152 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



ha 1 them convey ed to the house where he bunched them and 

 hung them up by the feet, it being a theory of his that they 

 keep longer when suspended in this way than if tied by the 

 necks and allowed to hang with feet downward. His reasons 

 for this are plausible. He claims that the entrails of the bird 

 \vhen suspended by its feet fall forward, and any deleterious 

 gasses accumulating in the body can easily escape through 

 the natural channel, while on the other hand, if the birds be 

 suspended by the neck, the intestines all bear upon the lower 

 part of the body, always the first part of the bird to spoil, and 

 prevent the escape of gasses accumulating therein. 



Speaking of the preservation of birds after being killed 

 brings to mind a novel method of cooking Jack Snipe and 

 other game birds followed by Mr. Robinson, of N. Y., a fre- 

 quent visitor at Nottingham. After having the birds picked he 

 places them in a small tin bucket which he covers and im- 

 merses in another bucket nearly rilled with boiling water. He 

 theu covers the lid with live embers to brown the birds and 

 allows them to cook slowly. They are taken from the bucket 

 when done with all the juices retained.. 



During the balance of our stay at Nottingham we were 

 treated with marked hospitality and the shooting continued 

 excellent. It was a very common thing for our party to bag 

 between two and three hundred ortolan during a single tide. 

 Our Baltimore friends were enabled to send some to their ac- 

 quaintances in Baltimore by the steamer, others wehad cooked 

 at Nottingham, and those not badly shot were carefully pre- 

 served until our return to Washington. We met several gen- 

 tlemen owning the marshes bordering their farms on the river 

 front, all of whom gave us a cordial invitation to shoot thereori 

 stating that they never objected to gentlemen gunning on 

 their places, but they very sensibly prohibited any shooting 

 for market. The people of Maryland are courteous, generous 

 and hospitable, and I am sure no visitor to Nottingham leaves 

 there with a bad i repression of its citizens. In a future letter 

 I will have something to tay of the duck and partridge shoot- 

 ing in that locality. 



A BENCH SHOW FOE WASHINGTON. 



The Sunday Herald of this city, which, by the way, is an 

 admirable paper, and often devotes much of its space to mat- 

 ters of interest to sportsmen, advocates a bench show for 

 Washington. In a recent article on the subject it says : 



" There is hardly anything pertaining to the animal creation 

 more interesting than a good dog show, and there is no reason 

 why one cannot be held in Washington quite as good as the 

 recent ones in Boston and Baltimore. President Hayes and 

 Secretary Evarts have some fine dogs, so have Messrs. God- 

 frey, Juenneman, Acker, Clarke, Henault, Rowe, Alexander, 

 and many other citizens, and in the adjoining counties of 

 Maryland and Virginia there are splendid dogs." 



True, there are many fine dogs in Washington and the 

 neighboring counties of Maryland and Virginia, and it is to 

 be hoped that the show will be organized. Maj. Thos. B. 

 Kalbfus, the business manager of the Sunday Herald, a true 

 sportsman, is just the person to take an active part in such an 

 undertaking. If the sportsmen here will aid him in connec- 

 tion with Mr. Charles G. Godfrey, who has had much experi- 

 ence in such matters, I see no reason why we should not have 

 a very successful exhibition. 



6Q0IBBELS. 



The Shenandoah (Va.) Herald says : 



"Squirrels hnve been very plentiful this season. A large 

 number have been killed. On Cedar Creek, in this county, 

 over 2,000 were killed and reported. A number that were not 

 reported, were, we have no doubt, killed in the same neighbor- 

 hood. They have appeared within the last few days within a 

 short distance of town. They are moving eastward. The cause 

 of the migration is generally supposed to be the scarcity of mast 

 in the Alleghanies. Many of our farmers have lost a great 

 deal of corn. !*■ F. B. 



NEBRASKA NOTES. 



