THE 



AMERICAN 



SPORTSMAN'S JOURNAL. 



[Entered According? to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by the Forest find Stream Publishing Company, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.!!; 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 1880. 



CONTENTS. 



Answers to Correspondents ISO 



AncHERV :— 



Archery from an Easy Chair; Shooting E-Jtlrnol 



New York Archery Club; North Side Club; Cortland 



Archers ..., - , , , , 105 



Cricket : 



The Ontario Cricket Association; Notes; Revolving 108 



Editorial:— 

 Wild Rice; National American Kennel Stud Book; Trout 

 and Trout; The New York RfflB Club ; K. A. K. C. Derby; 

 Practical Hints on Swimming; Woodmont Rod and Gun 



Cluo ; Notes ; Correspondence ; Barbuda 100 



Pish Culture:— 

 American K'sh Cultural Association; A Spawning Eel; Yel- 

 low Tike-Perch in Connecticut 185 



Game Bao and Gun :— 



Godbout Winter MQ ba'4 Attractions: Notes; 



Quaint Old Winchester; Omulia Sportsmen's Club; Camp 

 Buds; Bear Hunting in the Yellowstone Country ] Shoot- 

 ing Matches 192 



Game Protection :— 

 Massachusetts Association; Woodcock In New Jersey; 

 Monroe County Club 102 



The Kennel :— 

 Something- About Breakers and Dog Breaking ; The New 

 York Show; Eastern Field Trial Club: Entries for the 

 Field Trial Derby ; Kennel Notes 187 



Miscellany :— 

 A Day in the Woods 583 



NatueAIi History :— 

 Ltmiean Society ; A Chat About Owls ; A Shower of Worms: 

 Burying Horns ]B1 



Publishers' Department 196 



Tue Rifle :— 



The Palma Conditions ; Range and Gallery 194 



Sea and River Pishing :— 



Greeu's River Trout ; The Nepiaiguit and Matapedia ; Notes; 

 The Charrua of Colebrook 188 



Woman's Column:— 



Papers on Botany ; Ladies at the Score 108 



Yaohtinc; and Canoeing:— 



Time Allowance ; Measurement, New Bedford Yacht. Club ; 

 Imported Yachts ; Steam Alan-Traps 188 



flty in t1\e HHfaadz. 



SECOND PAPER. 



IT was Unreasonably early the next morning when 

 Henry awoke me out of a short but peaceful slumber. 

 Indeed, so soundly had I slept that scarcely did it seem 

 half an hour since we parted, and left the few smoulder- 

 ing embers dying on the hearth below. 



" It's four o'clock," said ho. "You 'rouse the boys. I'll 

 leave the candle here lighted, and there's water in the 

 crock. I'm going down to prepare the coffee. Collect 

 your wits, Harry, and make haste. Oscar will not lose 

 three minutes waiting for us." 



I thought lie still lingered within the small attic room 

 when I had become conscious enough to answer him, but 

 he had slipped out with the stealth of an Indian. Though 

 Jack Lary, Nevill and the mill ; were yet fresh in my 

 dreamy mind, quail shooting, which was to be the sport 

 of the day, w T as the one thought prominent. Aye, there 

 stood reclining the London double twist, and dangling 

 from the muzzle could be seen the quaint powder-horn 

 and shot-belt, and there, too, hung tbe short, cozy vel- 

 vet shooting jacket and the cap staring me in the very 

 eyes from all portions of the room. 



Slowly raising tbe little dormer window until it caught 

 the button, I peeped out into the darkness : it was still as 

 death. The faint crescent of the moon had waned far to 

 the westward, and was slowly sinking behind the 

 woods ; a few stars yet glimmered in the heavens, and 

 below my window, (which was even so miniature as to 

 afford scarcely a scant observation) lay Thompson's 

 Pond, as placid as a mirror. Nor can I expel from this 

 phantom-liko recollection, for I get it even now — the 

 dank, odorous breath of that autumnal dawn, as it 

 lingered yet awhile ere it gave birth to another sun to 

 to shine upon a beautiful world. 



"Come, boys, look liveiy if you mean to have a good 

 day's sport. You'll feel more like sleeping to-morrow 

 morning. Thorpe's up this half hour; and the coffee has 

 sent its aroma all through the house. There, I've lit 

 your candle for you. Come, Bob— come, Charlie, jump 

 up, will you?" 



A few hasty moves placed the trio in quite a respect- 

 able appearance, for hunters, and with coats and other 

 accoutermonts under our arms we repaired to the room 

 below, partook of a light breakfast of coffee and biscuit, 

 and then not leaving on our own accord, but actually 

 chased by this same Henry out through the back door 

 into one of the blackest mornings I ever saw in all „. 

 life. We left like the Tenth Hussars under Lord Cardi- 

 gan, i, c, one arm in a sleeve. 



BCOttple them crazy hounds, Fen," said Henry; 



" they haven't ceased howling since they saw the light 

 in the window." 



" I'd like to know if the poor beasts are as crazy as you 

 are, to bring a chap out this time of the morning to shoot. 

 Where have you tbe unfortunate devils, anyway?" 



