane— "Wolves in the Swamp— A "Wolf-Hunt in Gillott's Grove — Eagles and Foxes, etc., 13-34

CHAPTER II. Guns and Their Proper Charges

Skill and Ingenuity of Gunmakers— Improvements and Inventions of Late Years — Vast Advantage from the Breech-Loader — Safest and best of Guns — Proved by Experience — Close Hard Shooting — Convenience — Safety and Rapidity of Loading — Certainty in Wet Weather — Comparative Cost of Breech-Loaders — Metallic Cartridge-Cases — Size of Guns — Advantage of Weight— The Suitable Stock— Proper Filling of Cartridges— Trials of Guns — Breech- Loader en*. Muzzle-Loader— Loading of Cartridges— Quantity of Powder— Sizes of Shot for Different Game— Dead-Shot Powder— Tatham's Shot— Disadvantage of very Large Shot, . . 35-5J

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CHAPTER III. Pinnated Grouse Shooting

Abundance in the Prairie States— Of Service to the Farmer- Grouse Polygamous— Booing ' of the Cocks in Spring— Nestingtime and Nests— Rapid Growth of the Young Birds— Supposed Hybrids— Grouse Shooting in August too Early— The Easiest there is — The Corn-Fields the only Protection— Grouse found at Morning in Stubbles— In Clear Weather no Shooting in the Middle of the Day— On Damp, Cloudy Days Grouse in Stubbles all Day — On Clear Days Shoot again towards Evening — Grouse in Pasture-Land — Shooting in McLean County— Beware of Shooting too Quick— Mr. Sullivant's Great Farm— Water for Men and Dogs must be Carried, 55-71

CHAPTER IV. Late Pinnated Grouse Shooting

The Middle of the Day the best Time— Good Shooting in Corn after the Frosts— Wheat Sowed in Corn-Fields— No Shooting on Cloudy Days — November Shooting Best — Grouse in Sod Corn— A Day in Champagne County — Grouse will not Lie on Damp, Cloudy Days — Indian Summer a Good Time — The Prairies in Spring — On Bright Mornings in Winter — Scene near Chatsworth, Iroquois County, on a December Morning— Necessity of Silence in Late Grouse Shooting— A Trip to Christian County, , , . 73-88

CHAPTER V. Quail Shooting in the West

Abundance of Quail in the Western States— Increase in the Prairie States— Osage Orange Hedges a Great Cause— Afford Nesting Places, Protect from Hawks, and Shelter in Severe Weather- Nesting Places and Nests— The Quail Hawk— Beginning of tho Shooting— Best Shooting after the Frosts in November and December—Up at Early Morning— Fine, Clear Days Best— Lie well when Scattered— Pack late in Fall— Run in Damp and Wet Weather— Netting now Unlawful— Quail Shooting on Salt Creek, Sangamon River— Quail not Difficult to Shoot— Missed through Haste— Shooting on Shoal Creek, Missouri— Quail in Hedges- Quail in tho South, 89-l f 6

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CHAPTER VI. Ruffed Grouse Shooting

Distribution and Habits of the Birds— Found in Wild, Lonely Places — Favorite Food of Ruffed Grouse — Beauty and Pride of the Bird — The Drumming of the Male— Deceptiveness of the Sound— Macdonald's Drummer-Boy — Much Drumming Before Rain— Nest of the Ruffed Grouse— The Young on the Cass River, Michigan— "Wolves at the Camp on the Cass— The Chippewa Indians— Wildness of Ruffed Grouse— The First I ever Shot- Ruffed Grouse hard to Shoot Flying— Goes for Densest Part of the Thicket— May be Shot over Setters, .... 107-120

CHAPTER VII. Shooting the Woodcock

Arrival in Spring— The Breeding Season— Nest of the Woodcock— A Woodcock in Confinement — Voracity in Feeding — Young Full Grown in July— Solitary Birds after Separation of Brood— Nocturnal in Habit — Supposed Second Migration — Laboring Flight in Summer — Difficult to shoot — Density of Foliage — Snap Shooting- Swift and Twisting Flight in Autumn — Bottoms and Islands of the Mississippi River — Woodcock on the Illinois River— Scarcer in general in the West than in the Atlantic States — Fall Woodcock Shooting, 121-133

