118 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



While I am on djjgS I might mention that a Fox Terriei 



Club ha ■■!'■■ formed id n bi i w, exclusively of these 



game little dogs, will be held at Lillio Bridge early in May. It 

 is astonishing the rage which exists here for these, dogs, The 

 prices raid tor notorious animals and for the stud services of 

 eel bn ted prize-winners, aqpal, if they do not exceed the same 

 amounfc sp u( mi sutlers or pointers, and poBsibly on grey- 

 hounds. Tbey are, Undoubtedly, however, charming pets, not 

 altogether useless, and possessing all the game attributes of the 

 bulldog or bull terrier, with the affectionate disposition of 

 most breeds of sporting dogs. I prophesy that when once 

 fairly introduced into the United States tbey will become 

 great favorites. For starting foxes in your wild rocky country, 

 or for keeping down woodekucks and badgers, they would be 

 invaluable. 



We hear but little more regarding the great walking match 

 •between O'Lea'y and Weston, although the money, or a large 

 portion of it, is posted. The. Chicago man was fairly defeated 

 last week at Manchester, in a match with Peter Crossload, of 

 Sheffield. The match was for a stake of £'200, to bo awarded 

 to the man who should walk the greatest number of miles in 

 three days. Although O'Leary lost, his walking was remark- 

 able, from the fact, that the time was the fastest on record for 

 any mile after the 138th, A report says. " The start took 

 place at 9 r. M. on Wednesday evening, when O'Leary pur- 

 sued his usual tactics by at once going away with a strong 

 lead, which he maintained into the 70th mile. Hence Cross- 

 laud led the van into the 131th mile, wlienee the tables were 

 turned up to the 211st mile. From this point the English- 

 man slowly but surely wore, his opponent out, till at the com- 

 pletion of a little over 267^ miles O'Leary was dead heat, 

 and compelled to retire. Crossland kept going until he load 

 walked 2S7 miles at 5.22.32 P. M., Saturday evening, in 60h. 

 22m, 22sec., when he was declared the victor." O'Leary was 

 twenty-seven miles behind at the linisb, and it is said, he was 

 driven delerious by his exertions on the early part of Satur- 

 day morning, as he. was absent from the track five hours on the 

 aid cno m ol that day. 



It is said, that Sfftnton, the great bicyclist, rode 100 miles 

 the other day at Agricultural Hall, in less than six hours and 

 a half. His opponents were six trotting horses (':'), whom he 

 tackled in •• One down 'to 'thai como on " style, and, of course, 

 defeated them. On the next day, it is claimed, that he rode 

 fifty miles in 2h. 50m. 42}.ssee; but the authenticity of both 

 performances appears to be doubted. There is no question, 

 however, but that he is a wonderful man at his peculiar vo- 

 cation. Probably, before this letter reaches you, the cable will 

 have conveyed the result of the Oxford and Cambridge boat 

 race. With the conclusion in your hands, it would be fully 

 for me to occupy your space with training reports. Suffice it 

 to say that, at the moment, Oxford is a strong favorite, al- 

 though there are are not wanting many old and keen oarsmen 

 who pin their faith and put their pounds on Cambridge. 

 Takiug the mean of all I read and hear, I judge the race will 

 be an unusually close one, with Oxford, barring accident, the 

 winner. 



It may please those Americans, who, while in London, make 

 theLanghani H tel their headquarters, to know that as a re- 

 sult of their gregarious inelin ttions and spendthrift habits, 

 they have contributed to swell the incomes ofbloated British 

 bondholders. The hotel company is a stock corporation, and 

 the. last dividend was twenty per cent. At a meeting of the 

 shareholders recently, the chairman stated that the secret of 

 success was in being ft first-class hotel, :md that the consum- 

 ation of wine must not be less than 15,000 bottles in every 

 three months. That would be a bottle of wiue a day for 170 

 guests. What a quantity of logwood and marsala the Ameri- 

 can traveler must have consumed. If the ^holders of Con- 

 federate bonds, or even Erie Railway stock, would establish 

 first-class hotels for Americans, they might soon be avenged, 

 and the question of misplaced confidence transferred. 