" They're beyond there in the corn cribs. Just whip 

 out the pin from the staple, and you'll see them." 



Scarcely were the directions from his lips when I let 

 out the dogs, who, hungry as hyenas, ran wild every- 

 where, and finally finding the gate on their hook, got out 

 into the road, and. were everything but manageable. 



Knowing the affair to have been a concocted job, I let 

 Henry laugh to his heart's wishes, and walked silently 

 across the lot to Oscar's shanty, where the low, dismal 

 flicker in the eight-squared window gave evidence that 

 that worthy was up and astir, and upon entering we 

 found him endeavoring to forage for himself and dog. 

 Surprised indeed was he at our inopportune visit. 



" You see I have to feed the whole barn-yard before I 

 can go quailing. I reckon you chaps slept precious little 

 last night. The "Wilson's ain't got around yet, either, 

 'cause it's too early. 'Twon't be light enough for a whole 

 hour to come, 'less it happens tbat you fellows want to 

 murder the dear little creatures in their beds. And even 

 at that, I'll bet all I shoot this season ye's couldn't find one 

 of them. Yes, dark for an hour yet," and he raised the 

 window to substantiate the truth of his assertion, 



'Here, Rink ! lap it up, good dog," he continued, placing 

 a tin pan containing that animal's provender beside the 

 hearth. But that "good dog "did not "lap it up "at 

 all. There were three heads into that pan in less time 

 than one could wink nearly, and amid the " ger-r-r-r's " 

 and howls of the three disputants of the rneal, the baby's 

 crying in an adjoining room at the noise, and the exces- 

 sive laughter of the crowd, you may imagine the scene. 

 As our host was hard in the" act of "raising the latch to 

 go about the completion of his various agenda, an Indian 

 whoop from outside rent the winkle ; and sure enough it 

 was George Wilson and his brother Will. Presently 

 Oscar put the quietus upon our rabble by announcing, 

 " I'm ready," and we strode out into as fine a hunting 

 mom as ever gladdened the heart of a Theron. 



Our hunting ground was comparatively but a step, in 

 that it was directly opposite the mill. A three-barred 

 fence was the only difficulty in the way, and that ob- 

 struction was soon cleared, landing us upon the most pic- 

 turesque piece of woodland it has ever been my pleasure 

 to ramble into. Dotting it all over were tall, thrifty 

 cedars, whose white, frost-like, conical berries stood in 

 beautiful contrast with the never-dying green. Beneath 

 our feet ran curious vines which, interwoven as they 

 were with the lichens, their leaves dyed to scarlet by the 

 sharp frosts, prepared the most beautiful tapestry for 

 bountiful Ceres and her train ere she bade farewell to the 

 dying year. Here and there grew strips of laurel copse, 

 or narrow skirtings of hickory and oak ; the whole en- 

 vironed by narrow winding tangles and ceaseless patches 

 of flowering meadow, which, although now decaying, 

 their glory had not departed. 



" Well, boys, wo can't all go together ; we must divide 

 into squads," said Oscar, after taking note of the wind, 

 etc; "and with your permission, gentlemen, I'll form 

 the files. Bob, you, Charlie and George take Nep and 

 Tip and beat all the way down until you reach Wiggins'. 

 Start into that cedar cluinrj there and go right ahead. 

 George will show you the place ; look sharp, point your 

 guns straight, and you'll get them. Good luok. 



" Henry, you and Will had better make a clean sweep 

 right down to the swamp. You'll find a dried-up ford 

 there. Will knows where it is. Cross that and you'll 

 fetch up with Bob, and tell him to meet us at the three 

 poplars* at 12 o'clock. I forgot to tell him, Fen and I 

 will take the bay side ; and don't forget the hour now. 

 There's your dog, Lyn, snooping up something already. 

 Come, Fen ; here, Rink, you restless beast, come here." 



" Like parting friends who linger while they sever, 

 Enforced to go, though seeming still unready." 



Highly pleased at having such a companion, I well 

 knew that the only part now left for me to play was to 

 shoot. Whether I should do so indiscreetly in the ex- 

 citement of the moment, or cool and collectively aim 

 and kill to a certainty, was a question solved only when 

 the time came. 



" He's got one ; easy ; 1 11 flush the bird," whispered my 

 companion, and they rose to my utter mortification. He 

 smiled at my waywardness of shooting too quick, in 

 doing which I did not ruffle a feather. He scored his 

 bin! handsomely — a line, well-matured cock-quail. 



" No great or uncommon coincidence, that one natur- 

 ally timid should miss the first shot oC the season, Oscar, 

 considering the game, too — a bird who, rising with such 

 a startling wing, is apt to throw the shooter in a quan- 

 dary. They are, in my opinion, the most difficult bird 

 to kill at that." 



