Potosi journal. (Potosi, Mo.) 1894-1929, 1897-05-12
A TAME GROUSE.
He Comes When Called and Likes the
Report sf = Gun.

He Comes When Called and LtkoS the
Report Of = Gun.
A tame grouse. the result of an inter-
esting experiment in natural history,
can be seen at Tullimet, in Perthshire.
-Four years ago Mr.. Young, the keeper
there, reared some grouse, and, being .
student of natural history, he took spe-
cial interest i'll young cock, with the
view Of making it a pet. 1t became
quite tame, flying up and sitting on his
knee without the slightest fear. Jock,
as he is called, strutted about the ken
nels like Il barn-door fowl, eating maize
from peoples hands. ImpelIed by nat
ural instinct, he secured mate i'll the
spring. Repairing short distance to
some detached clt,mps Of heather, nest
was formed and eggs laid in it, and in
due course the hen entered upon the
process of Matching. Jock" watched
carefully near the place where his mate
was sitting, never failing in his attempt
tc drive Off any intruder. Going near
the place one day Mr.. Young was snr-
prised to discover that former friend
ship had disappeared, as "Jock" flew in
his face and succeeded in drawing blood
from his cheek. After successfully rear
ing the covey Jock" returned in the
autumn and again cultivated the friend
ship Of Mr.. Young. who had him photo
gTaphcd sitting on his knee. For the
third time he is at present engaged in
keeping guard over the nest where his
mate is sitting, and is greatly annoyed
when anyone ventures to intrude upon
either one of them.
On d recent visit to Tulliemet we ac-
companied the keeper to the place
where ".Iock" was faithfully guarding
his sitting l>atc. On the keeper calling
out: Are you there. Jock?" he readily
| responded from a distance of about a
couple of hundred yards. Go back, go
! back. go back" salu,ed us. and imme-
| diately we observed the bird flying to-
ward lis. Alight;ny about 20 yards dis
| tant, he approached us. his tail spread
out. his comb bright and extended to
an unusual size. We stretched out our
hand toward him, when in an instant he
/ flew at it. striking blow Simultaneous
! II with his wings and beak Not caring
/ to expose our bare hands to his attacks,
/ we held out our cap, when, seizing il
! with his beak. he allowed himself to he
! lifted, striking with both wings and
| feet. In watching his movements ii
! was interesting to note how he Occa-
sionaly raised his head and scanned the
| horizon all round. in accordance with
the habits of grouse. Prior 10 the nest
| ing season he was observed one day
| flying i'll an excited manner toward the
kennel. and. wondering what was the
cause of alarm. HE Keeper. OH looking
/ toward the summit. discovered an eagle
iii the distance hunting for his prey.
The report of Il gun has no terrors for
"Iock"-in fact, he seems rather to en-
! joy il. Near his home On the moor is a
mouItain tarn, and butts are placed
near il, i'll which sportSIpen conceal
themselves In order to shoot ducks
driven over them. On the occasion OF
!. duck drive Jock" Is certain to be IL
one of the butts, as il he en- joyed the
sport. Even in confinement unde
cover We have known il brood. of grouse
successfully reared. In this case there
were nine eggs. which produced nine
votlng birds Three of theSe--we pre-
sune because of their being reared as
domestic pets. and in such unnatural
circumstauces--eyh exhibited swelling al
the Joints of their legs. to which they
ultimately succumbed. The Others
grew up strong, splendid birds. tame as
domestic fowls. and in the frosty aut
uinn mornings interested the neighbor
hood by theircalls, which were as hearty
aud nnrcstrained as if they had been or
The hillside among the natural heath
Our friend by whom they were reared
parted with them all. save one pair
which he kept in a Neli-lighted and airy
loft for his own stsas, and amusement
1Ie. of course. supplied them regularl,
with fresh heather. and WAS delighted
to find them one morning in the month
of April making a nest. The hen lait
seven eggs and there Was every npts ar
Hnce OF the Young birds being safel,
hatch:d Unfortunately. he was a
this time compelled 10 remove from the
premises. and. though, hc did his yer,
host to transplant the grouse hen will
her ev"s to an equally suitable place
she declined to become party to the
transaction. Thus he result Of
most interesting experiment in natura
history was srustra,t d.-Iand and Wa
! tSr.