m 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



rjOXY 15, 1880. 



common black powder would not have caused Such a 

 complete wreck of the gun. Afterward I also extracted 



the load from one of the" shells which lie had been using 

 previous to the accident in the same gun. and found Unit 

 ft contained -Id rs. of black powder. This was the hrst 

 trial of the. Dittmar powder in our county, and from the 

 Shattered condition of the gun 1 was impressed with the 

 idea that Dittmar powder was dangerous, from the fact 

 that 3drs. of this powder had done what 4drs. of com- 

 mon black powder had failed to. Dr. Nash is a citizen 

 of Neshoba County, hut well known here from boyhood, 

 and is a gentleman in every particular, a good dentist, 

 and a sportsman of the first water. I write this to con- 

 vince you that this accident did occur, and that Dr, 

 Nash is no novice in the handling of a gun, 



W. B. Johsson. 



lFrom the Winston County Index, Friday, April 80th, 1880.] 

 < In Wednesday, the 21st inst., Dr. S. P. Nash, of Nes- 

 Uioba, in company with Jho. A. Graham, started out 

 hunting, with the intention while out of trying some of 

 Dittmar powder, which is said to be the best now in use 

 either fur rifle or shot gun. When near the mill on Main 

 street, Dr. Nash concluded he would try the powder and 

 tired at a target, when the gun exploded, blowing off the 

 thumb of his left hand, and lacerating Ins hand in a ter- 

 rible manner. We are glad to state that the wound is 

 not considered dangerous by his physician, and at this 

 writing Dr. Nash is doing well, and it is hoped will soon 

 recover and be able to attend to his professional duties. 



This new powder is almost white, and when exploded 

 makes but little noise, hut lack of space preven ts a full de- 

 scription of it. We would advise all who use it to follow 

 the directions implicitly, which this accident shows to be 

 necessary, 



Louisville, Miss., July, 1880. 

 Editor Forest and Stream :— 



This paragraph would seem to convey the idea that Dr, 

 Nash did not follow the directions for using the pow- 

 der. In writing the notice we did not know whether or 

 not he did, but made the suggestions as a precaution to 

 others using it. L. I.i itienff.I.d, Editor Index. 



PniLADELrmA, Neshoba County, Miss., July 1st. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : — 



Yours of June 35th was received in due time, contents 

 noted, and will answer the same cheerfully. Dr. 8. P 

 Nash was raised ami lives about five miles from this 

 office, and when at home recives his mail from this office. 

 His father and myself settled near each other in Neshoba 

 County in the spring of 1837. I have known Dr. S. P. 

 Nash from childhood. His father was one of our most 

 respected citizens of this county, He was one of our 

 most refined citizens, and raised a number one family of 

 children. The Doctor is about thirty years old, and is 

 one of our first-class men of his age ; also, he deserves 

 much credit for the man he has made of himself. He is 

 a small, weakly man, and that was one cause of his giv- 

 ing his attention to the profession of dentistry, though" he 

 is a natural mechanical genius, and, as he says, hie gun 

 and line dogs have been half of his pleasure, and there 

 are but very few men who know more about fire-arms or 

 can use them any better than Dr. S. P. Nash. It is gen- 

 erally understood by his gunning friends that he can 

 beat any old gobbler yelping or gobbling. The Doctor had 

 just returned to Louisville from his home in this county 

 when the sad accident happened at Louisville. He hail 

 come home for the purpose of spending a few days hunt- 

 ing turkeys and fishing. While at home he called up 

 two old gobblers and killed both of them at one fire, 

 they being double when he fired. 



. It is a great misfortune to him, and everything he pub- 

 lished in regard to the bursting of his gun and his terri- 

 ble wound is all true. 1 saw the Doctor about six weeks 

 after it happened ; he was then barely able to come in a 

 buggy to town, and looked quite feeble. He was in town 

 some, ten days since; was then much recruited, ■ and 

 wound about healed over. Has as yet very little use of 

 his fingers, and we fear he never will be able to continue 

 his profession, Me had become a very fine and reliable 

 workman, and was getting as much as he could do. I 

 assure you that Dr. B. P. Nash is entitled to all the 

 credit I have given him. There is no man of his age 

 that stands higher than he does, as far as he is known. 

