Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1893-08-30
GOINGLIKETHE BUFFALO

west will soon be as extinct as that of
shooting buffalo, says an Abilene cor
respondent to the New York Advertiser.
The quick whir-r-r Of the bird is heard
less and less frequently, and the hunt
crs encounter q far greater wariness
than of old. Only few years ago and
the sportsman was in clover when he
reached the prairies of Kansas. Spe-
cial cars with hunters aboard, stopped
in the midst Of the level plains and
when the men came back it was with
shoulders heavily laden with the tooth
some and attractive game.
But the heartless and indiscriminate
slaughter, in season and out of season,
to which the different varieties of grouse
and quail have been subjected during
the past decade has almost ruined the
sport on the plains of Kansas, Ne
braska, Iowa and other sections of the
west. To be sure there is yet game,
but it has 80 decreased in quantity that
the present season sees not one-tenth
the amount that existed a few years
since.
There is little sport more enticing
than the shooting Of prairie chickens
or pinnated grouse. Nothing can be
compared to it except the hunting of
the wild turkey. While turkey is
sought in the timber of the bottom
lands the prairie chicken lives boldly
out on the plain, and trusts to his keen
ness of vision and rapid fight to pro-
tect himself. TO creep upon a flock of
the fowls at home is sight to be re-
membered. The rich, plump bodies of
the hens, shading from dark grayish
brown on the breast and wings to a
light gray neck and dark head, and the
larger build of the males, with the dis
tinguishing long black feathers on tho
neck, reaching down like the ends of a
yoke, make a delicious contrast for the
lover of a rife with the green of the
prairie sod.
They are large enough to make q
good, legitimate prey; they are excel
lent eating, tender, rich, 'gamey. But
their outposts hear you and a quick,
elucking warning is given. In an in
slant every head drops, the bodies
crouch close to the ground and ap-
parently disappear: Unless You are a
practical hunter you will declare that
half n second has sufficed for some of
the birds to sink into the earth. But
they are all there. This one behind a
little grass clump, that in a tiny hollow
made by some pony's foot, another
spreading its wings as it squats at the
base of n weed stalk. To the amateur
eye it is remarkable if without consid-
cradle search more than two or three
can be detected, SO closely do the colors
of the birds blend with the shadows
and tints Of the sod. '
The professional knows that they are
all there and the bunch is speedily
flushed. In an instant they rise about
you as If suddenly created from dust
One was less; than yard from your
feet, yet you did not see it. Their
flight is q peculiar one. Rising to
height of from twenty to fifty feet,
they take horizontal course, churning.
the air rapidly with the stumpy wings.
until momentum is acquired, then sail.
ing with outstretched pinions for many
rods. A prairie chicken is never awlS-
ward or ridiculous except when in the.
mir. On taking fight the birds do not,
hike quail, go as a flock, but radiate in
every direction, so that he is good
gunner indeed who makes both barrels,
count.
hC pItlEIC Is uOL-I1lRTuCOTYs
md, like quail, turkey and rabbits,
Iaight be preserved for all time if af-.
torded reasonable amount of protec-,
ton. Grouse and quail can stand a
comparatively close settlement of tho.
country, at least one as close as most
parts of the west will admit of, and
with the proper enforcement of rigidly
drafted game laws, as we'll as n manly
forbearance on the part of the sports.
,ncn themselves, would preserve the,
now unequal ratio between the increase
and slaughter. AS it is now there is.
practically no protection, and from
June toDeeember the markets of vest
ern cities show for hidden game. It is,
not alone grouse, but quail, wild tur-.
keys and other varieties suffer. Pouch.
crs go with dogs out Of season and bring.
IN loads of the pretty game, and it finds
its why mysteriously into the stalls Of