G8 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Fkbhuaby 24, 1881. 



however, one adopts the tactics of ordinary field shooting he 

 will find that in the majority of cases some uuoilendiug sap- 

 ling -will receive the charge intended for the bird and his ef- 

 forts at sport will result in an aimless expenditure of time, 

 temper and ammunition. Ono. might suppose from what 1 

 have written that quail shooting here hardly repays one for 

 his time and trouble, yet occasionally there coines a red-letter 

 day, when, by dint of good luck or well-considered strategy, 

 one succeeds in driving a large covey away from the thicket 

 iuto the open field and, as his good dog points firmly and the 

 birds one by one rise, reluctant to leave the protecting sedge 

 and direct their swift flight again toward their place of 

 refuge, he may then and there revenge himself to the full for 

 the many cruel disappointments he has suffered from their 

 loud-whirring, close-dodging relatives. Besides, I know that 

 there are men to whom the weight of their bag is but a minor 

 part of the sport and who find more true pleasure in bagging 

 a dozen birds secured by the exercise of judgment and pa- 

 tience, combined with a quick aim and steady hand, than 

 they could derive from shooting thrice that number in the 

 open stubble. Although this section is rather a dark land iu 

 regard to sporting mattersijstill theFouEST and Stream pours 

 its radiant light upon many portions and exerts here, as else- 

 where, a healthful influence. 



I have been reading with great interest accouuts of and com- 

 ments upon the recent field trials. 



From all I can lea>u, they appear to me, unless changes 

 are made, likely to exert a pernicious, rather than a whole- 

 some, influence upon dog-breed iug. It seems to me that too 

 much importance is given to pn.ee and style and too little 

 stress laid upon nose and staunchness. However well such 

 trials may suit the needs of our "kin across the sea," with 

 Whom, I believe, the dog, except: the retriever, is not used 

 hut for grouse-shooting on the Scotch moors, 1 cannot say, 

 hut I feel that if I am right in my estimation of the tendency 

 of these trials they will result in the production or a strain of 

 dogs in which style and pace will be cultivated at the expense 

 of every other quality. I am sure that there are many dogs 

 which not even a lunatic would expect to see placed in, a 

 " field trial," over which more shots could be had in a day's 

 hunt, than over many of the prize-winners. 



Hut. I must close (his already too-long letter hy saying that 

 I, in company, as I believe, with many other lovers of the 

 dog, am utterly and uncompromisingly opposed to auv aud 

 everything that can result in phiciug'the companion of my 

 leisure hours in the same category as the fast, trotter and the 

 racehorse. Wir.i.. 



Savannah, Tenn. 



HOUNDS VS. STILL HOTTING. 



HAVING wailed long aud patiently for some one more 

 capable than myself to take up tin: matter of hunting 

 deer with hounds, place it in a clear light before the public 

 and defend the lovers of such sp >rt from the foul stigmas so 

 frequently bestowed and sought to be placed upon such per- 

 sons, and' failing to see any one " come to the Tore" to stand 

 up in defence of a branch of hunting alike sportsmanlike and 

 legitimate, that has been practiced from time immemorial 

 and will likely be continued as long ax sportsmen, dogs and 

 deer exist, I venture to express my senti uenls upon llie sub- 

 ject. I am aware that 1 am treading upon dangerous 

 ground, and that perhaps the ire of sonic will be aroused, as 

 there arc many who, judged by their writings, look upon ns 

 who practice this method a? Pariahs, to whom a burial at 

 the cross-roads without the benefit of clergy would be a fit- 

 ting punishment for our misdeeds in the flesh. Now, what, 

 does all this mean ? The fact of the matter is this, one-half 

 of those who seek to be critics or advisers on such matters 

 know little of what they are talking or writing about; they 

 consequently fall into errors and draw false deductions. 



Viewed in the proper light, what is a houud to the hunter? 

 Simply an auxiliary aud an assistance to insure what every 

 hunter deserves and seeks to attain, viz., success. "Bnt'lf 

 you use dogs you have too great an advantage over the deer." 

