The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-10-11

pursued, many Of the ruff feathers are Of
jet black, and 1t ia these feathers winch
betray the birds most often to the eye Of
he r enemy. 1t has been the fashion to term
he wild turkey the noblest Of America q
| feathered game. II ia in size. but not IN
everything else. In some things II II
smarter than the ruffed grouse; in Others
| II Ia not so smart.
The grouse possesses powers Of conceal
ment which the turkey almost totally lacks.
II has the nerve to remain quiescent when
the alien foot presses within three yards
Of its hiding plaoe. which the turk doe
not at all.
This nerve comes with it from the shell.
When it is a chick not much larger than q
ding, squat under last years leaf and
lie still until told to get up, though the
searchers shoe come down on 1t and mash
1t fiat.
II the man, refusing to follow the mother
in her seeming struggles to get away with
lift all the dead leaves within a circle of
three yards from where the hen frst showed
herself, he will find six or maybe dozen
of these little fellows. crouched close to
the ground, with their eyes closed. A
single note has sent them into this imitation
OF coma, and they will maintain 1t to the nd.
The man may even turn one OF them
oven with his finger. 1t will fall upon its
side and lie there without the culver Of a
downy wing. Except the woodcock, the
young Of no other bird has this supreme
degree OF obedience and courage:
better scent. The grouse hears well. but
It is afflicted with curiosity. 1t hears the
footsteps of hunter walking along
forest road-he may even be talking to
his dog-and it will, Immediately recog-
nizing the presence Of danger, run swiftly
| tx p-ok s.to th<&h and
but its curiosity keeps 1t there to see just
what the danger is, and as the man comes
along 1t either stirs and betrays its presence
or the dog scents and fushes it.
| The turkey, once it starts to going, on
foot or wing, goes far. having sense enough
itself and the danger. A turkey, seeing a
man thirty yards away, will slip behind
| log and make its way to the end, crouching
low, then slip to another log or dodge be.
hind a tree, and keep a line hiding it, and
so make It's way to safety with remarkable
speed; but the grouse will stop behind
the log.
II the man suspects the presence Of a
grouse. either from feeting glimpse Of
It or by the behavior of the dog, and will
stand still. keeping his eye on the log, he
will see the small head of the bird rise
| II he has hidden in turn behind tree or
| thick bush, it will hop on the log and take
leisurely survey.
If he still forbears to shoot, the bird will
probably 60 back to the place whence it
started, travelling about swiftly, going, a
| little way at time and very cautiously,
busying itself trying to find out exactly
what it was that. disturbed it. The turkey
| has more sense than that
Neither will the turkey trusting utterly
| in it's ability to hide itself in tree, sit still
| while member after member Of the flock
is shot from branches below It. That is one
of the most fatal habits Of the grouse. The
knows it. 1t will stay in tree to be shot
only in the haH-light of dawn when it has
been gobbling volubly for an hour.
The difference in the brains of the two
birds follows law of nature. A bird which
is swift of wing and has protective colora-
tion is always less wary. less prompt to
recognize and appreciate danger than one
not so well fortified.
The turkey is large and easily seen and
therefore gets out Of the way as fast and
promptly as possible. The grouse has n
almost matchless coat and in the air Is
swiftest of all its family, therefore it per
mits nearer approach. The teal, swift est
of all ducks, is singularly lacking in war;
ness; the mallard. comparatively slow, will
flush at 200 yards If it sees or hears the foe.
In the air all comparison between these
chief representatives of the gsllinaceous
| family ceases The turkey has heavy
| and awkward fight. 1t gets OF the
ground with numbering effort, and is not
! able to 20 farther than a mile In the
prairie a Countries Of the Southwest, COW
| boys on stout, active ponies often run them
down by starting after them at full speed
| and keeping them going No turkey is
, able to rise more than thrice in rapid sue
| cession.
The grouse bounds from earth like
| rubber ball and il of like rocket. The
! limit of its flight has newer been ascertained.
! When stung by small shot, but not injured.
| it has been known to go two miles before
| alighting and was then apparently COM
petent to 90 ten miles fur her.
In the rapidity with which it gets under
way it is not equalled by any other AmeIri-
can flyer. The grouse FIVE feet from IFS
! leap is going at top speed.
| Sometimes when gunner Is walking
! along a tote road twenty feet wide one will
| flush from underbrlsh or log grass by
the roadside and swing across. When
over The middle of the road it Is fifteen feet
mp and going its limit. II not shot well
| within a second 1t is safe.
! In the suddenness OF its start 1t is SUI
! perior even to the quail, because it is stronger
and has. proportionately, a greater wing
| spread. 1t Ia swifter for the same reason
/ and its flight is more erratic. because it
! inhabits closely growing timber, saplings
| and brush, whereas the quail is a bird Of
| the open. The grouse is so used, in fact.
! to it's rocketing manner of flight developed
! in lodging trees and such things that
even when flushed from berry patch or
! other open space its going is widely &C.
| centric.
| The quail's wings are often level and
/ 1t buzzes away as straight as rule, but
one pinion of the grouse is always lower
than the other, its back slants to right or
| left and it rears on, not sweeping from side
| 70 side 30 sharply as the jacksnipe, yet
still swinging back and forth consider
! ably. Only on rare occasions does 1t go
straight away from the shooter. Generally
| il has a wide curve and this curve is COM
plicated by the irregularity of its motion.
No instructions are to be given any man
regarding the shooting OF ruled grouse.
1t is a sport with thousand varying con-
ditions and has no hard and fast rules.
Like the "Action Action! Action!" OF De-
! mosthenes and the "Audacity, always au-
| dacity!" OF Napoleon, what the grouse
hunter most needs is -Practice Practice!
Practical" Even then he will have poor
success unless he happens to be born that
way, for not every man can learn to shoot
| grouse, any more than every man can
learn to play good billiards.
As it is a rapidly rising bird, gun OF
straight stock is best. that sort Of stock
having a tendency to throw up the muzze
As most of the shooting is done in heavy
cover, a gun Of cylinder bore which makes
a wide, even pattern will do better work
than one that is choked or half choked
Most grouse when killed at all are killed
inside Of fifteen Yards