CHAPTER VIII. The Snipe and Snipe Shooting

Breeds North of Virginia, but only sparsely in the United States- Arrives at Columbus, Kentucky, early in March — Never appears before the Frost out of Ground — Nearly a Month Later in Illinois than in Kentucky— The Spring Shooting Best— Snipe Wild at First Arrival— Get Fat and Lazy— Snipe Shooting on the Sangamon— Snipe very Abundant in the West— Should be Beat for Down-Wind— No Need for Dog on Good Snipe Ground — Difficult to Shoot in Corn-Fields— Shooting on the Bottoms— Easy to Kill when Fat — A Proposed Match— In Snipe Shooting much Walking Required— Snipe Shooting along Sloughs and Swales— Hovering of Snipe-Tho Fall Snipe Shooting, 133-148

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CHAPTER IX. Golden Plover, Curlew, Gray Plover

Arrival of Golden Plover and Curlew— First Seen on Burnt Prairies —Plover liko Bare Earth and Pastures— Golden Plover and Curlew in Flocks Together— They Follow the Plough— Lying Down for Plover— Plover Shooting from a Buggy— The Method of It- How to Shoot Plover on Foot— Plover Circle Round the Wounded —An Afternoon's Shooting near Elkhart — Plover Shooting in Christian County— Golden Plover Scattered— Fast Flyers and Good Practice — The Upland or Gray Plover— Last of Spring Migrants— Breeds in Illinois, Iowa, etc. — Ready to Pair when It Arrives— Should not be Shot in the Spring— Nest of the Upland Plover — Difficult to Shoot in Autumn — Horse and Buggy Needed —Flight of Upland Plover— Sand Snipe and Grass Snipe, . 149-167

CHAPTER X. Wild Ducks and Western Duck Shooting

Tho Prime Western Ducks— Beauty of the Wood Duck— Its Rapid Flight — The Mallard— Its Excellence and Beauty— Comparison with Canvas-Back— Mallards' Nests— The Flappers— Ducks begin to Arrive by Middle of February— Habits of Mallards and Pintails — Their Vast Numbers— Remain Four or Five Weeks— Coming of Ducks in the Fall— Vast Numbers— When Cold Sets In— Heard in the Air all Night — Duck Shooting in the Corn-Fields— Color of Clothes Important— Ducks TVary and Far-Sighted— Method of Shooting, , 168-182

CHAPTER XI. Ducks and Western Duck Shooting

Cold Work in Hard Weather— The Illinois River— Tho Western Corn-Fields — Shooting in Them in Fall — Osage Orange Hedges- Flight of Ducks in Wet, Windy Weather— In Clear Weather- Ducks in Flight seem Neare-r than They Are— Shooting at Prairie Ponds and Sloughs — Live Decoys Best — Dead Duck Decoys better than Wooden — Method of Setting Dead Mallards as Decoys — Duck Shooting in tho Winnebago Swamp— Duck Shooting in Ford County— Mr. M. Sullivant's Great Farm— Duck Shooting en tho Sangamon— Shooting from the Timber— Ninety-fivo Mallards with No. 9 Shot — Water Fowl Peek Timber in Hard, Windy Weather, 1BS-19T

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CHAPTER XII. Wild Geese, Cranes, and Swans

The Canada Goose and Brant Goose— Mexican Geese— Hutchinson's Goose— The White-Fronted Goose — The Snow Goose— Migration of Wild Geese— Flight of Wild Geese— Habits of the Geese— First of the Spring Migrants — Geese on Pasture-Lands — The Bert Shooting Places — Means of Concealment— Shooting on the Pastures from a Buggy — Long Shots at Geese — The Fall Geese — In Wheat-Fields and Shocked Corn— The Roosting Places— Times when Geese Resort to Timber — A Flock on the Ice — Getting into the River — The Ague, and a Remedy — Shooting Brant and Mexican Geese — Great Packs of Mexican Geese — The Cranes of the West — The Sand-Hill Crane — Its High Flight in Spring— Feeding on Corn in Fall — The Large White Crane — Wounded Cranes Fight Hard — Flesh of Cranes when Hung — Pelicans and Swans on the Mississippi, 198-222