 (Granted, for sake of argument, only.; What is a rifle ? 

 Merely au auxiliary to the strength, activity and reason that. 

 God has endowed man with to make him a ruler over the 

 beasts of the field and birds of the air. Why not taboo the 

 rille as being too deadly, ami resort to the old flint-lock mus- 

 ket; finding it al-o too deadly, go back to the bow and 

 arrow, until you ultimately retrograde to the appliances used 

 by our primitive fathers? 



Its cruelty is frequently spoken of. 1 contond that not 

 one-half of the cruelty or suffering is caused by hunting with 

 hounds as is caused by still hunting. In the former ease you 

 either kill your deer outright or, if wounded, your dogs very 

 soon catch it, and you ran then finish it and thus put an end 

 toils suffering. On the other hand, fullv one-half of the 

 deer shot while slill hunting are never obtained and are left 

 to linger and die a miserable d<-ath, and their carcasses, 

 which otherwise would be of benefit to mankind, are left for 

 no better purpose than perhaps enriching the soil. Why this 

 senseless tirade should be made against hounds I am at. a loss 

 to account. Why are not setters, pointers, cockers, spaniels, 

 retrievers, etc., to which the attention of the whole sporting 

 world i.< directed, fine} for which such a large amount of 

 money is annually expended, included in the same category 

 and classed in Ulte manner. These last-named dogs only as- 

 sist in the capture of other game and render important service 

 to the sportsman. Slill not a single word is said against 

 them or au objection raised againsl their use. '• lint," says 

 the wiseacre — who perhaps never saw deer or of his own 

 Knowledge coulttstate whether he carried his horns on his 

 head or on his tail— "if you use hounds you will drive all the 

 deer out of the country.'" This is au erroneous idea. My 

 experience iu this respect extends over twenty years with 

 chances for observation not accorded to many, and my expe- 

 rience is that when a deer has escaped the hounds by taking 

 water or otherwise, he cares as little for dogs as if he bud 

 never heard one, and each subsequent lime he happens to be 

 hunted by them he is only the more cunning and capable of 

 eluding his pursuers; he goes back to his Daunts ft?d pays no 

 more attention to the matter. Hounds running deer never 

 make them forsake their accustomed haunts, aud they pay 

 no attention to hounds when after other deer. I knew of 

 forty-four deer having been killed on one runway in two 

 seasons: and not withstanding this fact, you then could and 

 can still start a deer within aiiiile of that' runway any day in 

 the year. 



"Hut. it. is unsportsmanlike to lake advantage of the deer 

 In this way." savs some one. Is it any more so or so much 

 sp, lis to call raoOBe, I I take advantage (if their passions, over 

 which they at certain seasons oE Hie year have little or no 

 control? Or lo W&il on :i d'-er (rati in litfi rutting season, 

 when if a dm lo be followed in the 



| ,;■, , ,|, [I I V I <' " ! ' P '" SWW 1 



half dozen of bucks with no eyes, ears or nose for anything 

 ather than the doc? Or to sit perched in a tree close to a 

 leer-lick and wait until a deer comes within fifteen or twenty 

 feel, of you ? Or to float at night, when the mosquitoes drive 

 the deer almost frantic aud compel them to seek the water to 

 ide the pests, and then to shoot such unfortunates under 

 nmstances which preclude any discrimination between 

 bucks and does, the death of the latter generally resultiner in 

 the death by starvation of her helpless offspring? Or to 

 crawl upon a deer asleep at midday and blow his head to 

 pieces with a double charge of buckshot at ten or twenty 

 paces? let all the above" arc recognized by the opponents 

 if deer-driving as legitimate sport against the practice of 

 which nothing is heard nor any objection urged. 



Then, again, to suppose that the advantage over the still- 

 hunter is bo great is a mistake. A" good sfill-lmntcr, where 

 deer arc plenty, can kill more deer than can a, man with 

 hounds, take it week in and week out. The still-hunter is 

 al ways ready, while the other has frcqnent mishaps, such as 

 lost dogs, footsore dogs, etc., making many breaks in a hunt- 

 ing trip. Again, but few people can successfully run dogs. 

