Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1886-08-18
PRAIRIE CHICKENS.
Their Habits, Haunts aud the Way
to Hunt them.

Houston boasts of quite large num-
Der of NimrOds who go out almost daily
to hunt prairie ehickensand other game.
Prairie chicken shooting has the prefer
ence over most hunting sport, for the
reason that it requires carefully trained
dogs and sufficient practice with the
gun to ''shoOt upon the wing" without
a moments warning. The prairie
chicken Is an accommodating bird, and
may be hunted in pleasant weather; this
fact may partly account for the ardor
with which it is pursued. Chicken
shooting, however, is fascinating sport
in itself, the same being very strong of
wing and, exceedingly patatable. Day
light finds the hunters-for they general
ly, like their dogs, hunt in pairS-leaving
the farmhouse where they have passed
the night. At the word of command the
dogs leap INTO the wagon, and few
moments drive brings the hunters
to a ''likely field" The hunters alight,
slip cartridge into each barrel of their
guns and turn into the field. The dogs
are eager for the sport to begin, and at
the words Hunt 'em up and wave
of the hand spring out into the stubble
at full speed, one hunter and one dog TO
each side of the field. The dogs work
from the edge of the field to the center,
cross, keep on to the other edge, return
and cross again, covering the field in
ever varying and irregular circles. Now
and then one pauSes and snuffs the wind
blowing down the field, or turns quickly
aside from his course and follows up for
a few yards an old scent in the hope of
finding it stronger.
Suddenly one of them running at full
speed in long elastic bounds, with ear
and tail waving as he leaps, falls flat on
his belly as if paralyZed and remains
motiOnless as a stone. Quick rs is the
movement, the other dog has also
crOuched and is pointing at the first
dog, backing him up with implicit
confidence, though the scent may not
have reached his keen nostrils. The
sagacious animals turn their heads and
leok back at their masters with intelli-
gent eyes, as if to say: ''Hurry up; here
they arein They move rapidly and noise
leSsly up to the first dog. The intelli-
gent animal, who has not moved mus
scle, except to turn his head and look
back, rises slowly and crOuchingly to his
feet. and with nose extended steals slow
" forward, intelligence AMI wary eau
tiOn expressed i'll every movement of his
eloquent body. His feet are lifted and
put down like paws of velvet, ana his
progress is noiseless and as true as the
needle to the pole. The hunters follow
carefully close behind, guns cooked and
ready for use.
Down goes the dog as though shot
dead, and this time he does not dare to
look back, tremOr of his body giving
warning that he can 90 no further with
out walking into the cOvey. The men
take one, two steps-whiZ, whirr, three
birds riSe-two to the left, one To the
right. Bang, bang! bangl The man on
the right kills his bird, the man on the
left kills W tn the first barrel and misses
with his second barrel Neither hun
ters nor dog stir step. The left hand
man breaks his gun, draws out diSchar-
ged shells and slips fresh ones in their
place. While he is loading up rises a
fourth chicken, this time TO the left.
The right hand man knocks it over, and
at the discharge of his gun the chickens
rise on all sides. The left hand man
gets in both barrels and knocks down
two birds. They reload, and the dog is
told to ''hunt 'em up
If the birds are plenty and the stub
bles in good condition, the chances are
that 4 cOvey will be in each stubble
field. Hunters often draw 4 blank, :"
as they term it. and sometimes two CO.
veys are found in one field. The cOveys
vary widely in size; sometimes as many
as thirty or forty birds are found to-
gether, and sometimes an old cock is
found alone with field all to himself.
The chickens in different coveys also
behave differently. At times they will
get up singly. and in such case two
shooters Will get nearly the whole cOyey.
At other times the whole cOvey will rise
together. and it requires quick and skill
full shooting TO make each of the four
barrels count. If the country and flight
of the birds allow, 1t is sometimes possi-
bic to ''mark down. a cOvey and follow
them from field to field, unless they fly
into the corn, when pursuit is hopeless.
To novice the sport is wildly excl
ting. The intelligent and admirable
working of the dogs, the intense excite
ment of the moment when the birds are
rising with the noise and speed of sky
rocket from the stubble beneath their
very feet, and the exhileratiOn Of sue
cessful shot give it fascination hard to
describe to those who have not tried it.
The novice, although he may be good
shot at other kinds of birds, is very apt
to miss his first half-dozen birds. They
rise too near him and look so large that
it does not look possible to miss bird,
and he is very apt to shoot without aim.
After a few misses however, he finds
that they fly like an express train, and
must be covered by the sights of the
gun, and quickly too. After that his
luck improves, and he finds that, like
everything else, it is easy when You
know how, and one of the most fIscina-
ting of all field sports.