There is a question upon which I have commented before in 

 li ese letters, and regarding which I find myself constantly 

 speculating; that is, the good grace with which the British 

 agriculturist sacrifices himself, his lands, and his crops there- 

 on, in the interest of " sperl ;" and lhat, too, a sport enjoyed 

 only by his superiors in station. There is, now, a story by 

 Mr. Anthony Trollope, being published in Temple bar," and 

 called the "American Senator," in which the said Senator 

 gives expression to his sentiments regarding fox-hunting, in 

 which, it I cannot agree with him regarding the pleasures of 

 tile chase, 1 can, most heartily, sympathize with him in his 

 astonishment at the manner in which the farmers of this 

 country submit to have their lands ridden over, and their 

 farms and crops destroyed. To be sure, every hunt has its 

 " fund,'' from which the damage inflicted is supposed to be 

 made good; hut it is impossible that a tilhe of that inflicted 

 can . v. r be paid for. It must be a remnant of the.old feudal 

 system wTien the king and his courtiers did pretty much as they 

 pleased « Ith everybody and everything. Fancy a New Jersey 

 or Pennsylvania farmer submitting to having his fences 

 thrown down, and his locks 'smashed ! The old '• Queens 

 Anne " would be brought out, and a foot-race or a funeral 

 would follow to a certainty. Strange to say, according to the 

 statutes, fox-hunters have a right to cross a man's demesne, 

 "while in fresh pursuit," the fox, in common law, being 

 looked upon as a beast of prey, notwithstanding that they are 

 preserved as carefully as pheasants. Speaking- of fos-hunting, 

 the following verses by the late Charles Kingsley have just ap- 

 peared in Maemillan's Magazine: 



Ton sonnd's neither sheep bell uor bark: 



Tliey're running, they're mailing, Go Hftrkl 



The sport may hi li tbj a ■■■■■ ■■ -delay, 



So wblp up J lie puppies aud scurrv mvay. 



Dash down through ihe cover by dlugle and dell, 



There s a gate M the bottom, I know It tall well; 



And they're conning, they're ratttricg, Go Hark! 



They're rttoning, they're running, Go Hurk! 

 One fence and we're oot at the park. 



Sir down in yonr saddles, and race at the brook, 

 Then enmBh at the bullfinch; no lirno for a look. 

 Leave cravens and skirters to dtmelo behind. 

 He's away for the moors, in the teeth of the wind, 

 And they're running, they're running, Go Hark I 



They're running, they're running, Go Hark! 



Let Ihem run on and run on till it's dark! 



W 'ell P ith I beiii we are, and will with them we'll be 



While- there's wind in our horses aud daylight to see: 



Then IftOg along homeward, chut over the nebt, 



And hear in our dreams the sweet music all nirrht, 



Of— they're running, they're running, Go Harkl 



Yaqtteuo. 



%iflt. 



RIFLE NOTES. 



—It is said that Major Herbert S. Jewell, I. It. P. Fifth 

 Brigade, end one of the reserves in the American Team in 

 the International matches at Creedmoor last year, has ar- 

 ranged n rifle match between six Brooklyn marksmen and 

 !-' I thai of New Yorkers. The' team which wi 11 



represent Brooklyn will probably include General Dakin, 

 Major Jewell, R. Rathbone, Isaac L. Allen, L. Weher and 

 (Li; il... E. Blydenburgh. The match will be shot a1 0*6 .1- 

 moor in May at the three longest ranges. 



ppi ar to have some good rifle shots in Texas. We 

 learn from an exchange that at Houston, recently, President 

 Porter and Chief of Police Eriekson shot a match at 800 

 yards for the purpose of testing the merits of rival rifles, 

 with L following result ; A. Eriekson, with Sharp Creed- 

 moor— 5 5 5 4 5—24. Mr. Geo L. Porter, Remington Creed- 

 moor— 3 5 5 3 3—18. "Mr. Eriekson also fired a hircre num- 

 ber < if shots, making a percentage of 899. As the percentage 

 made by the winning team in the great entertainment match 

 last year was but 870, it looks as though Houston might be 

 represented by at least one rifleman in the next international 

 match 



The French National Rifle Association, founded in a 

 modest way in 1875, has now become an important institu- 

 tion. _ The report on the operations of the year 1876 ex- 

 exhibits a continuous and regular success. On the 31st. of 

 December last there were existing in the departments 1,511 

 local societies, and 2,138 competitions had been organized; 

 4,375 diplomas had been conferred to the best shots, and 

 10,392 medals had been awarded. The totalnumber of prizes 

 dial but -was 34,925. The Association issued to its 160,359 

 adherents 313,800 scoring papers, and the number of cart- 

 ridges used was 3,207,180. ' 



The first German Hunting Club of New York Oity held a 

 meeting and election at their headquarters, No. 384 Pearl 

 Street, on the evening of March 14th, When the following 

 officers were elected: T. Kuntz, President; P. Hammer, 

 Vice-Presideni; H. Berlau, Secretary; Wm. Schwindt, Treas- 

 urer. 



Hellwig's Gaxusry — A cash prize shooting match will 

 come off at Hellwig's .Shooting Gallery, G95 Sixth Avenue, on 

 Saturday, March 24th. The match will be shot at 100 feet 

 distance, 10 shots off-hand, at ready measurement target. 