 To do so with any degree of success requires, in addition to 

 having good dogs, an intimate knowledge of the habits of 

 both deer and dogs, which can be gained only in the school 

 of experience, after years of patient study aud observation, 

 coupled with personal endurance and patience to a greater ex- 

 tent than is usually combined in the generality of persons; 

 and the pleasure to be derived is notafforded by the mere 

 killing of the deer, but the consequent, circumstances attend- 

 ant upon the find, start, run aud finish of the hunt, as the ac- 

 companiments of the fox-hunt are the objects of pleasure 

 associated with the sport, not the mere worrying of unfortu- 

 nate Reynard at the close ; as in upland shooting, the quar- 

 tering, pointing, setting, backing aud retrieving of your dogs 

 afford gratification to the true sportsman, immeasurably be- 

 yond the bagging of your ten or fifteen brace of birds. I 

 would be willing to wager that a novice might take six as 

 good dogs as ever ran a trail and he would not, except by 

 lucre chance, kill a deer in a week, while at the end of that 

 time the dogs, from want of proper management and lack of 

 success on the part of the hunter, would be as worthless as 

 would be. so many coyotes, 



To those who do not care for hunting with hounds I say, 

 with all respect, that it would bo easy for me to attack aud 

 throw more or less discredit upon their choice method, be it 

 still-hunting, fire-hunting or otherwise. There is no wish on 

 my part to do so. Let them pursue their favorite tporf, do- 

 ing it always in a legitimate, sportsmanlike and gentlemanly 

 manner, always and only at proper seasons, never killing 

 more than they want aud can make good use. of. 



i\v,r Westmfawtm; British Calum/iio. J. C. Hughes. 



REYNARD'S HA.H1TS AND STRATAGEMS. 



THK most persecuted among wild animals is the red fox. 

 He seems to have been sought, after, since time imme- 

 morial, by all classes of hunters, cither for sport, or for profit, 

 or both. If he escapes the hounds, he is often dug from his 

 burrow and kept (Sampson-like) to make sport for the Phil- 

 istines. By the way, I never heard any conjectures relative 

 to tlit- manner in which Sampson caught those MOO. If such 

 another niau OS Sampson cou'd be found in these days, he 

 might, procure enough to supply an army of foxhuntcrs the 

 whole year rouud. 



I have had some acquaintance with the nature and habits 

 of foxes, and I never believed the fox to be that objectiona- 

 ble, thievish, pestiferous animal which he is represented to 

 be. He is called a robber of hencoops and poultry pards, 

 but I had rather have a horde of foxes in my hencoop than 

 one little nasty weasel. I have always lived where foxes 

 were plenty, and have always kept poultry, and I have never 

 lost the value of a superannuated old rooster by his depre- 

 dations. 



lie is wary and sagacious, having a wonderful faculty of 

 self preservation, without which the race would soon become 

 extinct. He is decidedly a still hunter, and follows his 

 legitimate calling, seldom killing more than lo supply his 

 immediate wants. Ha surplus is obtained, he carefully de- 

 posits it iu some sly place, and returns for it as his wants re- 

 quire, being in this respect unlike the wolf, whose destructive 

 proclivities seem to know no bound when opportunity pre- 

 sents. 



The fox is a light and easy traveler, and his natural gait 

 is what may be properly termed "foxy." He frequently bur- 

 rows before or during a "heavy snowstorm, where he remains 

 many days, or until the snow settles or packs sufficient for 

 easy traveling; when he will sally forth and perhaps remain 

 out f >r weeks, unless driven in by hounds, and then only as 

 a last resort ; traveling to and fro during the night and lying 

 by during the day on some secluded and elevated ground, 

 Where belies bedded in snow, in such a position that he can 

 see any object which may be approaching, and especially 

 where he can see for some distance on his back track. Here 

 he lies apparently asleep, but before you have caught a fox 

 uappiner you will have caught the weasel asleep. 



