The St. Johns herald., 1890-03-27
TIE sANn.HILL cRAnE
An old sp0rtsm:fa Tslis TTtat lie Knows About 1he FroIfcsc-sc Bird.

extent twenty y-uFe ana JIllfby years ago on the wide, level prairies of Hi nois has been forever suppressed by the encroachments of civilization; l allude to sana-hill crane hunting. There was more delicate skill required in this sport than in any other kind of hunting, perhaps, for the sand-hill crane is one of those birds that is noted for it's extreme shyness, and for acuteness of sight and hearing; and, therefore, the hanter had to employ the most skiIlful artifces to attain any 2 success whatever in the sport The crane is wading bird, conspicuous in its makeup for legs and neck as eZ- ceedingiy slim and long as those Of the obnoxious animal, genus dude. It has a long, sharp-pointed bill, long wings, short tail and short, strong claws. They are very large birds,
 some measuring from tip of bill to the end of the claws sixty-fve inches; ex- tent of wings ninety-two, and bill six. They are generally of Q pure white color, but some have 6 bluish gay tint. The sand-bill cranes frequent marshes, muddy flats and open plains, migrat- ing to warm climates in winter and re- turning to the North in the summer to breed. They fly usually at night in large flocks, following leader in two diverging lines, at great elevation, and at times uttering loud cries. Their food consists principally of small snakes. fish, mice, insects, seeds, roots and grain. The old sand-hill cranes used to come in immense focks iH the middle Of October and remain until the middle of April isa Illinois. and their familiar cries were heard along the large sloughs and low, swampy de- pressions in the vast prairie regions of the State. They fed upon the worms and fish and ground mice in these marshes. Some very peculiar habits were exhibited by these sand-hills, and it seemed that they were divided into colonies, each of which had a leader, whose c"y was the supreme law. In the airy mornings of the early autumn days large numbers of the cranes would congregate around a slough and all join in regular quad rifle, forming in couples in due form, and going through all the intricate mazes of this particular style of Terpsichorean pleasure as faultlessly as the beaux and belles in a West End dance. True, some of the young cranes were awkward, but the old ones presented all the long, limbed grace of a Mary Anderson in flock indulged in dancing, the leader stood alone and still, some distance away, with head erect, as if 8 sentinel to give the cry of alarm on any ap- proach of danger. And it was only the most expert hunters that ever sur prised the cranes, for their leader was never unwary, but as watchful with sensitive ear and keen eye as any sol dier on picket duty. But the ingenious mind of the hunter finally hit upon a plan that. coupled with his own pa tience and practice, was moderately successful Horses were trained to steal softly with light steps over the long waving prairie graDs, up to the spot where the cranes were either holding a dancing carnival or were as- siduously engaged in searching for food. By this means the horses car ried their riders within shooting dis tance of the cranes, and before the birds could poise themselves in preparation for flight the horses would suddenly spring in their midst, and the hunters were thus given excellent opportunity for fine shots. Hunters had learned that it took moment for the birds to poise before flying. But it was an i'm possibility for 8 hunter to walk within shooting distance of flock without the leader giving D cry of alarm. Hunt CTS have crawled for a quarter of mile through the long prairie grass, over the wet marsh, mud and black loam of Illinois, and when almost within shooting distance and on the very tiptoe of expectancy, the leader of the cranes would give the alarm and away the flock would fly to some adjoining slough. The poor hunter was left to dry his clothes, scrape the mud off and use language not at all conducive to devotional frame of mind. Finally horses were trained to walk quietly up to where the cranes were congregated and rush suddenly upon them. It was a well-known fact that a hunter could ride horseback almost up to the slough where the cranes were and they would notdetect him, or at least take him and the ani- maj to be one and the same being. It required long patience tn tram the horses, but the animals finally came