190 



THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY 



Dog in a state of idleness; but two meals are necessary dur- 

 ing the hunting season; and at all times, a constant supply of 

 good, clear, and cold water, if possible, should be placed 

 within the Dog's reach. No sportsman should give his Dog 

 water, which he would not be willing to drink himself, and 

 it is disgraceful in any man, who keeps this animal confined, 

 and permits him to drink stinking filth from the gutter 

 and slop tub, when his fever or parching thirst calls for the 

 best and most cooling water. 



A Dog is in the best condition for hunting when he is 

 not very fleshy, both extremes of being over-fat or over- 

 poor, are detrimental to the comfort and ability of a Dog 

 to hunt, and should be avoided. To keep a Dog in proper 

 trim, he should have plenty of exercise, but especially be- 

 fore the shooting season commences; and every gentleman 

 who rides in the afternoon should give his Dog a good run 

 to the country; this gives him an opportunity to eat grass, 

 and hardens him to fatigue, and disrobes him of superfluous 

 flesh. 



When sickness approaches a Dog, nature points out to him 

 the use of grass, as a preventative or remedy, and it is neces- 

 sary, that this vegetable should be placed within his reach, 

 and every gentleman who can, should grow a small quan- 

 tity of oats, (being an excellent substitute for grass,) in his 

 yard, which will be readily eaten by the Dog. Every Dog 

 should have a good kennel provided for his comfort, and on 

 no account be permitted to enter the dwelling. This prac- 

 tice should be deprecated; what is more unpleasant than to 

 see a Dog lounge about the parlour, bed-rooms, or stretch 

 himself at full length before a fire, to the great inconvenience 

 of the family, and the injury of the Dog? A Dog, housed in 

 this way, is seldom hardy enough to stand much fatigue, 

 or the inclemencies of the winter season. These rules are 

 now submitted to all who desire to become acquainted with 

 the principles of training Dogs. The theory, however, is 

 not of great value, unless accompanied with much practice, 

 and the first impressions you give your dog, and the pro- 

 gress he makes during the first season of hunting, general- 

 ly determines his value, and whether he will be worth your 

 trouble and expense of keeping him. I shall hereafter 

 treat on the diseases of Dogs, their treatment, and on the 

 principles of shooting. I. 



growing near the edge of the water, from which proceeded 

 a most singular noise, accompanied by a considerable splash- 

 ing of the water; unable, on my first approach, to discover 

 the cause, owing to the height of the weeds, and my dis- 

 tance from the spot, I gained nigher access, by means of a 

 fallen tree, and to my surprise and exceeding interest, I 

 saw a violent combat between a Snake and an Eel. The 

 former was of the water species, and, as nigh as I could 

 judge, about four feet in length — tlie latter was much short- 

 er, but equal if not superior in thickness; how long the 

 combatants had been waging this war, was difficult to deter- 

 mine, but, by judging from their vigorous eflTorts, when I 

 first discovered them, I suppose they must have just com- 

 menced. For a considerable length of time, neither par- 

 ty appeared to gain advantage — tlieir muscular actions were 

 violent in the extreme and appeared to engage in deadly 

 strife. Whenever the eel succeeded in drawing its antago- 

 nist a short distance into the water, (and its chief efforts ap- 

 peared to be directed to tliis end,) it was evident, the snake 

 was no match for it; and this, the snake was aware of, and 

 would redouble its exertions to regain the shore, and bring 

 the eel with it, then the battle would be in favour of the 

 snake; each evidently endeavoured, to wage war against the 

 other on his own favourite element, and so would it pre- 

 ponderate, according as each succeeded in getting this ad- 

 vantage of its adversary — the eel appeared to lose that pow- 

 erful energy, when rolling in the dirt, which belongs to 

 it in its native element, and, it was as sensible as the snake 

 of the difference, and would also by increased efl'urt get 

 back again into the water with the snake. At times they 

 were completely encircled in each others folds, and although 

 their rage was manifested by the manner in which they 

 would continually bite each other, yet their whole efforts 

 were devoted to their muscular strength to decide the vic- 

 tory. After continuing this interesting combat for rather 

 more than ten minutes, tiiey separated mutually — the eel 

 returning to its native bottom, and the snake to the grass. 

 Believing that a circumstance of this kind is seldom wit- 

 nessed, I have communicated it for insertion in your va- 

 luable work. T. M. 

 July 6lh, 1S31. 



BATTLE BETWEEN A SNAKE AND AN EEL. 

 Messrs Editors, 



While I was walking, a few days since, along the bank 

 of a shaded creek, a few miles from Philadelphia, my 

 attention was attracted towards some weeds that were 



AN ENCOUNTER WITH WOLVES. 



The Deer in the vicinity of the prairies, of which I have 

 been speaking, are very large. Some of them weigh from 

 150 to 200 pounds. Wild Turkeys too, are here numerous 

 and they sometimes weigh from 20 to 30 pounds. But 

 facts like these unduly affect the imagination. These kinds 