Several years ago, while hunting in Western New York, I 

 had the CuProsity to ascertain the average weight of the red 

 fox. Of twenty-three which I caught one winter the weight 

 varied from seven to nine pounds, the average being about, 

 7] pounds each. Antler. 



1'inei/ Fait*, Tmn. 



Both the red fox and the gray arc common here, and the 

 music of the hounds and the sound of the horn are heard 

 almost daily on the hills. From remote antiquity the fox 

 has been celebrated in song and story for his cleverness and 

 cunning, but I do not. remember to have seen an account of 

 one of his most successful strategems. It, is a common prac- 

 tice with Reynard when hard pressed to run to the lair of 

 another fox, and rout him up before the hounds, retiring him- 

 self unobserved to some convenient thicket to seek the need- 

 ed repose. I have frequently when chasing the fox ob- 

 served him, after a long run,' almost exhausted -, and when 

 urging my horse to the front to be in at the death I have 

 heard the pack going away over the hills after another fox. 

 This one will run until sorely pressed in his turn, when he 

 routs the now rested one that he had before relieved, or an- 

 other if he chance to come in his way. Thus in a day's hunt 

 the, hounds will frequently chase two or more foxes, each re- 

 lieving the other when sorely pressed. I once saw a half- 

 grown cub enter a laurel thicket only a short distance iu ad- 

 vance of the hounds, when a very large fox spraug out from 

 under the shelter of a rock and rim directly over (he other's 

 tracks toward the pack, thus relieving hts little friend from 

 mo i imminent peril. It is said that the pregnant fos la 

 ertitih'KP and, .(„,,, • 



anecdote of a fox sometime since, which, if true, is simply 

 marvelous. He was being hotly pressed by the hounds and 

 escape seemed impossible, but he entered an enclosure where 

 a farmer was plowing, and running directly iu the furrow be- 

 fore the horses for the. entire leDgth of the field, the plow- 

 share effectually covered up and obliterated all trace of his 

 scent. No general in all the annals of war ever conceived a 

 more brilliant stralegem than this. Sir Walter Scott said 

 that he could believe, anything concerning the intelligence of 

 the dog; and certainly Reynard is quite the equal of his cilu- 

 ca'ed cousin in cleverness and cunning. The fox has the 

 eye of the cat ; the pupil is not round but linear aud vertical 

 aud evidently designed for nocturnal vision. When escape 

 appears to be impossible, it is said the fox will feign death. 

 My own experience is, however, quite the contrary. Ho is 

 game, frequently turning in his desperation on the hounds, 

 and always dying hard. Xil Yonins. 



Bridgeport, II'. Va. 



GAME AND FISH IN INDIANA. 



A WOBKIXG SOCIETY NEKDiCD. 



iNtHANOMVIS, lud., Jan. 10. 

 Editor Forest and Stream ; 



I see in your issue of Jan. a communication signed " 0. 

 W. W.." who, writing from Fairland, lud., complains of poor 

 quail shooting in that" vicinity. 



It is true as he states. The weather has been unfavorable, 

 but I would like to ask him if the season did not open with 

 a scarcity of birds, and was he not partially responsible for 

 it? Does he not know that during the months of January 

 and February, 1880, as many quail were killed in his neigh- 

 hood as during December and November preceding, which 

 months constituted the lawful season ? 



Does he not know that quail were killed daily during Oc- 

 tober, 1880, by his personal friends and acquaintances ? 



Did he ever make any effort to have the game laws re- 

 spected, or prosecute the known violators thereof ? 



Is he doing anything toward protecting the birds that now 

 remain ? 



Although these questions are propounded directly to "C. 

 W. W.," a stranger to me, I intend them for every man in 

 Indiana, who, claiming to have at heart the cause of the 

 sportsman, does nothing for it but sit and idly complain of 

 poor shooting and fishing. 