The FionERT Rifle.— A correspondent writes from Phila- 

 delphia, on March 21st, 1877, as follows: "Gentlemen: 

 Some time since I saw a reply to an inquiry in Porest 

 and Stream in regard to using the regular .22 car- 

 tridge in a Flobert rifle. The .22 cartridge is too 

 strong to use in the Flobert, as they almost invaria- 

 bly blow out back, and thus endanger the shooter's 

 eyes. When I have occasion to use a stronger charge than 

 the regular breech cap, I take a short .22 cartridge, and after 

 removing the hall with a pair of plyers, empty about half 

 of the powder out and preBS a T. T. shot on the shell until 

 it is firmly fastened. When using these cartridges, swab out 

 the barrel frequently with an oiled rag. Keystone." 



[The old Flobert, of course, would not take the .22 car- 

 tridge, but the new rifle has a recoil check which we presume 

 would- resist the recoil. — Ed.] 



POSITIONS. 



AS shooting at the long ranges has improved during the 

 last few years, so have the styles of holding and 

 steadying the rifle changed. The rifleman's body gradually 

 getting closer, and closer to mother earth, from the upright 

 to the sitting and kneeling, till finally the prone position is 

 universally used for all distances beyond four hundred 

 yards, in this country, while at Wimbledon it is allowable at 

 all ranges. At the present time there does not appear to be 

 any "loop-holes" for further alteration, and the inventive 

 murksman will lie obliged to "work" on other parts of this 

 popular pastime, as this important rudiment is mastered. 

 The person who cannot get suited with some one of the 

 positions now in use, should give up the idea of becoming a 

 long-range marksman. It is almost an impossibility to in- 

 vent any more new positions than those which have been 

 brought out, and to shoot in an unsatisfactory one is as bnd 

 as using a weapon which is not reliable. There have been 

 on: i tons arguments against lying down to shoot, all tend- 

 ing to pre-,. : not practical, and that all shooting 



6? hand." The originators of these ideas, 

 as - thing, are those who have never shot at long 



B ■■- to do not know the impractability of making 



i ii i b scores with a rifle, offhand, at one thousand yards 

 from the target, Dfle oomplainere or fault-finders do not 

 know, per:.' -. ..:. i f.-. move either of the sights the one- 

 hundredl p if an inch would make a difference of from 

 two to tbi'e, ! ' !■:•!■ ivi mentioned distance. 



oung -■ shooting with rifle, there was but 

 Li i- id e using any ether than the "off hand" position, 

 arJessrl weapon too] eavy, forto "throw 



l " eel id of anv gun. At 



thebegii j etairy, how a man would ' 



at if Been with his "Queen Ann" using some of the present 

 much though! of positions, but e-hm was perfection in 

 shooting at that time? Aooiit twenty-five year _ lie 

 , - rtyli a \\i re thought to h 



re, aid nnv, they are only used once in :i while at 

 D : doWpositioa i (qm 

 i 

 est few years, when th 

 ity of the "Furquharson" principle, named after the gentle 



man who invented it St 



FultOn throne], !:. 



Team in Ibe first Internal i 

 As far as can be traced, H 

 don, and Andrew P. Fowl 

 the first to shoot at long 

 target at Creedu: 



\ the back 





shown by Major 



\ merman 



reetfmoor, in L874. 



Wimble- 



•ied riflemen, were 

 ir feet toward the 

 dvnntafjns of lying 

 to the target, "it is 

 ter studying and 

 le, successfully in- 

 so shot in the first 

 it the position ap- 

 ot find favor 



International match lying on his back; but th 

 peared to be, and was, very awkward, and did 

 among the shooting public. G. W. Tale introduced his 

 Btyle, and from it and Fulton's at least twenty varieties have 

 originated. The principal ones have almost all been illns- 

 trated and described so often, that it would be useless to do 

 so again, but there are several which are comparatively new, 

 all having good points. There is one, the principal of which 

 has been used by W. Burnham on the Dearborn range of 

 Chicago, A. H, Jocelyn, of the Yonker's Rifle Association, 

 and several others. They are all highly pleased with it, and 

 recommend the position 'as being comfortable, steady, and 

 convenient. The following is a description of this "body- 

 rest: 



Take your rifle in your left hand, and (you are supposed to 

 be lying on your hack). tarn ett/ir^y on the right side; while 

 doing so, thrust, the left leg out Straight, bo that it is as near 

 being at a right angle with the body as possible, wthi 

 ing strained. Now bring the right' ]< g i lj. nt) under On I i 

 one, so as to brace and steady it, or, inotln i v.-. ad-. "I.. ,4." 

