FOREST AND STREAM, 
750 
A WEEKLY JOURNAL, 
Devoted to Field and Aquatic Spouts, Practical Natural 
History, Fish Culture, the Protection op Game, Preserva¬ 
tion of Forests, and the Inculcation in'Men and Women of 
a Healthy Interest in Out-Door Recreation and Study : 
PUBLISHED BY 
FOREST AN1> STREAM PUBLISHING COMPANY, 
—AT— 
No. Ill FULTON STREET, NEW TORK. 
[Post Office Box 2833.1 
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NEW YORK, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1879. 
To Correspondents. 
All oommunieatlonswhatover.intendedforpubllcation, must be 
accompanied with real name of the writer as a guaranty of good 
faith and be addressed to Forest and Stream Pdblishing Com¬ 
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brief notes of their movements and transactions. 
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tar* Trade supplied by American News Company. 
Personal.— Major J. Nelson George, of the British 
army serving in New Zealand, returned from Colorado 
last week with several fine trophies of his hunting prow¬ 
ess, and sailed on Saturday for Liverpool. The Indian 
disturbances interfered materially with his sport and cut 
his expedition short. He will try the mountains again 
next year, when he expects to have a fair field and no in¬ 
terruption. The Major is one of the most accurate rifle 
shots in the British army. 
We were honored last week by a visit from Dr. E. A. 
Crane, publisher of the American Register at Paris, and 
were glad to welcome in him an old college classmate 
after many years of separation. The Doctor will return 
to France next month. 
Tbos. S. Steele, of Hartford, reoently completed a 
month’s navigation of the East Branch of the Penobscot, 
in Maine, and has prepared an interesting account thereof, 
illustrated hy drawings and photographs, which he will 
offer to the magazines for publication. The East Branch 
traverses a total wilderness, and there are but two houses 
in the distance of 100 miles. His entire journey covered 
200 miles of water course, including eleven falls and many 
rapids. The section he traversed is an excellent trapping 
and game region. 
W. A. Wheatley (“ Guido''), of Memphis, Tenn., has 
just completed his two months’ fall shooting trip and re¬ 
turned to his home. We hope the health and strength he 
has acquired may prove a complete defence against at¬ 
tacks of the fever which has afflicted his town so seriously 
for so long a time. 
J. Gwyn Foster, cousin of the U. S. Minister to Mex¬ 
ico, will spend the next six months in Mexico, collecting 
natural history specimens, and has promised to furnish 
the readers of Forest and Stream with the results of his 
observations. His investigations will cover nearly one- 
half of the Mexican territory. 
Commander Beardslee, of the U. S. steamship James¬ 
town, at Alaska, will remain on the station all winter. 
There is no more careful student of physical geography 
and natural history than ho, while he serves equally well 
in the capacity of peaoe-compeller and diplomatist. The 
Government made an excellent selection when they ap¬ 
pointed him to the duties in which he is now engaged. 
—While we have been having midsummer heat here for 
the past three weeks, with an average midday tempera¬ 
ture above 80 degrees, the weather in Colorado lias been 
inclement, and snow liaB repeatedly fallen to a depth suf¬ 
ficient to seriously impede the movements there of troops 
now engaged in the Indian campaign. 
NEARING THE “ POSSIBLE.' 
I N our rifle columns will be found a detailed account of 
the match at Benning’s Range, near the national 
capital, on Saturday last, when Mr. P. J. Lauritzen, of 
the Columbia Rifie Association, added to the laurels his 
club recently won at Creedmoor, by making the highest 
match record yet attained, rolling up 222 out of a possible 
225, in forty-live consecutive shots at 800, 900, and 1,000 
yards. The steady increase in the average of the scores 
of our leading marksmen chronicled this year, and the 
frequency with which new men thuB come to the front 
and eclipse what seemed to be the unapproachable 
records of even two years back, show that the end of 
attainable excellence in American long-range marks¬ 
manship is not yet. Mr. Lauritzen is now one point 
ahead of Mr. Sumner’s hitherto unsurpassed record of 
221. Only three steps more remain between this score 
and the .highest possible; and it is not, perhaps, too 
much to look for, if we await the accomplishment of a 
clean score at all the ranges within the next decade. 
