124 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Marou 17, 1881 



to face the butts. It would be popular, and could only bo 

 productive of good to all concerned, and failing the regular 

 team match, the match of Wimbledon vs. Creedrnoor would 

 be an interesting and important one. 



THE AMERICA CUP. 



AS announced in these columns a full fortnight, ahead of 

 all its contemporaries, the new sloop budding by Cuth- 

 bert, ol •'Trenton, Out., will probably turn up in our waters 

 this summer with her fighting flag at the peak, and a picked 

 racing crew to try her chances for the coveted America Cup. 

 It will be a case of Greek meeting Greek, for Cuthbert's 

 sloop is of the centre board tribe, and in general dimensions 

 and type will not materially differ from our own Grades, 

 Mischiefs and Arrows. While the match will be none the 

 less international in its political aspect, it will be devoid of 

 the one feature which has made us look forward to the ad- 

 vent, of foreign racers in our waters with all absorbing inter- 

 est. The question of superiority of type, of differences in 

 performance, as well as in appearance, rig and fittings, will 

 not, enter into contest, aud the match will virtually be re- 

 duced to a trial between two individual sloops, both of which 

 may fairly be taken as representatives of American " evolu- 

 tion," though built a thousand miles apart, and on different 

 sides of the line. We learn that an official challenge is to be 

 issued for the new craft in the name of the Bay of Quinte 

 A'achl Club, of Belleville, Out., one of the most spirited and 

 flourishing of the clubs of the great fresh water lakes. With 

 lieavy odds in our favor in the way of greater experience, a 

 course in well-known home waters and weather, and the pres- 

 tige of previous battles won, the enterprise displayed by our 

 Canadian cousins is certain to meet with hearty commenda- 

 tion. In the schooner matches for the cup a few years ago, 

 the Canadians received fair enough terms, and from what we 

 know of the intentions of the trustees of the cup, equally 

 sportsmanlike conditions will be extended to all comers in 

 the future. The day has fortunately passed when we would 

 insist upon naming a different vessel for every heat according 

 to the weather, after having got the gauge of the stranger, nor 

 is it at all likely that we will again attempt to weight the 

 scales in our favor b) r sailing a whole fleet of big and little 

 against a single foreigner in the expectation of crowding him 

 out by b'anketlug or fouling while some of our vessels have a 

 clear course to themselves and out of the whole fleet, 

 someone is sure to find it "just her "weather," while the 

 challenger may be all out of sorts in the same wind and sea. 

 The. plea that the America won in 1831 from a fleet of British 

 ships is a weak one and will not hold. The lot, of old pump- 

 kin-seeds she met belonged, with one or two exceptions, to a 

 by-gone age, were not half the tonnage of Steers' schooner, and 

 ■were out of the hunt wbeu they hove about for the second or 

 third hitch through the waters of the Solent. Besides, what 

 the America did or did not do has really no bearing on the 

 case. Granted that the deed of trust is open to two interpre- 

 tations, as claimed by some, it is clearly our business to ex- 

 tend to challenging yachts terms which shall be fair to-day 

 and show no favor to either side. To win from a foreigner 

 as we did from Cambria, pitted against a fleet of racing 

 machines over a tidal course by blauketiug and putting the 

 stranger about, against the rules of the road, ought to seem 

 barren and inglorious enough to prevent the repetition of 

 such tactics. Fortunately there will be no fresh opportunity 

 for concocting a special rule of measurement to handicap the 

 Canadian should she make her number in the barber ; for in 

 the coming match " what is sauce for the goose is sauce for 

 the gander,' 1 and we are unwilling to believe that public sen- 

 timent would permit any such doctoring as we have heard 

 whispered might be the case if a narrow, long-legged cutter 

 had made the voyage across the Atlantic in search of glory 

 and ,; the cup." AVc do not believe that the New York Y. 

 C. would lend countenance to any such underhand scheme, 

 now that its members at large are far better posted and appre- 

 ciate their trust with much more understanding than they 

 did some years ago. Let the Canadian come with credentials 

 which cannot be questioned, aud she is sure to find us ready 

 and anxious to show fight in a manner becoming to a sport 

 essentially under the control of gentlemen. If Cuthbert's 

 sloop carries away the international silverware, homeward 

 bound, from such a smart aud perfect production as Mischief, 

 for example, we will know how to take defeat like men, and 

 we are prepared to cheer the stranger as a craft about as near 

 perfection as will ever be laid down on similar principles. 

