83 MY OLD DOG TRIM. 



close to the ground until out of shot. Bound to circumvent 

 it, I took a friend and placing him on the bank of the creek, 

 I took the inside, between the alders and ditch, and sent the 

 dog in the thicket ; he soon struck the trail, and followed it 

 down to the ditch; I took my stand about a rod from the 

 ditch and directed my companion to walk up to the dog and 

 flush the bird, which he did, and the wiley old fellow, 

 taking in the situation at a glance, dived for the ditch and 

 flew so low that neither of us could see him. But he had 

 played his last trick ; there was a streak of dog and mud 

 after him that forced him t0 show himself ; a sullen roar, a 

 cloud of feathers, and the gallant bird was beaten at his own 

 game. Instead of standing perfectly still at the report of the 

 gun, as he invariably did, Trim came directly to us, and, 

 capering around us, plainly expressed his joy at the result ; 

 then going for the bird, he brought it to my friend first, and, 

 arching his neck, marched around him in triumph two or 

 three times, and then brought it to me. This was the first 

 and last time I ever knew him to chase. 



Trim was abs lutely perfect in the field; there was no 

 necessity to tell him where to go ; he c overed the whole 

 ground, and, although a very fast and wide ranger, quartered 

 his ground so close, and showed himself so often, that it was 

 no trouble to keep track of him. At the faintest indication 

 of scent he would come to a point and remain quiet until I 

 came up to him, and when he had located his bird neither 

 encouragement nrr threats could move him an inch. At the 

 rise of the bird, or re port of the gun, he remained perfectly 

 still in whatever position he happend to be, until ordered on. 

 He was one of the best retrievers that I ever siw, both from 

 land and water, never mouthing his birds, or ruffling a feather. 

 I never knew him to bite a bird but once ; we were hunting 

 a wide belt of timber when my companion, at some distance 

 to my right, signalled a point ; I crossed over and, when 

 nearly to him, flushed and shot a woodcock; at the report of 

 the gun, a grouse rose before the dog and my friend dropp?d 

 it close by the woodcock; both birds were only winged. 

 Trim gathered the grouse first, when, comirg in, he stumbled 



