Speed Versus Nose 109 



too many cases a sad fact. Jean Valjean cannot 

 be a dog of this sort, or he would not have rightly 

 beaten Buckshot at Oxford. Jean must have the 

 proper nose for his legs. 



"I once knew of a half-breed and Gordon setter 

 that drove foxes very fast and that would take 

 foxes from any hound in this vicinity, but as his 

 nose was not as fast as his legs, he would get a 

 check, and after the hounds straightened it out for 

 him, he would outrun them again. Now, which 

 style of beagle is the best and gives the most satis- 

 faction when hunted alone, the sprinter without the 

 right nose, or the steady-driving, keen-scented dog? 

 I like Mr. Stoddard's letter, published some time 

 ago, but do not like a dog with a 'farm-horse' jog. 

 I believe in the hustling, level-headed, sure-scented, 

 staying, road-horse style of beagle." 



And Mr. Buckstaff comes back in rebuttal in a 

 sportsmanlike manner, chaffing his critics and 

 apologizing for some of his interpretations and use 

 of words, ending a lively discussion from his home 

 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in January, 1895, with: 

 "When I wrote you in regard to speed and nose in 

 beagles, it was after reading the reports of the 

 National trials in two great sporting journals and 

 several lesser ones, and I gathered the data for my 

 letter from them. It now looks as if the saying of 