There is, however, one disheartening feature about the 
phenomenal shooting now growing into vogue this side 
of the big water. The prospects of a renewal of the In¬ 
ternational contests, which gave so healthy an impetus 
to American marksmanship a fevf- years ago, having al¬ 
ready sadly dwindled as our riflemen began to average 
in the teens, now bids fair to fade away altogether, as 
they gradually acquire a habit of passing the twenties. 
Still, if rifie shooting can he maintained (and why should 
it not?) as a gentlemanly, unprofessional pastime, free, 
hereafter, as now, from the degrading influences and con¬ 
taminating associations which seems to be rapidly drag¬ 
ging down our other populous sports into the mire, no 
one will regret its having an indigenous and unap¬ 
proachable American growth. 
HANDICAPPING SHOOTERS. 
T O the Fountain Gun Club, of Brooklyn, belongs the 
credit, it is claimed, of having devised the system 
of handicapping shooters according to skill. In England 
it has been for some time the custom to handicap upon 
the basis of the weight of the gun ; but this seemed to our 
sportsmen to be wrong in principle, and has been proven 
to be unfair and unsatisfactory in practice. A poor 
shooter cannot defeat a good shooter, by merely increas¬ 
ing the weight and calibre of the weapon. Our best 
shooters are constantly using guns of light weight, from 
seven to eight pounds, and in calibre from twelve to even 
sixteen, and at the increased rises of from twenty-eight 
to thirty-one yards are making almost perfect scores. For 
some time our local clubs provided that the winner of the 
badge or cup should, while holding the prize, shoot at a 
rise of twenty-five yards. In 1877 the Fountain Gun Club 
found that the rule was illy adapted to encourage the in¬ 
experienced shooters, and to add to the interest of the 
monthly contest they handicapped every member in such 
a manner that, taking their respective averages for the 
three preceding months, those having an average record 
of three birds out of seven should shoot at eighteen yards 
rise ; those having a record of more than three, and not 
over fouT, should shoot at twenty-one yards; those hav¬ 
ing a record of more than four, and not over five, should 
shoot at twenty-five yards; those having a record over five, 
and not over six, should shoot at twenty-eight yards ; 
and all over six should shoot at thirty yards. 
The rale appeared to be unsatisfactory, in that a good 
shooter could keep Ills average so within his control as to 
practically give him the badge; and for that reason it 
was amended iu May, 1878, by providing that a commit¬ 
tee should at the annual meeting handicap the members, 
according to merit, at a rise of from nineteen yards to 
twenty-five yards, and that the badge-winner for’each 
time winning should be placed two additional yards back, 
and so remain until the next annual meeting; but the 
rise was never to exceed twenty-nine yards. 
Objection was made to this arrangement, that the good 
shooter was placed at too great a disadvantage; that an 
equally skillful marksman, who had not been so fortu¬ 
nate perhaps, was left at a low handicap; and that, in 
many instances, the greater rise was beyond the range of 
the gun ; also, that two yards was too great a penalty after 
reaching the twenty-five-yard line. In practice the badge 
more frequently did not go to the highest score for the 
year. 
The present rule was then adopted, and has proved 
eminently worthy of acceptance; as indeed it has been 
approved by many clubs, notably in the West. It re¬ 
quires that the handicap should be reported at the an¬ 
nual meeting hy a committee of five on the basis of merit 
—the rise to be from nineteen to twenty-five yards. The 
winner, for each time winning the badge, is placed back 
two additional yards until he reaches twenty-five yards, 
and therefore, for each time win n i ng, is placed back one 
additional yard until he reaches, thirty yards, but no 
further. 
Under this rule, the average of the entire club has rap¬ 
idly advanced. It is used only at the badge competitions. 
The club has also a mid-month contest for four special 
prizes, donated by Messrs, Pike, Chappell, Wingert, and 
Madison, in winch contest the participants use the Parker 
plunge-traps, and shoot under the rales of the "New 
York State Association for the Protection of Fish and 
Game.” The shooters have each seven birds, of which 
three are at twenty-one yards, two at twenty-six yards, 
and two at thirty-one yards rise. The purpose is to obtain 
the practice necessary to successful entry at the State an¬ 
nual tournament. 
At the first of these contests held the score was remark¬ 
ably good, being withont a miss for the first five rounds. 