 His gun was considered by every person that saw it to 

 be a very line and well finished gun. It was his left 

 hand that was shattered by the bursting of the gun. 



G. P. Woodward, Assistant Postmaster. 



New Vohk, July 12th.— Editor Forest and Stream :— 

 We tender you our thanks for the aid you have given us 

 in obtaining information relative to" the accident re- 

 ported by Mr. Nash. The can of powder you exhibit is 

 not of our manufacture, but was made in olden times, 

 and, therefore, we shall not be surprised if upon trial it 

 Should prove in some manner imperfect. We shall sub- 

 ject it to a test on our pressure gauges, and then we shall 

 know whether the powder is too strong, or whether the 

 accident was occasioned by a faulty gun or some other 

 causes independent of the powder. We have never sold 

 a. can of powder except a seal was placed over the screw 

 cap of the can. We have warned the public not to buy 

 any unsealed cans, We have never sold a can of powder 

 without full directions for its use pasted upon the can, 

 and we shall hereafter still more publicly give such notice. 

 We think that we should not be held responsible for the 

 faulty manufactures (which is yet to be proved) of our 

 predecessors, who, working without the proper instru- 

 ments, had no means of determining the greater or lesser 

 strength of each individual lot of powder, thus obtaining 

 a uniform standard. However, we are here assuming 

 that there is a fault in that particular can of powder, a 

 fact that is yet to be ascertained by means of the pressure 

 md the results of our trials we will give vou as 

 soon as possible. Our Mr. J. V. Lengerke leaves to-night 

 for Binghamton to conduct the experiments. 



Dittmae P. M, CO. 



Fayette vi i.le, N. C. June 21st, 

 Editor Forest and Stream :— 



I have seen in the Forest a_nd Stream for a year or 

 two past articles on Dittmar powder, some ot them so 

 grossly unjust, Ibal. l.-nu tempted to give my own expe- 

 rience. Sly weak point is over-fondness for hue dogs and 

 guuB, 1 have been an ardent sportsman for nearly forty 



years, and during that time I have used black powder of 

 the finest grades of all powder makers that it was in my 

 power to procure, and the same objection applies to them 

 all— they will make tor; much smoke and foul the ;UII 

 too quickly. These objections do not apply lo Dittmar 

 powder. 1 was induced three winters ago to try a few 

 charges of Dittmar powder. I did so with great fear and 

 trembling, but I found it was the powder that I had 

 looked for all my life. First, no smoke, and 1 could al- 

 ways get in the second shot ; second, my gun did not 

 foul : third, there was no recoil, and laid., but not least. 

 there was more strength in Dittmar than in any black 

 powder that I have ever used, provided you load your 

 gun properly. I use a Scott gun No. 12, seven and a half 

 pounds. I load my shells myself with three and a half 

 drachms of powder, two Eley's pink-edge wads on p 



i shot, ai 

 Id the mi 



i the capital 

 ttg of prej- 

 often calls 

 ng friends there, 



nding in U 



der, one ounce citified shot, witl: 



th shells loaded as above, [have efcti 

 that can beat me. Who uses black powder '; 



