The Republican journal., 1872-10-10
From @cribner's Monthly.
Autumn Game on the Prairies-


There il nothing more characteristic OF
tho prlirirS than the Sudden and remark
able change IN their appearance as SUM
mer passes into antumn In the East
! though the trosts Of October aud Noyem-
Der may be sharp and frequent, vet the
| universal prevalence OF "tanle nrass''-.,s
! Western men term timothy, rcd-iop. blue
| grass etc. keeps the pastures, the hll
| sides, and the highways ''dresspd in liv-
my green" The forests may change. the
leaves may tail, all else may mark iht
! dyut9 year; but the earth itself maintains
4 il pleasing garh Of summer yrrlnrt
| Not 50 with the prairics To-day YOU
may walk, mile after mile. through grass
| knee-Icep and Of tbe richest Green, and
among flowers which sill are in THEN
summer bloom; bat 10 morrow, after 4
SINGLE heavy frost, YOU move over the
same scene, treading ut every step on
the gia0e that has WiIlcre,. and the
| iiowcr thereof thfil has faded away" Far
M IN" we can reach ~ every hand, now
| Stretches this llnnless rvpanse of death,
Wrought bY the cold ni Il nirht In place
oi me vary lhg shades oi green. there now
meets the "y" one wide waste ui rtddish-
yellow heritage, relieved only hy the
winter TINT oi the vast fields of corn which
have, themselves, thus suddenly met their
lniai change. W hen the lirrce ire rise
on these Wlthered plains, klnded by some
reckless creature for WantOnnpSS of his
own convenience, or. uitner, hy the care
less match or finished cigar, or ashes
shaken from the universal pipe the very
l'lacknrsH OF desolltiun is left behind the
flames. The loss to tillrrS of the prairie,
le often appalling; barns, stacks. corn.
even the very home itself Said one o!
Sherman'@ veterans tn me, recently, rising
himself t. his full six feet, his eve flashing
rs when he Stormed McAllister: "Mr.
'.. II | should catch Il man firing the
prairie at this time, rs God helps me.
would shoot him down in his deed -
Only 4 few miles from me, m emwrant,
travelling in his close-covered wagon with
the wind, was oVertakrn hy the flames,
coming down on him unseen Horses,
family wagon, were all DESTROYED il 4
moment and himself lived barely long
enough ln tell the tale Vel every nirht
from this 70 winter. the red Sliy in every
direction VII show the appearance in the
distance ot burning Chicago
~ those, however, who love TO follow
the game OF the prdi'ies the alteration by
if"Sl mas many c"mprnSitionS.
The change in the habits Of the feather
eh lehIenN OF the prairie Is ;ls GREAT as
~ the prairie itself The grouse -tr shall
we say chickens, as the custom j. 2- which
yesterday lav in the stnbblc, under the
very nose ol your dog and muzzle of your
gun, aud which, IN the grass you could
not ki.'i, with volr boot, now rather in
locks ~l 3pm Gttv to one hundred and
fifty; and, under the warning spring and
cacklc ot some old drummer OF 4 past de-
cadr rise in the distance and H. l0omin"
an Tor miles, to the infinite disgust of man
Aud dog, WHO h.tl not vet even suspected
their presence. The green and the blue
winged teal now gather IN clusters in
every prairie pond, preparatory to their
flight -outhWarl, from the autumn trostS
The mallIr,, bred in The locality. nrr
Joined by their brethren from the North
and iii vast numbers alternate from the
corn aud sluhble-tields to the water giy-
inc pr"mis" OF rnfrIing shooting till long
after snow. The great whoopng crane
the white and hrown-visil the corn.
morning ana evening; then stand in
IlockS, l;i' ont ON the warm prairie, on
Soar in the midday sun, mere snoW-Ilakes
in the vast height hey delight in
The hrant, with noisy brattIe, and the
wlld-goosr. with his wcll-knoWn ''honk -
~eck the luscious corn fields which they
remember 80 well since they left them
Last Spring, on even the year before All
this eNubcr,mcr of trathered life, with the
fine hracInN ;tit and the coudless sky
that glory of all glorieS Of the West in
place Of the SWellering heat of August,
make the man Of the gun almost rpconciIed
10 the death of grass aud llower, and to
lhc faded look Of The prairie
The VAS variety Of The game OF the
prairie, Ia autumn, cannot De better set
forth than INK the detail Of a single days
~huotin@. THAI | viii now attempt
In the first place we mus have our
horse and buggy So Iouw are the
stretches from lielI to field, "r from pond
to pond. and 50 heavy and abundant is
tie came, Chat ANYTHING Ike ,so,n@ out
ttoot, and - returning, Is out OF the ques-
ton. y GOOSE viii weigh T. pounds; a
hranl, &; 4 mllard a. chicken, > to 4
pounds; il i Impossible to In% game like
lhs around nr even 10 yet it home
lhr"l.,', u, WI Z" l'rl4r t" q" ,iI, the d. ~
yval-old, with is own happy cha and
enjoyment ot the thing, to hold him, on
oc,.asion; behold MS al,-ld We come 10
the rorn1ields, knitting the vast prairie.
Ii is get morning, and the grouse and
inal.arl have not done feeding. LeaVi mo
1nT little boy to keep the road, | enter The
field Brs4, my dog, takes to her work.
at once, ranging among the stalks and
rapping u perfect tattoo on them with her
tul. in her eager quest for game. We
pass bat Il little way, when ''whir-r!
wlr-rm far ahead, Q 1t ni scent and out Of
shot, rises a whole pack OF fifty birds and
are of, far a. the eve can follow them.
Iiess crouchcs; looks hack, fears reprnof
and is evidently much relieved when kind
ly hidden TO ''hold up' Slowly and care
fully She now docs her work often look
ing back, that she may not lose me in the
wilderness of corn ion these SagaCiouS
creatures want mans company in their
hunt and soon She has her reward
Down the wind-we must always hunt
against or across il comes that scent that
clectrilie$ the hird,lo and sets every
nerve tinglng. With eye fixed, lip quiy-
eriny, the whole body in excited tension,
she steals on. No nosing the ground no
ignoble tracking; breast high her delicate
brown head is borne, and, for her, the
universe lies in that tainted air. She
stops; looks once around at me; then
becomes fixed Us stone. A step forward
up rises the gallant bird, brown, round,
and lusty, and. cacllles his defiance, as
over the tall stalks he sweeps with his
powerful wings But am ready. too; a
moment for raising f,y gun, cooking il as it
is raised, then the explosion, and the bird
falls heavily to the earth, while the tlecked
feathers come floating by me, down the
wind. Up rises another Al the report, as
near and as swift; the trusty trigger is
true TO the touch, and he, too, falls A
moment, and am again loaded-lor |
use u Parker hreech- loader-and, at the
word, Bess ''seeks dead ~ Nosing it for
a moment, she shows evident pleasure at
my praise praise costs little and goes y
great way, with both dogs and men,
then on the word she passed to the other
bird. But it is not there! A few feet
and she has the track it was wing broken,
and has made q good run Of many rod,
in our delay. lt,was II small foot, good
| reader that hruSheu this UrOunu and the