AcigttsI 3. 1888.J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



deal more health-giving, brain-strengthening and nerve-in- 

 vigorating, so that it is now becoming quite "the fashion in 

 our country to pity the misfortunes of the poor young (or 

 old) mau who cannot leave off money-making long'enough to 

 give his body and mind that rest and recreation which na- 

 ture demands. In fact, "the bottom rail is on top," so much 

 so that at present at one of our most fashionable watering- 

 places, Hawley Springs, the ladies are quite carried away 

 with the sport of rifle and pistol shooting, and forsake the 

 sentimental promenades, tne morning Germans and the 

 evening drives for the more exciting and manly sport of tar- 

 get practice. 



Although the changes to which 1 have alluded have, taken 

 place in the last ten years, and fire very perceptible, those 

 which have taken place in a longer period, running back, 

 say twenty years, or to the close of the war, have been much 

 more marked, jual after the war there was not one man 

 who hunted birds and fished for trout and bass, where there 

 are ten who do it now. In those days, you rarely saw any- 

 thing but men hunting or fishing. Now the boys are at it, as 

 well as a much larger number of men. When I first began to 

 shoot quail on the wing, thirty years ago, there were not over 

 oue dozen men in the town and county who indulged in the 

 spoil, and there were not more than that number of pointers 

 and setters here, such as they were. Now, and for several 

 years past, on open season day, you can count men and boys 

 and dogs by the score, sallying forth to the slaughter (and 

 most ot tlieui practice the gentle art, too, and "go a-fishing" 

 every chance they get), so that we can now show some of as 

 line field shots and fly-fishermen as can be found anywhere. 

 Our breeds of dogs have greatly improved by reason of 

 the reading of such papers as yours, and the ready inter- 

 course afforded by the railroads, which enables the sports- 

 men of one locality to learn something from his brother 

 sportsmeu in another by actual contact. Our dogs are bet- 

 ter broken, too, than they used to be, though nothing like so 

 well as the dogs of the North and West. This matter of dog 

 training, and the rapid improvement made in it in the last 

 ten years; I attribute almost entirely to the influence of 

 your valuable journal and others. Indeed, I find in looking 

 back over "old times" and comparing with the present, that 

 great, stride^ have been made, ill the direction of improve- 

 ment in almost every branch of hunting and fishing lore, 

 and I think it all traceable directly or indirectly to the 

 knowledge imparled to sportsmen through the columns of 

 sporting papers, by means of the interchange of ideas and 

 experiences of men with each other, the contributions of 

 scientific men, and the well digested and instructive editori- 

 als to be found :n every issue. 



This comparison of the old times with the modern opens 

 up a field too vast to be covered by one article. Indeed, it 

 would require a volume to exhaust it. But that there has 

 been great improvement in everything pertaining to hunting 

 and fishing except the quantity of game, and that your valu- 

 able journal has contributed largely to bring about this 

 desirable result, there can be no doubt. 



The field is still large, and there is still room for improve- 

 ment, especially in the matters of impressing sportsmen and 

 others with the importance of good game and fish laws, and 



the duty every man, who calls himself a sportsman, owes to 

 the public in obeying those laws, and seeing that all who 

 break them are punished; in the matter of establishing cor- 

 rect standards for judging dogs, both at field trials and 

 bench shows, and in the matter of educating men to know 

 that slaughter is not sport, and that the most moderate, 

 temperate and humane man is the most liable to derive the 

 greatest pleasure from the pursuit of game and fish, as in 

 all other pursuits of life. 



I may. "when I have more leisure, give you my views on 

 some matters which have lately been discussed in your 

 columns, especially the relation of field trials to bench shows, 

 the mode of judging, etc. Jack. 



Stack-ton, Virginia, July 16. 



NIGHT THOUGHTS IN CAMP. 

 Ten years ! and is it then so long, my brother? 



So many happy days of hunter strife 

 Crystallized in one form or another. 

 In prisms where each mau sees his own lit" 

 Reflected, or that dull a hunting-knife 

 By sheer comparison of sheen with other 

 Brigntness, witty, keener, e'en, of edge? 

 It seems not long! 



Ten years! and yet how many have departed 

 For other hunting grounds within that timet 



Some whom the whole wide world lias wept for started 

 la search, long since, of that far distant clime 

 Where noiseless shafts at heroes in their prime 



Grim Death hath not and never can have darted; 

 Where stream, and for*t, and the serried sedge 

 Re echo song! 