 We have not yet seen the new ship's lines or sail draft, but, 

 reasoning by analogy, venture to believe the cup will remain 

 south of the St. Lawrence for some time to come, as long as 

 wc are to meet only yachts of our own national type. 



It is a Source of Sincere Congratulation to all friends 

 of game protection that the proposed new game law, indorsed 

 by the Long Island Association, has been modified. We re- 

 ported last week the changes recommended by the members 

 of the Committee of the New York Association, which were 

 substantially as follows : 



That the penalties should not be the same for unequal 

 crimes. That the word '■willful" should be stricken out of 

 the entire bill excepting in the clause relating to trespassing. 

 That the law on ducks be changed so that the open season 

 commences the first of September. That the law in regard 

 to small fish should not apply to the fisherman who catches 

 them with rod and reel : and ihat all contraband game should 

 be surrendered to the officer appointed for that purpose in 



lai 



tie 



twenty-four hours after it had been received, or the party 

 having the same would be liable to prosecution. The law 

 on summer woodcock shooting is to apply to Long Islaud 

 only, also the words "TOluntaiy surrenrtejr or," have been 



stricken out of the bill. 



These changes, having 

 committee of the Long Is 



The law is now in sucl 

 the favor of sportsmen. 



AV~e still believe that bill is not perfect, that the season for 

 selling various kinds of game is too long; but we think also 

 that, as it now stands modified, it is an improvement on the 

 present law. 



ids 



d. 



If to 



The Business Community of this City has abundant rea- 

 son to rejoice over the nomination of Mr. H. G. Pearson as 

 Postmaster. This appointment was demanded by the pub- 

 lic sentiment of New York, and President Garfield, in ac- 

 knowledging the force of this universally expressed desire, lias 

 deserved the thanks of all residents of this city. Mr. Pear- 

 sou has had a long experience in the Post Office, and has en- 

 joyedthe benefit of Mr. James' experience and example. He 

 is, of course, familiar with tint gentleman's methods, and 

 has ably seconded him in the many reforms which he has in- 

 augurated in the New York Post Office. 



Mr. Pearson is known as a faithful and intelligent public 

 servant, and while he is Postmaster New York may expect a 

 service which, for promptness and general efficiency, shall 

 be second to noue in the world. It, is not too much to hope 

 that our present Postmaster wiil be as useful and as popular 

 as our hist— the best that New York has ever known— who 

 will now iu Washington extend to the country at large the 

 advantages that we in this city have enjoyed for years. We 

 are happy to believe that there is no doubt that Mr. Pear- 

 son's nomination will be confirmed by the Senate. 



A Trip Tuhofou the Provinces, whether it costs one or 

 two hundred dollars, is certainly worth taking. The traveler, 

 if .he have the powers of observation which all successful 

 sportsmen must possess, cannot fail to see much both in the 

 country and the people that will he new to him as well as in- 

 teresting. 



In the contributions bearing on this subject which we have 

 recently published, many facts have been elicited which will 

 be of use to those of our readers who intend to penetrate the 

 district referred to. 



We arc always glad to allow the fullest discussion of auy 

 subject in our columns, and so have given full swing to Mr. 

 Fay, Mic-Mac and Manhattan ; nor would we now check the 

 consideration of the subject, could further argument serve 

 anj r useful purpose. As it is we feel that it must now give 

 place to Other matter, and, therefore, after Mir. Pay's reply 

 to Mic-Mac's article in this week's issue, the discussion will 

 cease. 



We An, of us Desire to he Considered "true sports- 

 men," but do we consider how dreadfully the term is abused 

 nowadays? Truly, except that, unhappy substantive " gen- 

 tleman," we scarcely know of a word that is more misused 

 and misapplied. 



The voice of a true sportsman speaks to-day in our Natur- 

 al History column, aud we commend its utterances to every 

 one of our readers. 



