My friend the partridge; memories of New England shooting, by STHammond ("Shadow") . l foursand stealthily crept toward the log until it wasnot more than twenty feet distant. I couldplainly see every portion of the log, but therewas no bird on it, and I was about to rise tomy feet when the muffled thunder of the firstdrumbeat held me spell-bound until the per-formance was over, when with bated breathand wildly throbbing heart, I noiselessly creptto the log, as the noise was evidently some littledistance beyond it. When I reached the log Iraised my head, so that my eyes were justabove it, when
My friend the partridge; memories of New England shooting, by STHammond ("Shadow") . l foursand stealthily crept toward the log until it wasnot more than twenty feet distant. I couldplainly see every portion of the log, but therewas no bird on it, and I was about to rise tomy feet when the muffled thunder of the firstdrumbeat held me spell-bound until the per-formance was over, when with bated breathand wildly throbbing heart, I noiselessly creptto the log, as the noise was evidently some littledistance beyond it. When I reached the log Iraised my head, so that my eyes were justabove it, when I saw the bird some thirty feetdistant standing upon a stone, but he un-doubtedly saw or heard me, for with a thunder-ous roar he took his departure for the adjacentwoods. The hollow log theory had entire possessionof my mind, and I decided that the bird hadrun from it at my approach. A close examina-tion, however, conclusively proved to me thathe had never set foot upon it, for its entiresurface was closely covered with small scalyportions of bark that crumbled and fell to the68. RUFFED GROUSE STRUTTING. DRUMMING. ground at the lightest touch. Then it came tome that I heard him drumming beyond the log,and the probability seemed almost certain thathe had done this upon the stone. I at onceproceeded to examine it. I found it to be aboutthree feet in length by two in width, nearlythe shape of an inverted platter and about afoot in height. Not more than half convinced,I determined to go to the bottom of this andby thorough investigation to learn the wholetruth of the matter. Selecting a small bushypoint, about thirty feet from the end of thelog and the same distance from the stone, Icut away branches enough to make a smallpeep-hole, and then cutting a path in the rearto an open place, I returned home and im-patiently waited for the time when I shouldagain hear the mysterious sound. It was nearly noon the next day when I heardit, and I at once started at full speed for theplace, an
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjecthunting, bookyear1908