CHAPTER XIII. Wild Turkey and Deer Shooting

Excellenco and Beauty of the Wild Turkey— Its Haunts and Habits —Methods of Shooting Turkeys— The Wild Turkey's Nest— Tracking Turkeys in Snow— Shooting in Thick Snow-Storms— Shooting at Crossing Places — Tracking Turkeys on the Sangamon — Lost in the Timber— A Walk Home of Thirteen Miles— The Great Gobbler of the Sangamon— Turkey Shooting on Shoal Creek— The Cold Nights in Camp — Eleven Turkeys to One Gun in Half a Bay — After a Wounded Deer — Camping Out without a Tent— A Heavy Thunder-Storm on Delavan Prairie — Deer Shooting in the West — Haunts and Habits — My First Deer— Deer Shooting on Horseback, 223-250

CHAPTER XIV. The Art of Shooting on the Wing

Tho Art Easily Acquired — Boys Should begin to Shoot Early — No Danger of Accidents — Loading Guns — Large Shot and Too Much Shot Mischievous — Guns for Boys — Handling the Gun — Loading the Gun— Light Loads at First — Shooting at a Target — No Shooting at Sitting Birds — Shooting Larks and Blackbirds— How to Aim— Shooting at Toung Grouse— The Causes of Missing— How to Aim at Crossing Birds— Long Shots — The Shot Towers at New York— Tho Cartridge Company of Bridgeport, , , 261-275

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CHAPTER XV. Sporting Dogs— Breeding and Breaking

Setters and Pointers— Advantages and Drawbacks of Each— The Sharpness of Prairie Grass — Cockle-Burrs in Setters' Coats — Setters Retrieve Well in Water— Cross-Bred Dogs— How to Breed Them— Their Stoutness in the Field— No Timid Dogs Among Them— History of Fanny, Daughter of a Pointer Dog and Setter Bitch— An English Pointer not to be Called Off— He Points at Grouse all Night — Best Age for Breaking Dogs — Method of Breaking — The Setter, Jack — Dick, Son of a Pointer Dog and Setter Bitch — Miles Johnson as a Breaker, ..... 276-299

CHAPTER XVI. Pigeon Shooting

My Beginning at Pigeons— Match ' against Staunton— Against A. Kleinman — Championship of Illinois — Match to Shoot from Buggy —Match at Five Hundred — Match to Fall One Hundred Consecutively — Match against Mr. King— Match against Doxis— Sweepstakes at Chicago— Match against J. Kleinman— Match with Ira Paine — Championship and Other Matches — Matches with A. Kleinman — Match against Four Marksmen — Advice to Members of Shooting Club — Suggestion for New Rule— H and T Traps- Scores of Championship Matches— Scores of Exhibition and Other Matches— Conditions and Rules of Champion Badges and Medals —Rules of Pigeon Shooting, ...... 300-343

PREFACE BY THE EDITOR.

In the following work, Captain Bogardus has placed before his readers all the knowledge of the haunts and habits of game-birds, and of the art of shooting on the wing, which twenty -five years' almost constant pursuit has enabled him to attain. It is conveyed plainly and briefly, but fully and without the slightest reserve or qualification. It was deemed that this full communication of all he knew on these subjects was due to his readers, when he resolved to appear before the public as the author of a book. Few men have had an experience as varied and as large ; none, I verily believe, have attained as much knowledge of game, or as much skill with the gun*

Of late years, at many places where his skill was displayed, he was often urged to embody what he knew of game and of the art of shooting in a book, in order that sportsmen whose other avocations prevented them from paying very great and prolonged attention to those subjects, might reap the benefit of his experience. With a view

10 PREFACE LSV THE EDITOR.

to comply with these requests, he came to New York, and proposed to me that 1 should assist him in the necessary composition of the work. Perceiving the vast fund of practical knowledge he had amassed, and knowing that the hook would form a most valuable contribution to sporting literature, I gladly acceded to his proposal, and the result of our combined and conscientious labors is now before the public.

I believe this is the first work of the kind that was ever undertaken by a thoroughly practical man, and strictly confined to the knowledge and information derived from his own observation. It would have been very easy to make the book twice as large as it is, by copying, with or without credit, as is the custom, long extracts and descriptions from the standard authors of natural history in this country, but to what useful end ? These matters have been copied by one author after another about a dozen times already, and readers have been so provoked by the everlasting repetition of Latin names for familiar birds, that many must have been on the point of pitching the pedantic copy-books into the fire. In this work another method has been followed altogether, TTore are the observa-

PREFACE DY THE EDITOR. H

tions and accumulated knowledge of a man who has been practically engaged in the pursuit of game in a thoroughly sportsmanlike manner for twenty -five years.