We are all far too apt, in the hurry aud eagerness of pur- 

 suit, to let our excitement get the better of us, to kill too much, 

 to do things of which in our cooler momenta wc should be 

 ashauied. When, therefore, such an admonition conies to us, 

 when a sportsman, who is at the'same time a thoughtful, 

 tender-heated man — a true gentle man — reminds us of our 

 duty, let us lay the admonition to heart and try to cany the 

 lesson with us when we next shoulder our gnu or set up our 

 rod. 



" Paddle and Portage " is the attractive title which Mr. 

 Steele has adopted for his new book which is now in prepar- 

 ation. The route over which the party traveled last year 

 was from Moosehead Lake to the Aroostook River, Maine, a 

 country which for book making purposes has all tin; charms 

 of novelty and beauty of scenery. Mr. Steele obtained a 

 great number of photographic views, which we understand 

 have been hailed with delight by the well-known New York 

 artists, Messrs. Benj. Day and Chas. Graham, who ave to il- 

 lustrate the book. The success of Mr. Steele's "Canoe and 

 Camera " warrants the expectation that its supplementary 

 volume will meet a warm reception. 



Tue Brighton Aquarium.— We regret to learn that Mr. 

 Francis Francis, the well-known Fishery Editor of the Field, 

 has resigned his post of Naturalist Director of the Brighton 

 Aquarium. Mr. Francis has brought the Aquarium to apitch 

 of perfection which was the admiration of scientific men, 

 even so as to win the approval of as conservative a mau as Dr. 

 Gunther, of the British Museum, and now, just as he lias 

 done this, he has resigned. It is evidently the duty of the 

 Board of Directors to refuse to accept his resignation. Prop- 

 erly managed aquaria are one of the sources of learning, and 



,t few men in the world can manage one. We hope that 

 the next time we visit, Brighton we will find Mr. Francis at 

 his old post. 



A New Steamer for the Fish Commission. — Congresshas 

 appropriated $103,000 to build a new steamer for the Fish 



Commission to be adapted to purposes of sea dredging and 

 investigation. The Fish Hawk is essentially a river steamer 

 intended for hatching. The new steamer will take the place 

 of the tug Speedwell which has heretofore been detailed from 

 the navy for this purpose, and being built for research will 

 have all the modern appliances and be built with this end in 

 view, and, therefore", more effective. 



Good Wine Needs m Busu, and the works of Frank For- 

 ester, ever deservedly popular with sportsmen, need no special 

 commendation. A new edition of the sporting scenes and 

 sketches by this graceful writer has just been issued by 

 Messrs. T. 13. Peterson & Co., of Philadelphia, having becu 

 edited by Will Wildwood, who is well known as an enthusi- 

 ast on the subject of Herbert and his writings. 



This edition contains a life of Herbert, a new introductory 

 chapter and other new matter. 



UNCLE 'LISHAS SPRING GUN. 



UNCLE 'LISHA PEGGS was the owner of a small farm 

 lying so near the Green Mountains that, his woodlot 

 was on a westering slope of one of their spurs, and the. 

 1 ' black growth " of balsam and spruce crept down to the 

 upper e.tge of the sugar hush. His acres were, too few to 

 keep him steadily employed in their tillage, and so, in slack 

 limes, as well as in evenings and rainy days, he mended the 

 hoots aud shoes of his neighbors, and was sometimes per- 

 suaded, as a special favor, to exercise the craft to the extent of 

 building a pair of leathern conveniences. These productions 

 could not be praised for their beauty, for the builder did not 

 hold greatly to snug fits. If the sole of the wearer's foot set 

 fairly on the inner sole of the hoot and there we two or 

 three points of contact with the uppers, his ideal of a per- 

 fect fit was realized. 



He "'callated his stogies 'ould turn water like a cabbage- 

 leaf if you gin 'cm a dost o' taller or musluat ile onct a week, 

 an' wear julluk iron, an' when a feller onct got 'em broke 

 they sot dreltte easy"— all of which was true, and especially 

 the dread fulness of Ihe easiness. 



