Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1893-10-04
we partook of seated around the

which we partook of seated around the
campfire.
The sage hen is found mostly in the
mountain parks. The old birds do not
make good food. They live principally
On sage, and when old, they smell and
taste so strongly of this herb that their
meat is not palatable. One reason why
the sage hens flesh is SO strongly i'm
pregnated with this herb is said to be
due to the fact that this bird has no glz-
Yard. | have known of cases where the
birds were taken into the mountain cab
ms and the smell of the sage became so
offensive that they were removed to the
outside. The mountain sage which
these birds feed upon is good for fever,
and the miners usually keep it on hand
for tea to be used in case of sickness. A
prospector once humorously suggested,
when there was no mountain sage ready
for q sick "pard," that sage hen soup
would be about as good a remedy as the
tea. The young sage hers, however,
make fair eating, as their meat has not
yet become impregnated with the strong
smell of the sage.
The prairie chicken of the plains is
more of game bird, but once accus-
toned to it's habits, the sportsman may
secure a goodly number on hunt.
These wild chickens" as they are
called, are found in the grain fields and
grasses, and in the edges of the under
! brush and thickets that skirt the timber
! districts. They are also hunted along
what are called the clown rows" or the
! shocks of grain in the cornfields. 1t is
quite common for them to roOst IN the
corn shock, or in the dry tassle on the
! top.
In some parts of the West it is now
legal to kill the wild turkey. They are
not numerous in the upper part OF the
! Rocky mountain country, but some are
! found in the ranges further to the south
In pioneer days their home was best
known in the Mississippi and Missouri
river valleys, where they were plentiful
in the timbered regions. Next to tax
ing out the hounds and going on cOO1
or possum hunt with the darkies, was
the fun Of following drove OF wild
| turkeys in my boyhood. The boys All
! knew how to take the bone of that mag
nificent bird, and make the turkey
call'' as decOv for a good shot.
Hunting for geese and ducks has also
begun, but it is a little early for that as
vet. Geese, brants and pelicans, which
| formerly followed down the Mississippi
Missouri, Platte, Kansas, Arkansas anC
Rio Grande rivers to the south are now
found in larger numbers skirting the
mountain ranges. The great irrigation
canals and reservoirs afford them more
water along the mountain route thar
formerly. AS there is not SO much tim
! Der to shelter the sportsman In the
western plains and mountains, the WllC
goose is more of game bird there thar
in the water courses further east. The
far western sportsman succeeds better
/ by digging pit near their feeding
ground Even then this keen, shrewo
! bird is liable to change his feeding
ground without due notice. II
the grain belt regions the wild
| geese feed often in the fields, bu
in the far West near the mountains they
are more often found on the sand bars
! for the almost treeless streams give
them an advantage in guarding agains
! the hunter. The sportsman gets ever
with the wild goose, however, wher
! the first snow falls, before the streams
are frozen. With white rubber coat
! or sometimes with a white sheet anC
cap around him. the hunter is con
| cealed in the snow. and returns with 6
eoodly number of wild geese. Laws
have been passed in some parts OF the
! West against trapping ducks and geese