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208 che CABINET OF 
was at that moment, I beckoned him to me, and after 
showing him the Dog, and explaining to him the cause of 
his acting thus, I flushed and shot the bird; thus giving 
the most palpable evidence of the fact that was possible to 
give; and as the like circumstance very rarely occurs, (and 
I know of but two instances on record, the one I believe 
is in Daniel’s Rural Sports, and inthe American Turf Re- 
gister,) I should like to know how often sportsmen have 
witnessed the same action in Dogs of their own or those 
belonging to their friends. 
This Dog was so perfectly acquainted with his duty, that 
he has been known to evince the greatest displeasure when 
another Dog in company committed an error.—An instance 
of this kind I will mention as related to me by some gen- 
tlemen, who had him with them on an excursion in the 
neighbourhood of Holmesburg near this city. They were 
hunting him in company with another Dog, which was 
very headstrong and disobedient, and although he would 
find and stand game very well, would not back another 
dog that had found it, nor suffer another Dog to back him, 
but would in both cases invariably flush the game, having 
on this day exercised this disposition in several instances 
to the great displeasure of the company. At length he 
pointed a covey in some bushes, and my Dog being near 
him at the time, backed him without moving from the 
spot; but the former Dog hearing the noise of the sports- 
men approaching from behind, caused him to turn his 
head, when he no sooner discovered that he was backed 
by another Dog, than he sprang upon the covey and flushed 
them. Thorn, whose patience I suppose was exhausted, 
as well as the sportsmen at such conduct, immediately 
seized the offender by the throat, with that degree of fero- 
city, as not only to punish him severely, but to leave those 
impressions upon him, which he remembered the rest of 
the day. . 
He was a favourite Dog with three very respectable and 
experienced sportsmen of this city, Mr. H., Mr. C. and 
Mr. L., and perhaps no three gentlemen could be found 
of better judgment and greater experience in sporting con- 
cerns; and as, Mr. Editor, I lend my dog, and gun also, 
(especially to experienced sportsmen, who Iam convinced 
will always take care of that which is committed to their 
trust,) it was the prime consideration of these gentlemen 
(as they always hunted together,) when preparing for a 
gunning excursion, to secure the services of this Dog, for 
he was their Alpha, and was always rated by them asa 
dog of the highest order, andyindeed as possessing some 
properties, which their experience had never before wit- 
nessed. These gentlemen informed me that on one occa- 
sion after partridges, he suffered three shots to be fired over 
him, before he broke from his point, and upon another oc- 
NATURAL HISTORY, 
casion while they were onan excursion after woodcock in the 
lower part of New Jersey, one of the party fired at, and sup- 
posed wounded a bird, but as the majority were against his 
opinion, he made no further research, but gave itup. The 
day being warm, and they wishing to change their ground, 
thought it advisable first to go to a tavern, about one-fourth 
of a mile distant from them for some refreshment, where 
they remained about half an hour. On preparing to renew 
their hunt, they called their dogs, but Thorn was in de- 
fault; this excited much uneasinessamongst them. They 
then commenced hallooing and whistling, and using such 
other means to find their absent friend as the emergency 
of the case required; they were however soon relieved from 
all unpleasant feelings on the subject, for they discovered 
his approach through a cornfield, with a woodcock in his 
mouth, supposed to be the identical bird fired at last and 
wounded by one of the party.—It appears, as stated by a 
boy who watched the Dog, that after following the party 
some distance towards the house, he suddenly turned about 
and made directly for the thicket into which the bird had 
flown, and where no doubt he had seen it settle, and that 
finding the bird, pointed it, and remained so until he heard 
them calling at the house, when he sprang upon the bird 
and caught it. 
Another interesting case occurred with Mr. H. a young 
gentleman of this city, who has related it several times, 
with a great degree of pleasure. Himself and his father 
were desirous of spending a short time in the country, 
and although not being sportsmen, were nevertheless desi- 
rous of taking with them guns and a Dog, in order to break 
in upon the monotony that a stay in the country presents 
to a citizen; they accordingly procured my Dog, and the 
next morning after having reached their new abode, they 
determined to spend in hunting; accordingly all things 
prepared they set out on their excursion, but the day wax- 
ing warm, the father became tired, and returned. The 
son, not yielding to fatigue so soon, and unwilling to re- 
turn without some trophy of his perseverance, continued 
his pursuit for several hours. During this period, after 
flushing a covey of partridges, the Dog found and pointed 
several scattered birds, at which our young sportsman 
fired without success. The Dog discovering the kind of 
master he had to work for, became utterly regardless of 
the game, and would run over every bird instead of point- 
ing them. Discouraged at his ill success, our young friend 
concluded to return home with but one bird, (which the 
Dog pointed and caught in the act of rising,) disposed to 
impute the blame to the Dog as the cause of his disappoint- 
ment; but on relating the circumstance to his father be- 
came soon convinced where the error was, by an anecdote 
of the same nature being related to him, of two celebrated 