One Sunday, late in summer time, when the sun shorn- 

 hot from a brassy sky through a smoky haze that blurred 

 the shadows' edges and the grass was slippery with drouth, 

 and the locust gave voice to the parching heat, Uncle 'Lisha 

 had performed the duty of church attendance, smoothing bis 

 way through it with a comfortable nap, and' had eaten his 

 Sunday dinner. He was now taking another nap in his 

 "Windsor chair," atilt on the stoop, his head and face 

 smotheriegly protected from the flies by the broad "benoS 

 nah haukerdher," used Only on Sundays* at weddings, fumr- 

 als aud county fairs. At hist an exploring fly found hit \\ ay 

 under the edge of this expanse of dolled red silk, and ...■ . ■ < 

 far on his tour of discovery as Ihe entrance of one of the cav- 

 erns in the mountain of 'Lisha's nose, into which he wasaild- 

 denly drawn by a sort of whirlwind, whereupon ensued a 

 commotion which must have seemed to him, at leasl an 

 earthquake or a tornado. lie was cast forth by a tremen- 

 dous blast, the silken cauopy was blown away, the chair 

 came down on its four legs with a bang that awakened Aunt 

 Jerusha ou her decorous patchwork coueh iu the darkened 

 bedroom, the cat from her siesta and set the fowls to cack- 

 ling. 



Of course Uncle 'Lisha was broad awake, and looking iu 

 to tell Aunt jerusha ihat "the darn'd flies wouldn't let a 

 feller sleep, an' he guessed he'd go up an' sec how the corn 

 looked," rammed the bandana into tin: chamber of his hell- 

 crowned beaver as if loading a cannon, and then putting his 

 head in for a ball, held across lots in his shirtsleeves, bis 

 Sunday boots creaking soberly among the fading daisies ol 

 the pasture, clattering against them a jerky tattoo. Ile 

 forded, dry-foaled, Stony Brook, now 'more stony than 

 watery, and went through the corner of the sugar bush, 

 where the giant, trees were healing their spring wounds iu 

 the summer sunshine, and past the silent shanty hovering 

 sap tubs aud the upturned potash kettle, with squirrels and 

 mice for housekeepers. 



Beside this lay the two acres of com, the long leaves 

 rolled by the heat into slender spikes, making the rows in- 

 deed " spiky ranks of maize," between which the pumpkins 

 trailed their dark vines overhung by their own drooping 

 leaves, pigeon grass and rag weed, with here and there a 

 yellowing globe shining through the rank growth, but not yet 

 so bright as the golden chalices out of which the bees wore 

 drinking honey." The pollen of the tassels powdered the 

 leaves, and the fray of silk at the end of the ears was turning 

 from pale green to brown, showing that the kernels were set 

 and well on in the milk and would soon begin to glaze in the 

 furnace of August. In spite of the dry weather, the promise 

 of a crop was very comforting to Uncle 'Lisha, till as he wan- 

 dered through the rustling rows he came to the upper edge 

 of the held nearest the dark woods, so near that (their bal- 

 samic odors spiced the cloying sweetness of the corn. 



Here had been havoc. Stalks were torn and trampled 

 down, ears stripped and munched and trodden into the earth 

 as if a herd of swine had been at large among them. 



" Coons ! " cried Uucle 'Lisha, as at first he stood aghast. 

 " Darn'd if I don't get them Lovel boys to come up In re 

 with their hounds to-night 1 no, to-morrow night." 



Then as his eye caught in the mellow soil the imprint of a 

 clawed foot as big as his hand, he started with something 

 like alarm. "Good airth and seas.' it's a cussed bear! 

 Yes," he said, as he plucked a tuft of long dark fur from the 

 thorns of a blackberry by the fence, "it's a cussed beat I" 

 Then, as he remembered" tie day, he apologized to his Sunday 

 clothes— " Wall, he is a cus3eU bear! Why couldn't he a' 

 cat blackberries, 'stead a spilin' ten buahels o' corn. Dutten 

 corn, too, none o' your nasty Tucket ! Gol darn 'im, I'll se 1 , 

 a spring gun for him to-night — no, to-morrer night!" And 

 he set his face homeward, full of wrath and news, bearing in 

 his hands a tuft of bear's fur and a munched ear of corn, in 

 proof of the righteousness of the oneandthe truth of the other. 



Monday forenoon was spent by him in warning his neigh- 

 bors that lie was about to set a spriog-gun, so that coon hunt- 

 ers and cross-lot travelers might not run into danger in his 

 cornfield, aud the afternoon in riggiug the deadly contriv- 

 ance. 



First he loaded his ancient piece, which when set upright 

 was taller than himself, with the old military charge, a ball 