1 will state a circumstance that occurred i 

 of our State last wdnter to illustrate the feel 

 udice against Dittmar powder. My busi: 

 me to the capital, and I have some spc 

 and among them is a clergyman of li _ 

 Church ; lie is the pastor of about the largest congrega- 

 tion in the city. After the usual salutations of the day 

 were passed he informed me that he had just the day be- 

 fore received a fine gun that he had ordered, and had 

 gone out the afternoon before to try it and was very much 

 pleased with it. It Bhot well, and" killed the -game clean 

 and dead ; but in following up the game he had to jump 

 a ditch, He made a misstep and fell with the muzzle of 

 his gun in the mud, and as he arose a quail got up just 

 before him, and without thought he fired on the bird, 

 and of course the consequence was the muzzle, stopped 

 up with mud, burst the gun. The Doctor was using 

 Dittmar powder, I asked him the question, "Did the 



powder or the mud burst your g 

 course, did it ! I thought no u 

 months after, when I was calk 

 business, and at a depot on the 

 boarded the train who resided i 

 out for a few days; shooting, 1 1 

 sation about sporting matters 

 shooting traps I asked the 



Why fho mud, of 

 f it, but si 



he capital again on 

 railroad some gentlemen 

 in the city and had been 

 engaged them in eonver- 

 Tliey showing toe their 

 hat kind of powder they 



used, and after they telling me I asked them if they had 

 ever used Dittmar powder, and with a look of horror de- 

 picted in their countenances they answered "No.' r I 

 asked why not ? and with greater horror depicted, if 

 possible, they answered, ''What I use Dittmar powder V 

 Why, it hurst Dr. P.'s gun." 



It was the mud in the muizle that burst Dr. P.'s gun. 

 I thought of the old saying, give a dog a bad name, etc. 

 I went on to the city and called at a store that 1 was in- 

 formed kept Dittmar powder and asked if they sold Ditt- 

 mar powder. The young man, with a look of surprise, 

 also answered, "We" keep Dittmar powder, but we never 

 sell it now. Why, don't you know it burst Dr. P.'s gun V" 



I have no interest in this or any other powder, and on ly 

 write this in justice to a company who are furnishing a 

 very superior article of gunpowder to the sportsmen of 

 this country. R. W. H 



Editor Forest and Stream :— 



I wonder if any one ever bursts a gun now with black 

 powder? If they do, is the bursting attributed to the 

 particular brand of powder, or are the brains of the fel- 

 low who loaded the shells in anywav mixed in the mat- 

 ter? I don't mean the loose texture of the explosion, but 

 the "gray matter " during the loading. These thoughts 

 are suggested by reports that Dittmar powder is danger- 

 ous, and statements in the papers from time to time to 

 show cases where even moderate charges have bursted 

 guns. If there is less recoil in the Dittmar than in black 

 powder, it would seem to indicate that the former was a 

 slower powder. If such is a fact, how can it be that it is 

 more liable to burst a gun? That there is much less re- 

 coil I can testify, from an experience of over five years 

 with somewhere about ten thousand shells, and this 

 includes twenty-five cans of the Bogardus brand, which 

 the maker himself thought was too quick, For several 

 years it was not uniform in quality, but it has im- 

 proved, and is now the very best powder we have ever 

 shot for execution ; ami as for pleasantness, in lesser re- 

 port, recoil, smoke and dirt, it is incomparable. I would 

 say, I have no interest in the powder, further than a 

 sportsman's desire to defend a good thing which lias 

 given me pleasure in many a field and woodland tramp. 

 We have used a 7-lb. gun, and 3| to 4 drs. of powder, 

 with 1 oz. to li oz, shot. E. L. H. 



Winchester, Mass., Juml'dlh. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : — 



I read, with a good deal of interest, the statement pub- 

 lished in your paper of June 10th in regard to the acci- 

 dent said to have happened [to S. P. Nash from the use 

 of Dittmar powder. For the benefit of my broth 

 sportsmen, I will state a still more serious accii Aiai 



occurred here last summer. One of my townsmen bor- 

 rowed a single-barrelled shot gun for the purpose of 

 shooting eats which greatly annoyed him. rjfol idinj 

 the game at the time, he set the gun away in the house, 

 to which his wife objected on account of the children, 

 fearing they might meddle with it, and requested him to 

 remove or discharge it. He took it out by the side of 

 the house and fired it. The gun burst, blowing not only 

 his thumb off, but his hand and forearm all to pieces. 