For much the greater part of that period, Captain Bogardus has maintained and brought up his respectable and interesting family, almost solely by his gun. From that fact, I concluded that his was the knowledge and experience which would be valuable and instructive to sportsmen, young and old, and interesting to the general public. The former do not want to listen to people who know no more than they know themselves. The latter do not want to peruse the work of a man on any subject if he never rises above mediocrity, while they gladly welcome the book of one who has proved himself a master of his art. ^Because Captain Bogardus had been able to live for many years solely by his gun, lie was of all men best qualified to enlighten old sportsmen, and instruct the young in regard to the habits and haunts of game and the art of shooting.

It has often been said that pinnated grouse could not be killed by the gun in the months of November and Pooembor. because thev were so

J2 PREFACE BY THE EDITOR.

wild, and this alleged fact was made the excuse for the trapping and netting by which the markets of the great cities are mainly supplied with that bird in those months. Hardly one out of twenty then offered for sale has been shot. But Captain Bogardus proves that this is either pure invention of the netters and trappers, or due to the imagination of those whose skill with the gun being small, and whose knowledge of the habits of the game being scanty, have failed to kill any at such times themselves. He tells us how he killed them with the gun, and how you can kill them if you follow his instructions.

It will be seen by this work that Captain Bogardus has been a sportsman of the most resolute and persistent character. No difficulty deterred him, no fatigue subdued him, no misfortune disheartened him, when he was out with his dogs and his gun. He has also been a man of the closest observation and of much reflection. Hence his philosophy on the habits of birds of pursuit by the sportsman, and in regard to the art and principles of shooting, will be found especially valuable and interesting.

CHARLES J. FOSTER.

Field, Cover, and Trap Shooting.

Chapter I. General Introductory Remarks

Within a comparatively recent period the numbers of those who follow the delightful and healthful sports of the field have increased almost beyond calculation in this country, and they are still rapidly augmenting. Among all those sports there is none so easy of attainment, and certainly none so invigorating, useful, and enjoyable, as the pursuit of game-birds, waterfowl, etc., over dogs, or, at flight time, in the neighborhood of the haunts of

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the latter. The vast extent and variety of our territory — woodland interspersed among prairie, pasture, and cultivated farms — the great abundance of game to be met with by those who know when and where to seek for it, and the many kinds to be found in these favorite haunts at the proper seasons, afford such excellent and varied shooting as may hardly be experienced if sought for anywhere

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else. The art of shooting swift-flying birds on the wing is of comparatively recent origin in this country. Years ago but few people followed it, and they had mostly acquired their skill in Europe before they came here. The quickness and art necessary for even moderate success were almost comparatively unknown in the regions where such game most abounded, and they were in a great measure deemed worthless, of no more practical use than the curious tricks of a juggler. This was not unnatural. The backwoodsmen, and those settlers who had made lodgments in the immense prairies of the Western States, could kill a buck with the rifle, or knock over a fat turkey with the same arm ; and those who had old-fashioned smoothbores seldom shot with anything less than buckshot, or the largest sizes of other shot. Hence they looked with a sort of lazy curiosity akin to contempt upon the doings of the men who, with good guns and small shot, killed " little birds," as quail, plover, woodcock, snipe, etc., were denominated. The use of the setter and pointer wph j>ractically unknown. The game was considered to be a trifling matter, not worth the powder and shot expended upon it. The latter were somewhat dear, and monev was verv scarce. Tho hunters and Indian:-; called tin' shot-gun l>y the derisive term " sipiaw gun," and wondered that grown men should delight in its use. All that is now greatly changed. Thousands every year enjoy sport of the highest order, and fill their bags in the most artistic manner, in many parts of the country where shooting on the wins: v '"^ s formerly unknown. Shooting of this sort once enjoyed is never willingly relinquished altogether. Those who arc able to afford the cost and spare, the time from their avocations in the great cities impatiently count the days which must intervene before the time comes for them to jump aboard the train with their guns and their sporting paraphernalia, bound to the shooting-grounds — the places where game is to be found in abundance. Arrived in these sections, and meeting with old friends, the harassed and weak grow vigorous again, and the strong become stronger. The consciousness of skill, the confidence begotten of success, give such a spring to the mind and nerves, and inflame the ardor of pursuit to such a degree, that the fatigues of the excursion arc scarcely perceived, and its privations, if such they may be called, arc laughed at and merrily endured till speedily forgotten. The habits of the various kinds of game are a subject of gteat interest and observation. The fine and h) J 1KI.D KIlOOTINU.