IN Camp on the Dismal River) 

 Sept. 6, 1877. j 

 Editor Foeest and Stream: 



Those writers who sagely affirm that the " Great American 

 Desert" has no existence should come to Nebraska and explore 

 its sandhills. A few day's travel through this region would, 

 I am sure, cause an entire change in their opinions. Imagine, 

 if you can, a strip of territory one hundred miles wide and 

 four hundred in length covered by a mass of sand so soft and 

 yielding that a horse's hoof at each step sinks two or three 

 inches into the ground, and so fine and light that it is carried 

 hither and thither in clouds by the winds that blow almost 

 without ceasing. A little vegetation clothes the hillsides, but 

 it is very sparse and there are wide spaces of bare sand be- 

 tween each tuft of grass or weeds. A few streams are scat- 

 tered at wide intervals through the^ region and flow into the 

 North Platte River, or the Loup Fork; and it is only along 

 these streams that the rich dark green of living grass and 

 shrubs appear to relieve the everlasting monotony of the gray 

 sandhills with their scanty covering of subdued brown. 



Although the buffaloes in this region have suffered the ab- 

 solute extermination which awaits all our larger game, the an- 

 telope still exi.it in the sandhills in considerable numbers. Elk, 

 oo are not unfrequently met with, and the mule-deer and 

 Virginia deer are somewhat abundant. But here, as every- 

 where else, the diminution of game within the past few years 

 a something terrible and cannot but grieve and shock the 

 psrtsniaa. Some years ago when I first passed through these 



Nebraska sandhills at no time during the day were wc out of 

 sight of antelope, both species of deer were eont inually j umped 

 from the ravines and creeks, and bands of elk of from fifty to 

 two hundred and fifty individuals were met with almost daily, 

 This country, although almost without large game at present, 

 still abounds in wild fowl. 



Less than one hundred yards from our camp is a beautifu 

 little lake overhung by lofty bluffs and fringed with dark green 

 rushes. On its surface can be seen at any hour of the day 

 thousands of ducks and geese, and tens of thousands of waders. 

 The most abundant ducks which we see are the smaller broad- 

 bills (Futigufa affinux) and the blue-winged teal (Q. discors), 

 though mallards, black ducks and gadwalls are numerous. 

 Blocks of geese alight on the lake every day, and to my sur- 

 prise I learned that two pairs of swans (Cygnuts Amvkanus) 

 bred on its shores during the past summer. Of thisfact there 

 can be no doubt, as both the old and young were seen daily 

 for more than a month. 



The waders comprise most of the more common varieties of 

 snipe and bay birds, but there are also some of the rarer 

 species, which Ave, of the East, seldom see alive. A large 

 flock of the beautiful avocets gh an a fat subsistence from the 

 shallower waters, and when approached, make the air vocal 

 with their shrill cries. Ivilldeer plover, Baird's sandpipers, 

 and the little oxeyes hurry along the shores in search of food, 

 and every now and then, in riding by, we start from the damp 

 spots near its margin, that prince of birds, the Wilson Snipe. 

 I must not forget to mention the hundreds of graceful little 

 Northern Phalaropes {LoUpes hyperboreus) which, floating 

 lightly on the mirror like surface of the lake, form one of the 

 most pleasing features of the scene. 



My host is one of the cattle kings of this Western country, 

 and his herds range about our camp for miles in all directions. 

 It is a grand sight to watch the bands of cattle pour down 

 from the hills on all sides, slowly and in single file, and move 

 toward the water's edge to drink. So, in former times, did 

 the buffalo, whose bones are still thickly strewn along the 

 margin of the lake, file down and pom- their dark columns 

 into this peaceful valley. 



Our hunting has, up to this time, been limited to antelope, 

 at present the most abundant game in this vicinity, although 

 even antelopes are scarce. We were fortunate enough, a few 

 days since, to kill "the biggest buck antelope in the range," 