 Bits of flesh and pieces of his hand and arm were found 

 bespattering the whole side of the boilse, He was 

 obliged to go to the hospital and have his arm amputated, 

 and came near losing his life. As far as could be ascer- 

 tained, the gun was loaded with three drachms of Haz- 

 ard powder and one ounce of shot. No publicity was 

 given this terrible accident bevond a mere paragraph in 

 one of the local papers. Had "the gun been loaded with 

 Dittmar powder, there would have been no end to the 

 statements about it. Now, taking the two accidents in 

 the spirit in which Mr. Nash puts" his, what is the port 

 elusion to be drawn i First, Mr. Nash burst his gun with 

 Dittmar powder, losing his thumb , therefore, Dittmar 

 powder is dangerous, and all sportsmen are warned 

 against it. My neighbor burst his gun with Hazard* 

 powder, a more terrible accident, and therefore Hazard 

 powder is still more dangerous, and all sportsmen should 

 be on their guard against usiug it. 

 The truth is that neither of these accidents furnish any 



evidence against the use of either of these powders. The 

 country is Hooded with cheap guns, and accidents are 

 taking place every week ; but. as they occur from tho 

 use of blaek powder, no especial notice, is taken of them. 



I gave the Dittmar powder a thorough and exhaustive 

 investigation several years ago, trying experiments with 

 it in various ways, and, in your paper, over rny own 

 name, gave the result of some of these experiments. I 

 do not hesitate to say that by no fair means can a good 

 gun bo burst with three drachms ot this powder. 



The statement as it now stands iu your paper seems 

 si mply absurd. Either the gun had been wrenched by 

 previous large charges of black powder, or. more must 

 have been used than he states. The assertion of Mr. 

 Nash that the gun was burst into more than fifty pieces 

 would indicate that it was not safe to be used with any 

 powder. A gun made of good material does not, as any 

 gunsmith knows, go to pieces in that way. I used the 

 Dittmar or Schultz powder, as directed in a former arti- 

 cle, for two years, and were I confined to either that or 

 common black powder, I should greatly prefer the Ditt- 

 iar, as being not only quite as safe, but far more pleas- 

 ant and effective. 



I have no personal acquaintance with Mr. Dittmar. or 

 _.ie Dittmar Company, and those who know me will not, 

 certainly, accuse me of being in their interest. 



E. A. Bkackett. 



From our knowledge of the Dittmar powder and of 

 the $85 Parker gun, we considered, iu the case of the ac- 

 cident narrated by Dr. Nash, that the fault was not with 

 the gun, 



Arkansas Game Prospects.— Near the mouth of Devil's 

 Fork, Ark,, June 30f/i.— This being the "off/ season, by 

 common consent — there is no game law iu this State — 

 the sportsman can do little more than clear up the game 

 occasionally, and note the prospects for the comming fall. 

 Deer are not overabundant— hardlv an average, showing 

 of tracks, etc., in the woods. This is made up, and more 

 too, by a superabundance of bear signs. And this may 

 account in some measure for the scarcity of the former. 

 Turkeys have bred successfully. The season has been very 

 favorable. They are in the" woods eveywhere in satis- 

 factory abundance, and are imusu ally forward. 1 have 

 met several very large "droves," and note young ones as 

 large as common hens, These will afford "royal sport' 

 in October, or even late in September. The "mast "is 

 good iu the hills, especially all the varieties known as 

 " sweet mast," so there is a promise of good sport for the 

 coming season, Bob White is everywhere breeding in 

 profusion. He will hardly be noticed, however. By the 

 way, in my excursions through the fields 1 observe that 

 Ihe'numbeV of cock partridges ig greatly in excess of the 

 hens, a thing I never noticed before, I also obser\ e that 

 the wood duck. Anas sponsa. has bred in unusual numbers 

 in the. waters of this State. Now let the migratory birds 

 do their part, and we shall have something like " the old 

 times in Arkansaw." YELL, 



Pennsylvania. — Notwithstanding the forest fires 

 that swept over great portions of Pike County during 

 the early part of the summer, the eggs of the woodcock 

 seem not to have been destroyed, for these birds are re- 

 ported to be very abundant in the neighborhoods of Sho- 

 hola. Laakawawm and Blooming Grove Township. The. 

 season for woodcock is from July '1th to Dec. 15th ; quail. 