o»iger instinct of the clogs, their great sagacity, endurance, and patience, are remarked "with pride and admiration. The features of the varied landscapes — hill and vale, woodland and riverside, vast prairies with groves and fringes of timber on the branches of winding and meandering streams, broad fields of land, now in pasture, now covered with brown stubble, now waved over by the green flags of the corn, tall, strong, and a place of refuge for quail, grouse, etc. — afford constant pleasure to the sportsman. And after the labors and sports of the day are done, the camp-fire beneath the trees, on the banks of a stream or the margin of a little lake, is a place of calm recreation and repose. You may hear the call of the night-birds, and the low, suppressed noises of the nocturnal animals afoot after their prey, but neither the hoot of the owl nor the howl of the wolf will drive slumber from the pillow of brush upon which you rest. The night brings enjoyment almost as pleasant as that which was the recompense of the exertions of the day.

Having followed shooting for twenty-five years, mostly all through the different seasons, and sometimes camped out as much as three months at a time, never sleeping in a house during that period, I believe I have a sound and extensive practical knowledge of the matters upon Which this Look is to treat. I am no scientific naturalist, and what I know has not been derived from books. I cannot give the. Latin names of birds of game, waterfowl, snipe, woodcock, etc., and if I could you would not care about them, because the constant repetition of them makes no impression at all upon the sportsman. To him the quail is simply a quail, the pinnated grouse (commonly called prairie chicken) is a grouse, and no Latin is required to make him understand what you mean by a snipe or a woodcock. I cannot set down the scientific names by which naturalists distinguish the birds of which I shall treat, but I know their haunts and habits, and I can tell you when and where to seek them, and how to kill them in a sportsmanlike and satisfactory manner.

I was born in Albany County, New York, and began to shoot at fifteen years of age. I was then a tall, strong lad, and have since grown into a large, powerful, sinewy, and muscular man. I have always enjoyed fine health, had great strength ahii endurance, and been capable of much exertion and exposure. When I began to shoot, there was a. good deal of game in Albany County, and it <iu"fiy consisted of ruffed grouse and woodcoek.

which arc difficult birds for young beginners. I received no instructions from anybody, but I possessed a quick, true eye, and steady nerve, and had, as I believe, the natural gifts which enable a man to become in time, with proper opportunity, a first-rate field shot. It was a lorn? time after that before I ever shot at a pigeon from a trap, and I confess that I had for many years a strong prejudice against that sort of shooting. There were no quail, snipe, or ducks about Albany County at that time, and it was not until I removed to the West that I became familiar with them and with the pinnated grouse. Seventeen years ago I moved to Illinois, and settled on the Sangamon River, near Petersburg. It was more a broken, swampy country, with much cover, than a prairie land like that to the northwards in the State. Game of all sorts was in vast abundance. There were vast numbers of quail ; the pinnated grouse were rather numerous, though nothing like as much so as upon some of the great prairies ; ducks and geese came in immense flocks every spring and fall, and deer and turkeys abounded. It was, too, and is to this day, one of the best places for snipe that I know of. It was a paradise for a sportsman: and as for the snipe ahtl quail, there was hardly a man there who could kill them except myself. Lots of men used to go out to see me shoot. There was one, a great hunter of deer and turkeys, with whom I became very intimate. At first he laughed at me when he saw me loading with No. 8 shot. " That wunt kill nothin', stranger,"' said he. " What little I do at quail I do with No. 1 shot, and for prairie chicken I always use BBs. You can't stop 'em with anything lighter."