 a splendid animal with a fine pair of horns, and so large that 

 it taxed severely the strength of two men to lift him on to a 

 horse's back. He was a wary old fellow, too, and it afforded 

 us no little satisfaction to have succeeded in circumventing 

 him. When first seen, the buck appeared on the crest of a 

 hill half a mile or more from where we were seated, engaged 

 in watching the movements of a small band of antelope, 

 which were feeding toward us. As soon as we saw the buck, 

 we decided that he was the antelope for us, and for more than 

 a hour we sat and watched him. He promsnided up and 

 down that ridge and debated with himself as to whether those 

 dark objects in the valley were, or were not, enemies. Some- 

 times, he would disappear behind the hill for a [short time, 

 but after a little we would see the tops of his horns appear 

 again aud he would take another peep. At last he disap- 

 peared and it was thought time to approach him. Cautious 

 and deliberate stalking soon brought me within view of the 

 game at a distance of one hundred and fifty yards. There the 

 buck stood, placidly chewing his cud, and looking, to my 

 eager vision, about as large as a cow. A carefully aimed shot 

 pierced his heart, and he fell dead after running a hundred 

 yards. We have seen a few- deer, white tails all, but have 

 not yet hunted them. Before long, however, we hope to 

 have some sport with them, and perhaps, to get into a band 

 of elk that is believed to lie feeding on a creek about thirty 

 miles from here. Hasta luego. To! 



§¥ I #• 



THE CENTENNIAL TROPHY TEAMS. 



—"Train up a child in the way he should go," etc., says the good 

 book. But how can you train him up thus without keepmg him clean? 

 Use B. T. Babbitt's Toilet Soap, then, and when he is old he wilt not de- 

 part from its use. The soup is made of the best materials, aud abso- 

 lutely the king of toilet soap. Its scent is delicious, but not artificial, for 

 no foreigu odor is needed to disguise impurity and poison.— [A dv. 



Seal and Salmon Fight. —An interesting sight (says the Bun- 

 dee Evening Telegraph) was witnessed off West Ferry the other 

 day in a desperate fight between a seal and a huge salmon. 

 The combatants were not above a hundred yards from the 

 shore, and the encounter was therefore plainly seen. For 

 more than an hour the fight lasted, the seal all the while dash- 

 ing about in the water after its agile prey. During the prog- 

 ress of the fight the salmon was tossed many times into the 

 air, after the fashion of a cat with a mouse. * It was then seen 

 to be a very large fish. After the fish was fairly exhausted, 

 for the seal was the victor, the seal rose frequently to the sur- 

 face of the water with its prey in its mouth, the salmon, how- 

 ever, not being yet dead, as the movement of its body clearly 

 indicated. Whether or no the seal swallows its prey whole is 

 not known to the writer ; but to spectators of this"moniiiig's 

 light the protracted nature of the battle seemed to have origin 

 in some desire on the part of the seal not to injure its prey, or 

 break it with its teeth. There are large numbers of seals in 

 the river at the present time. Between seventy and eighty of 

 these animals, many of them very large and of different colors, 

 were seen sunning themselves at low tide on Abertay . 

 one day last week. 



Fox Hunt on Long Island. — A fox hunt of the English 

 style, with a fine pack of imported hounds, is to be held at 

 East Meadow Brook, Long Island, early in October. The en- 

 terprise is under the management of prominent members of 

 the Westchester Polo Club, and everything promises ;i 

 successful meeting. The hounds are to be supporled by sub- 

 scription, and the chase is to be open to all lovers of true 

 sport. The committee have been fortunate in their se! 

 of East Meadow Brook, and have shown much good sen 

 their arrangements. If the enterprise, is successful, it 

 posed to hold two meetings yearly, and a suitable club house 

 is to be erected. 



The captain of the British team is very anxious that the 

 Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association of 

 America should revoke their previous action on the matter 

 of the Centennial tropny, and adopt his view of who should 

 and who should not enter as competitors in future contests. 