 Oct. 15th to Dec. 1st: ruffed grouse, Sept. 15th to Dec. 

 loth. The route is via Milford, thence team or stage. 



SHOOTING MATCHES. 



Bogardus v.i. Rimet.i..— The third mutch of the series of three 

 between Capt. A. H. Bogardus and George Itlmell, of England 

 came off lit Pittsburg-, I'll., July ItUh. The weather was unusually 

 warm ; a slight breeze from the right quarter caused many letr 

 quarter birds. The birds were in excellent condition, younu and 

 Wild. Bogardus shot with his new Scott hammei-less, weighing 

 ten and one-quarter pounds; Dittmnr powder in first barrel, Or- 

 ange Lightning No.fi iu second, l : uzs. shot, Uimc-ll I 



same. Bogardus stood ut thirty yards, Kiuioll at tw.jni i > 

 yards: the boundary being the inclosed grounds, was in soma 

 pla a 11 . j yards and iu others ninety yards. Following la the 

 score :— 



Boe-ardus-1 1 l'llUlltlll 1* I 1*111*11**1 1 

 1 I * 1 1 1 + 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 + * 1 1 1 1 * * 1 * 1 M 1 1 * 1 1 * 1 1 * 

 II 1 1 t * * + 1 * 1 1 1 11 1 * 1 ' 1 * * » 1 1 1 * 1 1 * 1 1 1 1 * I 1 

 1— Total 100. 



• Deanlcs killed with second barrel, 

 t Fell dead out of bounds. 



Uimcll-* 1 + t * ' * 1 1 I » 1 « 1 + 1 1 1 1 + ► 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 I 1 

 1 > i * , i 1 1 f t n t - * 1 1 1 1 * 1 1 1 1 1 ' 1 1 ] I 1 I MUt 

 * + 1.1 1 1 + * 1 1 11 * * * * ' 1 * • * I I t 1 1 ' 1 1 * 1 * -I *- 

 Total 100. 



• Denotes lulled with second barrel, 

 t Fell dead out of bounds. 



BECAI'ITUnATION, 



Bogardus ;— 



Totals 



Itlmell:— 



T01 — 

 Incomers... 







Killed. 



•Id 



S3 







BilBSfid. 



1 



Totals 100 90 10 



Bogardus used second barrel thirty-ono times, lost fottt WWa 

 out of bounds; Bimell used second barrel furty-uiie limes, lost 

 three out of bounds, lteferee- S. S. D. Thompson, ot the Sports- 

 jiictis's Association. Olflcial Scorer— E. U. Bown. 



Otto C- Wii.Kixs.— A new claimant to lame in shootliur circles 

 is Mr. Otto C. WlllcinB, ot Couperstown, Pie, whose most remark* 

 able feat was that of breaking will) a ritle 01) balls oul ot ISO, and 

 47'J out. of MO, including one run of 107 straight ; an average of 

 9a -t-5. This was done at Franklin, Pa., May 1th, R. G. Lamborton 

 referee: H. II. Kantimr and J. B. Gordon scorers Thl 



:iukbn Sportsmen's dub, hundreds 

 ol other spectators witnessing it. Mr. U'illUns is twcnly years 

 old, and hits shut with the ritle only nine month.-, lie . ]} 

 ously earned the reputation of beiDn one of the best wing shots 

 in the State. His progress with the rifle has been very 

 about a month afler be began he made a score of 91 out of liifl 



