The sun., 1903-10-04
RUFFED GROUSE on THE ROADS.
Now They Are Indulgtng In Their Fatal
Habit Of Stunning Themselves.


are plentiful along the edges of the roads
the northern woods. The birds 60 to
such places in order to sun themselves or
to dust themselves. and it is the most fatal
habit they have.
The season through. ton birds are killed
along roads for one that is killed in the
woods, which are their native fastness.
II grouse shooters had to depend entirely
upon their ability or the ability Of their
dogs to find the birds where trees are thick.
they would make small bags and the crop
would increase plentifully. The grouse.
however, will not keep away from the
narrow ways between the trees. and it
pays for it.
In wet weather. or in weather that is
cold and cloudy, few Of them come to the
roads They are sheltered for the most
part in the swamps. which act as wind
breaks, or are clustered under dead treetops
which act in some measure as roofs. When
the air is still and the sun ia bright they
throng the roads, and a man on foot will
not 20 a quarter Of mile without seeing
them.
There are several forms Of this shooting
some OF them sportsmanlike and some not
Often couple OF men will get into buggy
and drive slowly for miles along a country
road. They will cover thirty miles in a
day in this way. never leaving the road
and they will ace large number Of grouse.
As thew drive along q bird crosses the
road, trotting slowly. and is shot; or one
stands upon a stump near the road and
49, II -. ah
crouches In the brush close by and stirs
uneasy as they approach and is shot.
There is no more sport in this form Of grouse
shooting than in shooting tame chicken
in a mans yard.
other men walk the roads. They do not
cover 80 much ground as the men in the
buggy, but they have a better chance to
observe and they pass fewer birds. They,
too, butcher those which run out into the
open space or are seen on logs or in the
underbrush.
Again, man on foot, who has some re-
gard for the rights OF the grouse as well as
for his own pleasure, will walk along slowly
until he sees one crossing or busting itself
in the road. He will 90 toward it rapidly
and almost invariably it will dart into the
brush on the far side.
1t is then his business to 60 to the place
Of it's disappea rance and walk 1t up, shoot
ing at it on the wing and killing il If he can.
MS III Ialr sport, ana ds lne lTees art tillck
and the brush thicker the grouse gets away
oftener than it is stopped. An ordinary
, walker may now find twenty-five grouse
in day, and if he kills half dozen OF them
he will have no reason to be dissat isfied
with his shooting.
Until quite recently the grouse were not
along the roadways. and the men hunted
because the birds this year are exceptionally
late, and the focks do not come out until
the young have nearly attained their
growth.
Moreover, there have been plenty of wild
raspberries and blueberries in the woods,
and they have kept themselves mainly
about the berry patches. The raspberries
are gone now, however, and the birds roam
far in search of food, coming to the roads.
| and staying awhile in their roamings.
There is no prettier sport than the wing
shooting Of grouse along the roads, and
a dog is OF little use save as retriever.
All the man does is to walk and keep his
! eyes open
He finds his own birds not only when
they come to the roadway and along its
! sides, but after they have darted into the
brush. They do not 60 far then, and will
always be found within ten yards OF the
| place where they passed from view.
So the man upon their trail forces his
way carefully through the brush, holding
his gun cooked and ready, and when the bird
| fushes ten feet distant he must shoot in.
/ stantly or not at all. In a second it will
be out Of sight behind the leaves and
| bran ches.
This shooting is now at its hardest be-
| cause Of the leaves. They have turned to
still on the stems. When they have fallen.
and by that much made the view more clear.
the shooting will he easier though never
| easy