Ah, well: some still are left around our lire: 

 Some whom our own deep thoughts in silence feel. 



Some who still emulate the champion liar. 

 King Fisher lives and rattles still his reel ! 



Jon* Pbesto.n Tiicf,. 



A DAY THAT NEVER CAME. 



My dear Foi-f.it and stream-: 



So you are going to be ten years oldnext week? A whole 

 decade; just think" of it' Well, you've had an honest life, 

 given quid pro quo, and. we hope, put by something for 

 a rainy day. The writer well remembers how the bantling 

 was received by the elder ' 'sports" and the date of its funeral 

 announced, but the day did not come, and the paper is now 

 quite likely to send flowers to the obsequies of all its original 

 opposers, as it has to some. 



Alairy changes occur in ten years; even to yourself changes 

 have come. There was one in particular I was pleased to 

 note, i. e., the removal of a very bad letter N from the word 

 "And" in your title. Somehow, you have kept growing 

 better all the time, like the little girl who attenued Sunday 

 School regularly. A marked change has taken place in the 

 assembling of the material of its make-up, much to the com- 

 fort of its*readers;. and one cannot but think we owe the 

 greater portion of our gratitude to the principal and respon- 



sible editor, Mr. Ohas. B. Reynolds, who has been untiring 

 in his efforts to make yours the very best paper of its class. 

 One thing we can say, it is pure, and we need have no fear 

 to put it before our children with other good and instructive 

 reading matter. Long may Mr. R. have the health and in- 

 clination to continue the good work. You and I have been 

 personal friends from its first number, and I have done all I 

 could in my humble way tc help you along. Long may you 

 "prent" and disseminate useful and good intelligence" re- 

 garding out-door life. We can never learn too much about 

 nature or how to enjoy ourselves reasonably on her bosom. 

 Long life to you in we'll doing ' RETGNOt-PP, 



Boston. July 85. 



MOUNTAINS AND MICE-BIG THINGS AN!) LITTLE. 



I had hoped ere this to have given the readers of Forest 

 and Stream some items concerning the meeting of the Sports- 

 men's Association of the Carolina*, at the Warm Springs in 

 Madison county, in this State. While the tournament, so- 

 called, was going on, 1 was entirely too busy, or too lazy, to 

 take up my pen. Besides this, I had so" signally failed 

 to distinguish myself, that I was ashamed to put down on 

 paper my very unskilful performances, for fear that sports- 

 meu would say that the only Qualification "Wells" had for 

 the very high po ition he holds in the association was some 

 latent executive ability, which might or might not be ex- 

 hibited on special occasions. Indeed, that judgment, I fear, 

 has already been pronounced, for certain newspapers of the 

 State have had the want of discretion to advertise my 

 lamentable want of success in competing with local and 

 visiting sportsmen. The effect, if not the purpose, will be to 

 defeat my nomination for Governor of the State when my 

 party meets in convention next year, and thus cause our 

 pcople to lose the services of one of her sons, who is supposed 

 to be always willing to advance their interests by holding a 

 dignified aud lucrative position. But to relieve all anxiety on 

 the part of any aspirant, I hereby respectfully decline to ac- 

 cept. 



Our place of meeting was an exceedingly pleasant one, 

 though not exactly fitted for the exhibition of any fine shoot- 

 ing. Unfortunately, the only ground which" could be 

 selected was hemmed in with mountains, which gave us a 

 green and dark background, preventing such of us as did 

 not have clear vision, from distinctly and readily seeing the 

 balls in their flight. With all this disadvantap 

 persons made highly respectable scores. I do not mean to 

 be insidious when I name as among 'he best Messrs. Jordan, 

 Waddell, Lusk and Van Gilder of Ashville, N. C, Hall and 

 Gulp of Charleston, Smoak and Cannon of Orangeburg. 

 S. 0., Gibbesof Columbia, S. C, and the two McCarleys of 

 Winnsboro in the same State. Besides these, we had the 

 pleasure of seeing Andy Meaders of Nashville, Mr. Mead of 

 Knoxville, and "Messrs. Mills and Wagner of Washington 

 Cits-, who did us the kindness to be present and participate 

 in the sports. The last named four will testify, I presume, 

 that they met gentlemen amply capable of "giving them all 

 they can tote" in the shooting"line. If they should favor us 

 with their presence again, we trust we shall be able to entir- 

 tain them with an [exhibition of skill upon the part of several 



