Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-09-24
FOXY WAYS OF PARTRIDGE.
Are the Best Hiders of All FIyink
Game-Elusive Habit Formed
I'm Very EARLY Life.

The day sacred to the slaughter OF
The game and toothsomepartridge is at
hand, and fishing and other tanner meth
DDS of sport will now give place to the
greater excitement and noisier pleasures
Of the gun.
Happily, says the New York Sun, ours
is no dainty little magnified quail, such
as lutters up before settlers or pointers
among the stubbles or turnips of Britain
Oh st. Partridge day. The American
bird is twice the size of the jaunty red
and buff partridge of the British sports
man. While for strength of flight and
confusing whirring of wings, he would,
10 find a parallel, require to experience
the proverbial hat corner at the apex
Of a well-conducted triangular drive of
grouse on a Scotch moor with a strong
breeze favoring the birds.
AS a matter of fact, our bird is really
a grouse by genus, and partridge only
by courtesy. About it's game qualities,
too, there can be no controversy.
At hiding it is an adept, and that ap~
parently as much by force of nature as
by education. Many a sportsman will
be startled by a sounding whirr of strong
wings from close before his feet, where
his eyes had distinguished nothing the
moment before. And the consciousness
will be borne in upon every tyro before
his first days shooting is over that,
~,;4lo,,4 AZ ao,;.+ora1 ,f n doris nnca
and eyes, he will unwittingly pass by
many more birds than he f1ushes, how
ever carefully he may search.
A couple of sportsmen still hunting al
the beginning of last season had a capt.
tai illustration of the wonderful hiding
faculties of the cartridges. One of them
was walking pretty close to the edge of
a covert. The other passed along about
opposite to him in the woods at rs yards
distance. The latter, having travelled
more rapidly, waited in a tiny clearing
he came to and saw a whole brood of
birds slip cautiously from the clover
into the underbrush before his friend
came along.
al w pllu was III lllC lCdu LIN DIN
hoped noiselessly over a messy log,
closely followed by the others. When
all had Joined her, the rest nestled
down close behind their sheltering
rampant, while she and one of the
others stood on the lookout with their
heads stock still, Stimulating dead
branches just above. The sportsman
suspected their presence and peered
into the woods carefully, but so we'll
did the two heads maintain their
statuesque positions that he passed on
quite unaware of the trick played upon
him until the gun of his companion
rang out its message of death to the
crouching birds.
On two occasions has the writer
fired at the head of a partridge keep
ing watch over a log, and found, when
retrieving, that he had shot two birds,
which had been facing him, though his
eyes had made out only one, and that
with difficulty. Often does the hunter
draw a bead upon a partridge standing
perfectly still at some little distance,
dlllully pOolllS Will OulSLIGICleu u6th,
and then hesitate for a time about fir
ing, lest he should find he has hit some
bleached old stump of peculiar form.
This elusive habit is formed in very
early life. Every n who has been
fortunate enough to come Upon a ar
fridge and her newly Matched chicks in
the springtime knows with what sur
prising speed and mystery the wee
things disappear. If the observer will
sit down and wait quietly for a few
minutes he will probably be able after
a time to make out the %twinkling little
eyes of the youngsters peeping out at
him, from under the dried leaves or
branches beneath or against which
they have hidden with skill in match
ing color and form.
The way in which the natural plu-
mage blends with the color scheme OF
the woods is fully matched by the abil-
ity of the birds to pose so as to fit in
with its surroundings. Often an eY-
perienced guide will fire at an elonea-
ton or p%roturbance upon an old
branch or overturned root and bring
a partridge flutterx1g to the ground, tc
the surprise of the u~nsuspecting hun.
ter who has passed it by.