Something must be done and immediately too, for while 

 this past season afforded but few days when men shooting 

 over dogs enjoyed the sport, our markets have been glutted 

 with quail— the ruling price for weeks being sixty cents per 

 dozen 



The ground throughout the State is still covered with suow, 

 and probably will be for weeks to come. During that time 

 thousands of our noble little friends, weak with cold aud 

 hunger, will fall before the proud pot-hunter, who boasts of 

 killing an entire covey with one barrel, and many more will 

 find their way to the "never failing traps and nets. I think 

 it has been fully proven that the ordinary machinery of the 

 law will do but little toward the enforcement of statutes for 

 the protection of game and fish. Therefore if the sportsmen 

 of Indiana do not shake off the lethargy so long upon them 

 '.'.■(.■ :\ ill si.: iu li-'o. !'■ :i law ni ih'./u i n i' i In- -1 1 ■ L i i ■ ■ " ■ ■ 1 I'iLii: in 

 a term of years. That is what the trapper wants, and sports- 

 men should endeavor to show their desire to enforce the 

 present law and avoid the passage of such a one as I have 

 named. 



Indiana ranks fifth among the States in point of wealth 

 aud population, and has a larger common school fund than 

 New York ; but, she is behind nearly all the Stales and many 

 of the Territories In game and fish protection. I do not 

 know of a protective association in the State. If there are 

 any the)' do but little locally and nothing generally, because 

 there is" no concerted action, and there being no State Asso- 

 ciation their efforts are not well sustained. 



Our game laws are all that could be d'.'sired, except that 

 the woodcock season opens July 1 instead of Sept 1 as it 

 should. As much eannol be said in favor of the fish law, 

 since it does not provide for the appointment of State Com- 

 missioners or the maintenance' of fishways in the many dams; 

 It does not even protect bass during the spawning season. 

 I have know parties to steal one hundred bass off nests in one 

 trip on White River from Broad Ripple to the city limits, 

 a distance of seven or eight miles. No wonder "M. W. R." 

 took a vow to never again wet a line in Indiana. 



We have within a few minutes' walk of the city three 

 streams that are the natural home of the bass, and should af- 

 ford a dav's sport when whipped; hut a man may angle fail h- 

 fully for days and weeks and not take home a mess of fish. 

 At the same time seines are owned openly, aud but little se- 

 crecy practiced in the use of them. Every man who I bus vi- 

 olates the law is known, aud had we an association through 

 wliieh to work they could he watched and soon brought to 

 justice. An effort" was made in that direction a few yeats 

 ago, but the county treasurer, sheriff, prosecutor and judge 

 of the Criminal Court were careful to sec the Grand Jury re- 

 turned no indictments against those who made it a point to 

 supply them with fish. In fact, those officers were not guilt- 

 less themselves, one of them being the most persistent fish 

 thief in this county, while the other had on one or more occa- 

 sions assisted in hauling a seine. A disgraceful acknowledg- 

 ment certainly, but truth compels me to make it. 



The question of game and fish protection has become an 

 important subject for the consideration not, only of sportsmen, 

 but hotel keepers, merchants, railway companies and the pub- 

 lic generally. Regardless of the question of food supply in- 

 volved—and that is by uo means insignificant— the people of 

 Indiana should remember that by making their own Slate at- 

 tractive to sportsmen they would draw annually from less fa- 

 vored States a large revenue, and the company of many ex- 

 cellent citizens, some of whom would be led to locate perma- 

 nently with us. In addition to that they would keep at home 

 the vast, sum expended yearly by Iudianians in search of 

 pleasure in other States. 



In these few hastily written lines I have tried to be reason- 

 able, and have repressed the caustic words that suggested 

 themselves when thinking of the rapidly departing jojs of the 

 sportsman in Indiana. " 



I | ■lon-e hL', i ,-.,i| 1 |m;, ;ir,. |-iisp"-""il !■ i I' . ' - ' 1.1 i: nil' 



ny its truthfulness I trust a large number will, like myself, 

 feel humiliated and determine to correct the abuses named. 

 and recover something of that which has been lost through 

 idleness and negligence. Hoosxbk. 



Wfl ABB Hi BBOHm of Hie constitution and by-jUT 



'■■',- Lata fctooTtraen's Association, wh ■ - 



lastlil y fffojj iK,a ! i.niiirier^ini"nivo!'i':rv 



