"THE PARTRIDGES*' OF MUSKOKA 217 



single barrel, a cow-horn full of powder, and 

 a bag of shot. He is also the proud owner of 

 a c partridge dog,' which ranges the woods in an 

 independent way, scorning either call or whistle, 

 now close to its master's heels, now a mile off 

 in the bush. But this matters not, for the beast 

 knows his business : mutely he hunts every likely- 

 looking spot, treating hares, squirrels, etc., with 

 contempt ; perseveringly he puzzles over cold 

 scent, till at length it grows hot, and he runs 

 right into the middle of a covey. With a great 

 whirr and rustling, they ' tree ' all around him. 

 Now is the time that calls forth the good quali- 

 ties of the ' partridge dog.' Finding birds is 

 nothing, any dog with a nose can do that ; but 

 the thing is to show them to his master, who is 

 perhaps half a mile off. Does he point or set ? 

 No ! he sits down calmly on his tail, and 

 fixing his eye on the ' treed ' birds, he commences 

 to bark and yell and howl with all his might, 

 and never ceases nor stirs from the spot until 

 his master comes up. Be it long or short, five 

 minutes or five hours, there he remains, making 

 all the noise he can. When our sportsman arrives 

 he takes careful and deadly aim at the nearest 

 bird, and seldom fails to lay it low. Rushing in, 