Each member, on entering, contributes one dollar to¬ 
wards a special fund to defray the entry fees of the club 
at the next State Convention. If the same practice were 
shown by the other clubs in this section, better work 
would be the result, and the example of the Fountain 
Club be commended hy all. 
THE HANLAN-COURTNEY RACE. 
O NE of the most shameful pieces of ‘ ‘ professional ” ras¬ 
cality ever perpetrated at the expense of the public 
was the recent Hanlan-Courtney race at May ville, Chau¬ 
tauqua Lake, Oct. 16th. Though neither party to the match 
can be called to account for racing for stakes offered by a 
business concern with alien purposes in view, the whole 
affair was more or less tainted thereby from the very out 
set as a money-making scheme whereby the unwary pub¬ 
lic was to be fleeced of its spare cash to the advantage of 
sundry' local hostlers, stable-men and groggery-keepers. 
With such an entourage as the worthies officiating on 
either side, but more particularly on the side of the Union 
Springs sculler, it required little penetration to divine be¬ 
forehand some sort of foul play should it be found im¬ 
possible to “ arrange ” matters to suit the hangers-on and 
betting fraternity, who hoped to fill their pockets from 
the plethoric purses of the unsuspecting public which 
crowded to the spot, lured by the imaginary prospect that 
a fair race between the Canadian champion and America’s 
best sculler was v at least to be had. “Arrangements” 
having fallen through, the Canadians not biting at the 
bait held out, and having full confidence in the ability of 
Hanlan to distance his competitor, nothing presented a 
more natural or ready method of escaping defeat and the 
loss of wagers than the clandestine destruction of Court¬ 
ney’s boats, ascribing the vandalism committed to solici¬ 
tous friends or backers of the Canadian champion. This 
little ruse, however, failed entirely in the effect intended, 
for the race was called by the referee and ended in a 
walk-over for Hanlan. The despicable means employed 
to stave off the race are already recoiling upon the orig¬ 
inators of the libel on the champion and his friends, and 
probably the evidence yet to come to light will once for 
all place certain individuals connected with the affair in 
a position from which it will be beyond their power to 
again swindle the public and bring disgrace upon profes¬ 
sional rowing. 
It is manifestly absurd to suppose that a sculler who has 
beaten the best men of the world “ hand over fist,” with¬ 
out even as much as exerting himself, and who made the 
fastest five-mile time on record—33m. 56Js.—could have 
anything to fear from Courtney in a fair race. Hanlan 
not only made very fast time, but he did not faint away, 
was not taken with cramps, nor was he pumped; but, on 
the contrary, came in from his pull as fresh and jolly as 
ever. To persons open to reason, his ability to beat 
Courtney as he likes is now beyond question, even if the 
Lachine race had not settled that point in their minds 
long ago. One thing is certain, if Courtney has any re¬ 
gard for public opinion he will at once cut loose from the 
pirates and sharks who have fastened on to him, and who 
by their reputation, occupation and actions, do him no 
credit, and he will besides have to do less rowing and 
winning on paper beforehand and a good deal more ac¬ 
tual pulling in his shell, to maintain himself in the good 
graces of men now thoroughly disgusted with the con¬ 
stant repetition of “accidents” and “mishaps” befalling 
him in his prominent matches. 
There was never produced even a shadow of evidence 
that would hold in court showing that Hanlan or his 
friends dealt dishonestly in the Lachine race a year ago, 
and the impressions created by the recent farce at May- 
ville on the part of the Union Springs delegation, tends to 
confirm the opinion we held at the time, that Hanlan was 
not pushed at Lachine, as admirers of his opponent would 
have it believed. Hanlan at that time had an eye on 
future events in England, and did not propose to “give 
himself away” by making such time as he has more re¬ 
oently shown himself capable of doing, even without a 
man to pull against. 
It will be difficult to get on another match between the 
two, especially if the money to which Hanlan is fairly 
entitled he withheld for the purposes of further advertise¬ 
ment by carrying the matter into the courts. In the 
meantime Hanlan stands without an equal in a shell in 
the world. 
The only redeeming features of the race were the 
smooth, even tenor of the champion’s ways and the tact 
of his friends, as well as the cloak of respectability given 
the affair by the presence of Mr. Wm. Blaikie, as referee, 
to whose rulings no exception can be taken. 