But lie changed his opinion when he found by experience that I could kill ten to his one, and then it was the old story of the fox and grapes. " Darn the little creatures, I say ! " he exclaimed ; " I got no use for 'em anyhow ! " At that time I used to stint myself in quail-shooting time to twenty-five brace a day. When I had got them, I gave over for the day. Often when I was shooting quail in the oak barrens two or three deer have got up close to me. I shot some turkeys ; but my bag was mostly made up of quail and pinnated grouse in the fall, and of snipe in the. spring. There were snipe in the fall too, but not so many. Ducks and geese were plentiful in the fall and spring, but I did not go after them much at that time. I had no wagon and team, and a

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bunch of ducks and geese is very heavy to carry. The country about the Sangamon "was wild and very sparsely settled. Even now it has no large population, and remains a great resort for ducks and geese, a fine place for snipe, and the quail still abound. There was a line variety of ducks. The bag would include mallards, bluebills, pintails, green-winged teal and blue-winged teal, with some wood-ducks. I consider the mallard the best duck we have in the West, and I doubt very much whether there is any better anywhere else. A great deal is said about the canvas-back, and with justice ; but I do not think them any better eating than mallards arc in the fall of the year, when they come on large and fat and glorious in plumage from the wild rice-fields of the northwest, away in the British territories.

After staying on the Sangamon about two years I moved to Elkhart, in Logan County, where I have lived ever since. It is in the heart of the State of Illinois, a hundred and sixty-six miles south of Chicago, eighteen miles northwest of Springfield, and one hundred and fifteen miles from St. Louis. It was then a grand place for game, and is very good now late in the fall, when the pinnated grouse pack and partially migrate. Fifteen years ago the prairies there were but sparsely settled, and not one acre in a thousand had been broken up. The grouse were in immense numbers; the quail, though, were not as plentiful as on the Sangamon in the brushy land of the oak barrens. There was, however, and is now, a grove of timber six hundred acres in extent, not far from the town. It is one of the finest in the State, and in it and on its borders there were many quail. This grove was then owned and still belongs to Mr. John D. Gillot. lie has a great stock-farm, his pasture-land running for seven miles at a stretch. Being a man of great enterprise, as well as large means, he planted hedges all over this estate. They have now grown up, and, affording harbor and nesting-places for the quail, the latter arc now more plentiful in that neighborhood than they were when I first went to live there. At that time very few in those parts used the double-barrelled gun, and shot over dogs. I was about the only one who followed shooting systematically and thoroughly. But though the quail in that neighborhood are now very abundant, they are hard to kill. The corn grows very tall, and as soon as a bevy is flushed away they go for the corn-fields. Once in them, with the stalks stand-

22 FIELD-SI100TIN0.

ing thick and high above your head, you can only kill birds by snap shots such as you make at woodcock in thick cover. You can find them on the stubbles and in the pastures at the right time of day, but when you have fired your two barrels at them they are off to the corn. The pinnated grouse lie in the corn and on the borders of it a good deal too. There was no trouble in killing a great number when I first went there. I have known sixty young ones to be killed in a morning in one field, not more than a quarter of a mile from Elkhart. For my part, I am very much opposed to such doings. The commencement of the shooting season ought to be fixed by law a month later. When the shooting begins, the birds are very young, though of good size, and do not fly either fast or far; the weather is hot, and I am satisfied that above half of those which arc killed are spoiled and never used. At the present time the grouse are much more scarce about Elkhart, especially young grouse. The chief reason is the want of good nesting-places. Except in Mr. Gillot's extensive pastures, there arc no good nesting-places left of any account. This is what causes the great diminution of the numbers of pinnated grouse. They are so prolific, and their food h so abundant, tnat they could stand shooting in and out of season, and even the trapping and netting which are so extensively carried on in many parts ; but when the prairie 13 all or nearly all broken up, no good breeding-places remain, and young grouse are not to be found. Thus it has been in a great measure about Elkhart. Late in the fall, when they pack and come in from the distant prairies where they breed, the birds seem to be as plentiful or nearly as plentiful as they were before. About the last of October and in November you may see as many as five hundred in a pack. They are then strong and wild. Some people maintain that the pinnated grouse do not migrate from one place to another. I am certain that with us they do. There are now ten times as many about Elkhart in November as there are in September, therefore the bulk of them are not bred there. Moreover, I have been at Keokuk in Iowa late in the fall, and have seen the grouse coming from the interior of that State in large numbers, and flying across the Mississippi River into Illinois. They are never known to do so at any other season, and if that is not migration 1 do not know what it can be. The river there is so wide that the flight