 the legs together. When this is done, rest the rifle's barrel 

 in the small hollow which is in the leg just above the knee- 

 cap. When this is done, double-up la-' rlelr ; .■n,i ias in the 

 cut) and grasp the upper part of th heel In with the 

 hand. 'When the rifle is firm, lay the head on the stock so as 

 to see the sights. (It is well to 'use a small pad to put be- 

 tween the head and wood. ) After this has been done, put 

 the. left arm around so as to grasp the stock, and pull the 

 trigger with the little finger. The right eye is used for the 

 short and the left for the long ranges, if all this is done 

 correctly, the position will be found to be a comfortable one, 

 although it may appear to be a little awkward in thi cut 

 Try it well, before you judge harshly ! It may not suit some 

 people, as is the case with all of the other styles, for 

 fit one rifleman's build, may be worthless to another. This 

 is the reason for such a variety of positions, all excellent 

 ones, generally. The advantages or good points of the above* 

 described -side" position are claimed to be as follows: 

 First, the body is in a natural and easy position; second, the 

 rifle can be h >ld very steadily; third, th left arm canhe 

 made to serve as a shade for the eyes: fourth, th- right hand 

 has entire control over the spirit-h vet; fifth, the three-pound 

 pull on the trigger seems to feci much easier when the little 

 finger is used. In relation to the bad points — well, perhaps, 

 some other rifleman will write of them, if there are any to 

 write about. No pistol grip is heeded, unless inverted and 

 put on the upper part of the stock] as it has been done in a 

 few cases. 



The long-range riflemen have the front, back, side, and 

 combination between the back and side, positions to choose 

 from to bring into use, and now there is no other way or 

 manner that man con shoot, except perhaps, to rest on his 

 head, which would certainly be on the climax of the knots 

 and grape-vine twists. Ontcko. 



■ <■» 



New Yoke.— The Helvetia Park, formerly called the 

 Meckert Park, Guttenhurg, N. J., whs the scene of a very 

 spirited shooting match between i|,,- Z-llLa- Rith A ,■,.■ Ci 

 and the Columbia Rifle Association, htet Saturday, March 

 24th. It appears the Columbia men had the idea, that shoot- 

 ing in a gallery was not "worth a cent" for out-door practice. 

 After having boasted of this fact, thev were pluekil ad D 

 up by the "in-door" shots (the Zettl'er Bide Association), 

 who challenged them to shoot, with ten men on each side, 

 ten shots apiece, Swiss rifles, hair triggers, 200 •■, ■ 

 tanee, at |-inch ring targets (the centre to count 25"). To the 

 astonishment of the Columbia Team (this Assbcia 

 been, till last year, the "Champion" for several sea 

 Swiss shooting in the United States), the Zettler Rifle 

 Team was victorious by 1 18 points. Smarting under this 

 "walk over," the defeated ones challenged the victors to 

 shoot under the same conditions, with a team of fifteen men 

 on each side. The last match was the result of this cbid- 

 lenge, and the foUowing scores will show the continued 

 success of Zettler's Rifle Association: 



ZETTI.EB IUF/LIS TBAM. | COLUMBIA rtlTLK SHAH, 



Name Total- Name, Total. 



W B. Engel S16 ! J. Hint?. 201 



D. Miller. - Mi 'i 



C liaison 196|J. Fiiedn. r nrj 



P Femiiue IBSiA. ISmiieoh :.ss 



M.L. Riffgs 19llG. Blumenberg isr, 



C. G.ZetOer W5,G, A. KetndaM 17T 



T. Kk-lsraiti isr> j. scliiitrili 174 



j.Dutil rrtij. Baotel ira 



Wm. Klein i;4!i\ Homey 170 



L. -Bird 1?8[B, Lippm'ann 108 



F.Fabaritis I57IC. Iluiela ■ 1114 



L>. I,, ueckwitli 157IC. U. Graber 16S 



P.. Zettler 1S5IJ. Rein U2 



B.S. Brown , . 117 F. Lundaldt 135 



G. W. Sclinrmau.... MS & Volokcne 119 



Toial 2,6*5| Total C',511 



Zettler's Rifle Association winning by 101 points. 



The Nest LirETiSiTioN.ix Match. — The Dublin corres- 

 pondent of the IKroes writes as follows: " The letter of Capt. 

 McDonald, of the Scotch Team, has exeii 

 adverse criticism Inn Tlict there is ;m objection to the 



■ '. . .- 1 true, hut the proposal 



tie on some neutral ground is held to he impractical] 1 



than i- 11 mi I ui be 1 or match at all, d must be 



fought at Bithersid I a 1 Atlantic— this is rather clear, Why, 

 then, talk, about a journey which '.. trienni'il 



contest, too, is a suggestion ualcu! ' 

 Major Leach is at work endeavoring to foTQ khfl tidi in 



easy a job as bo keep 1 S n. 



volunteers in Ireland. Ti 



include Ireland in the scheme, and has secured the parlia- 