 Again and again has Sir Henry more or less pointedly given 

 the American rifle managers to understand what his desires 

 are in the matter ; and in his importunity he recognizes the 

 importance of striking when the iron is hot, and the im- 

 mense advantage of personal as compared with documentary 

 pleading. He insists that if we are to see another mixed 

 team in the field for the great trophy, we are to say so veiy 

 quickly, that the National Rifle Association of Great Brita ; n 

 may bestir itself and count up its available talent. But to 

 fall in with Sir nenry's views means a curt turning of the 

 back on the part of the American riflemen and the Ameri- 

 can National Rifle Association to their rifle friends of Scot- 

 land, Ireland, Canada and Australia, and of England, too, 

 if there are any small-bore shooters there more anxious for a 

 good team fight than to carry out the intentions of the 

 British N. R. A. Great stress is laid upon the name Intrr- 

 nationai contest, which has been placed urjon the matches 

 for the Centennial trophy, the English claiming this 

 as a misnomer, denying to Scotland or Ireland the rank of 

 nations, and insisting that we shall acknowledge Great 

 Britain as a nation, and her alone. H it be a misnomer, 

 then also is the International Challenge Trophy restricted 

 to teams of twenty, volunteers from England, Scotland and 

 Ireland each year, equally a misnomer, and the Donegal 

 Cup, of the Wimbledon programme, was, up to 1875, known 

 as the Irish International Challenge Cup. So it would 

 seem that if we are loose in our choice of designation, the 

 English Association is even more so in styling a match In- 

 ternational which is open to but three competitors. But we 

 in this country can appreciate the diffeienee between poli- 

 tics and sport. When Mr. O'Connor Powers came to this 

 country as the official bearer of addresses of congratulation 

 from the Irish Nationalists to the Congress of the U. S., he 

 was not received except in his private capacity, and prop- 

 erly, as he came on a semi-political mission, and his ap- 

 proaches should have been made through the regular diplo- 

 matic channels. But to apply these cast-iron rules and 

 niceties of rcd-tapeism to a rifle match, almost rises to the 

 ridiculous. We can, if we put ourselves in the line of 

 thought which Englishmen follow, begin to appreciate how 

 their intense class feelings should blind them to the broader 

 fields of view which a sportsman should cover. There is 

 no political significance in these rifle matches, except so far 

 as such may be attached to it by others than the shooters. 

 In the selection of the team, of their arms and the place of 

 meeting, questions of politics are entirely eschewed, and 

 very properly. Were they to enter, we should be entitled 

 to place in the field a team of Irish-American or Scotch citi- 

 zens of adoption, or any other nationality finding a politi- 

 cal home in America. But such have been barred out, with 

 the special intention of making it a direct test between the 

 natives of the several count.ies invited. There is a dis- 

 tinction, sharp and marked, and a thousand characteristics 

 by which an Irishman may be distinguished from a Scots- 

 man, and either from an Englishman. They may be stirred 

 together in the same political caldron, may be yoked neck 

 and neck to the same government car, but outside and inde- 

 pendent of these accidental and changeful circumstances 

 are the radical elements of race and blood. It was precisely 

 these differences which the Directors of the N. R. A. wished 

 to see tested wiien they decided that an invitation be "ex- 

 tended to riflemen of all countries" (hot all nations), and 

 then again requested the secretary to notify the riflemen not 

 only of certain named places, but "all other countries." 

 The British team managers were aware of this construction 

 when they decided to come here. They suffer no grievance 

 if next year Scotland and Ireland shall decide to send sepa- 

 rate teams, and have really no ground of protest. The ap- 

 pearance of members of the Irish Rifle Association on the 

 British team is no proof that the Irish riflemen waive their 

 rights in the matter. As a matter of fact they do not, and 

 Sir Henry's implication in one of his early speeches that 

 they had done so was met by a prompt protest from the 

 parties concerned. 



The only correct course, the only one now to be pursued 

 by the Board of Directors if they will avoid doing a positive 

 wrong to A, B and C, lest they do imaginary wrong to D, 

 is to keep in the path laid down two years ago ; and despite 

 the " bull-doziug " tactics of those who see, in a match be- 

 tween all the rifle-shooting countries of the world, merely a 

 ".scrub race between a dozen or more local clubs," keep 

 faith with themselves and their friends abroad. 



A British- American match would be an excellent idea, in- 

 dependent of the Centennial trophy matches. We would 

 propose the same conditions, except that an eighleen-inch 

 carton be placed upon the bull's-eye. This would enable 

 liner marksmanship to be properly appreciated and record- 

 ed. As the two leading nationalities of the earth see this 

 class of sport, it might be well for Sir Hear; and the lead- 

 ing representatives in the shooting world here to confer on 

 this suggestion, leaving the terms of the 

 as fixed and settled. 