" Oh, no, uo, Harry. A grouse is fifty times more dif- 



* They are there now— three extremely tall, dead poplars, which 

 have stood immovable since tho days of the Noyaok Indians, and 

 which hnvo refused to succumb to the wild, sturdy northwesters 

 of many wluters. 



ficult to stop, and when you get in the timber lands to- 

 morrow you'll remember every word of what I say ; and 

 as lor myself, I consider quail shooting child's play to 

 that of stopping a grouse instantly, for that is the way 

 to do it. Now ' keep cool,' as Bob continually says, and 

 you'll get the next one sure ; the place is alive with 

 them. Did you count that bevy?" 



" Count them? They might have been a flock of one 

 thousand for ought I know ; but I'm loaded, and let's 

 move on, though I expect to go reeling at my next shot, 

 I poured the pellets into this barrel regardlessly." 



But the dog was gone, and despite the numerous cries 

 for " Rink, Rink," and whistles without number, it took 

 us some minutes to find him ; and actually there he was, 

 like a cast statute, dead on a point — a skirmish on his 

 own hook, 



" I'll warm him for that," whispered Oscar, in tbe 

 same breath ordering my position, which I took beyond 

 a tall cedar. They rose, and again I missed, and again 

 he scored one, 



" You get that bird. Fen. See it over there ? And 

 come here, Kink." The dog curled his beautiful tail be- 

 tween his legs and gave a backward look. " Here, I say. 

 Will you, will you, will you ever do that again?" and as 

 he laid heavily the chastisement ujiou the wayward and 

 skulking brute, a series of howls rent the woodlands far 

 and wide. 



"You should have called him from the point, Oscar, 

 and chastised Mm there and then ; he does not know 

 now, exactly why you Hogged him." 



"Yes, that would have been tbe better way; but I 

 don't think at all times — charge! you reckless villian; 

 lie down thero ! I've taught him better than that. I - 

 used to let him flush the birds himself, but had to break 

 him from the habit on account of his chasing them so. 

 He'd run a mile at times, as if the very devil was in his 

 wake. Charlie's don- Tip inherits the same traits from 

 its mother. The first day I had him up here to break, I 

 thought actually, when I tired the first gun, that the fool 

 had run clear back into Kings County." 



"Gun shyness, Oscar. The next dog you have to 

 break, and you discover any symptoms of a similar ti- 

 midity, just lash the animal to a cedar — out here upon 

 tbe grounds where you intend to teach him — and waste 

 a dozen shots or so over him, and I'll guarantee a speedy 

 cure." 



"I shall really try the scheme, Harry, but George's 

 dog, Major, did that art most beautifully— tho very finest 

 I ever did see it done. Did you ever see Major flush a 

 bird, when George would say • whist ? ' " 



" Yes, I witnessed the event many a time last autumn, 

 and was struck with the beauty and thoroughness of that 

 animal's education. I like that acquirement in a dog ; 

 but the great trouble is that few dogs can be taught the 

 trick ; and then the accompbshrnent, to bo permanent, 

 necessitates the whaling of half the life out of the poor 

 brute. By-the-bye, where did George get that dog?" 



"Some one gave it him. It was but a common mon- 

 grel setter ; but Oscar, such a dog. George bad him ed- 

 ucated up to the teeth— the effects of his overflowing 

 kindness, I'll wager anything," 



" Do you really believe so? I have an idea ; and, as for 

 me, personally, 1 should not desire a dog whose ancestors 

 could be traced back to the flood, or, beyond that, as 

 some dogs are, so long as he was a good dog, and could 

 out-tramp me. And do you believe Major's death was an 

 accident, or an outburst of George's temper?" 



"Ah! yes, Harry, purely an accident, if ever there 

 was one. George never got angry in his lil'e, to such an 

 extent as to be driven to do any such desperation as that, 

 Not George ; he would not have parted with Mai. for his 

 weight in gold ; indeed, he feels quite sorry about the 

 affair. You should have seen his interment up In the 

 cook's lot, right where the wigwam was burned, Harry, 

 that's where he lies." 



"Well, there are some dog's qualified for the acquire- 

 ment of no one possible art. "" In fact, the only tiling that 

 can be driven into them is a toad of shot, and that's the 

 end of them. It was the queerest accident I ever did 

 heal of, aud doubted it at first, George made rue laugh so 

 with his drollery; but he's one of the best boys m the 

 world, take him all in all," 



"Well might you say so, Harry, and he's often — " 



" Hold ! Rink has a care, are you ready?" 



I nodded iu the affirmative and fired simultaneously. 

 From a bevy of. perhaps a dozen, one dropped to my left 

 quarter, and two succumbed to the deliberate, steady and 

 unerring aim of my companion. I bad my bird in my 

 hand long before the dog could have hoped to mouth 

 him ; ana as he lay there lifeless, a beautiful cock-quail, 

 with a patch torn "from his side, from whence the blood 

 trickled and clogged upon his, alas ! forever helpless 

 wing, a lei ling Of regret stole o'er me. 



"Did you get him?" inquired mv friend, after the dog 

 had retrieved, his two birds. 



" Yes, I got him, but I'm sorrvl shot him. T have a 

 spark of humanity lingering somewhere m me. and, if f 

 know myself aright, L behove f never shot one. of these 

 little • Bob White's 'hut that I did not entertain some 

 feeling of remorse after the deed was clone, Not that 



