Mat 18, 1383.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



307 



MAJOR JOSEPH VERITY. 



BOMB OF HIS SPORTTKO AT) VENTURE 9, AS MODESTLY SET 



FORTH Y.I IKS OWN UJJiD. 



CHAP. I. 



I HAVE Often he£n importuned by my friends, of whom 

 I may say that, for sonic reason, they are neitl) 

 nor untitled, there being anions them oyen presidents of re- 

 publics, to say nothing of presidents of railroads and banks 

 and other rich corporations • generals, Judges, railroad con- 

 ductors, hotel clerks, and I hardly know what magnates- 1 

 might not name— by them I have been importuned to write 

 out some of the events of my life which they are good 

 enough to consider worthy of being recorded". Bo 

 natural, inborn diffidence has prevented my making any 

 record of the strange things which I have seen, and perhaps 

 borne a part in; and, indeed, rarely have I ventured to speak 

 of them except to my most intimate friends, of whom there 

 ate not more than a thousand or so. To blow the trumpet of 

 one's own fame may be politic, but I have always felt the re- 

 hi'-tance by which the truly modest mind is ever restrained 

 from an indulgence in such a performance. But of late, be- 

 ing withheld by a painful accident from the active pursuits 

 Which have always been my delight, and have, I doubt not. 

 preserved the vigor of my youth till my years exceed the 

 number allotted to man, I have been impelled, mostly by a 

 dc.-ire to while away the time, which ban s so heavily with 

 the invalid, to write down some of my experiences. To the 

 thousands with whom I am acquainted it is quite unnecessary 

 for me to say that in these papers it will be my constaut en- 

 deavor to keep within those exact bounds of truth which the 

 true sportsman and angler never goes beyond; and the few 

 who do not know me personally will find sufficient internal 

 evidence of the truthfulness of the tales of an old hunter iu 

 this simple narration. 



ft may be well to nay here that the accident which has for 

 a time crippled me happened in this wise: A panther having 

 ravaged many sheepfolds iu my neighborhood, and by way 

 of tidbits carried oil two or three fat children, I was beset 

 by the bereft shecp-owners and parents to go in pursuit of 

 him. With little persuasion, I consented, and having pur- 

 sued him for two days, came up with my dogs just as they 

 were treeing him. lie, being greatly exhausted, was climb- 

 ing slowly up the tree as I came to it, the tip of his tail being 

 just within reach of my utmost stretch. Very rashly — as it 

 now seems to me — I caught hold of this and gave a tremen- 

 dous pull, hoping to bring him down and to see the dogs have 

 some sport, with him. But, as it happened, he had such fast 

 hold of the tree with his claws, and I pulled so suddenly and 

 vigorously, that his tail was pulled out, and with it came his 

 spinal marrow, the loss of which instantly paralyzed him 

 and brought Mm down on top of me so forcibly that the 

 breath was quite knocked out of my body and almost all my 

 bones, if not broken, were cracked and bent. I was taken 

 up for dead, but disappointed everyone, and am now able to 

 use my pen and play a little upon my violin, though with a 

 very short bow. 



A geneological history of my family might be interesting 

 to some, but it is enough to say that we are descended in a 

 direct line from Adam, and that we are under no obligations 

 to Noah for the use of his little ark, having had a yacht of 

 our own during the moist season which gave that person his 

 notoriety. In that excursion my ancestors got some ducking 

 and fished a little between showers for sharks and whales 

 and such fry, and I doubt not that from those ancient fowl- 

 ers and cruisers I inherit my love of shooting and fishing. 

 This plant of many centuries blossomed at last in me, born 

 of rich, but, in truth, I am bound with sorrow' to say, dis- 

 honest parents, for of their fifteen children they bestowed 

 upon me the largest share by far of talents, strength and 

 got >d_ looks, as well as my full portion of money and land. 



It is unnecessary to the purpose of this paper to go into 

 lengthy details of the events of my childhood. Suffice it to 

 say that my love of sport early became apparent, and with 

 that love was developed a talent for sport, for I cannot but 

 esteem as such that gift which makes some men prominent 

 amonglheir fellows in the sports of the field and the waters. 

 M\ earliest recollections are of shooting house-flies on the 

 wing with a popgun, and next of catching minnows with a 

 pin-hook having a peculiar bend of my own invention. When 

 I was about ten years old my father gave me a bow and ar- 

 rows, and in a few weeks I became so expert an archer that I 

 could shoot an arrow upward and split it with another as it 

 descended. Taking a half dozen arrows, I would shoot the 

 first very slowly T , the second swiftly enough to overtake the 

 first and strike it in the nock, the third to strike the second 

 in the same way, aud so on, till when they fell, spent, the six 

 arrows were lying joined together. Of course it was almost 

 impossible for any bird within range to escape me, and 1 

 rather enjoyed having them do their worst in rapid and 

 crooked flying. It made but little difference to me how swift 

 or tortuous their course, and, poor birds, but little to them. 



But I soon outgrew this simple weapon, which of right 

 belongs to small boys, savages and women. I was given a 

 gun, and my delight was unbounded. There is nothing so 

 delightful to a boy as this tube of iron which gives him the 

 power to celebrate a perpetual Fourth of July and a sense of 

 mastery over fire and smoke. He feels himself a miniature 

 Jove, with thunder and lightning at his command. It is 

 needless to say that I goon became as proficient in the use of 

 this noble weapon as I had been in that of the primitive one 

 which I had just abandoned. Of my boyhood I will say 

 nothing more. 



CHAP. It. 



When I had grown to manhood, which I did uot so much 

 by growing tall and broad, as by a distillation of the essence 

 of manhood and its confinement within a small compass (1 

 have even noted that giants amount to nothing but to fill 

 story books and side shows, and thai the BO-called "little men 

 always come out ahead, as witness Goliath, the Welch, Cor- 

 nish and other English giants, the more recent O'Baldwin, to 

 say nothing of him of Cardiff, on the one part, and their 

 slightly built opponents and rivals, David, Jack, Tom Thumb, 

 Commodore INult, etc., on the other), I found the guns in 

 use, even the most perfect, not coming up to my require- 

 ments. Here my talent for invention came in play, and i 

 contrived a gun with a. very long barrel, at certain points 

 along which as the ball or shot were expelled, their speed was 

 accelerated by relays, BO to speak, of powder ignited just be- 

 hind them, .: iliar and very ingenious device, ltmore 

 than exceeded my highest expectations. It would kil! game 

 as far away as 1 could see it. and it frequently happened in 

 hoi weather that a bird killed by it would be entirely spoiled 

 and fly-blown before I could get to it to pick il up. After a 

 time I learned to obviate this by putting some salt in the 

 dJ Shot, which would preserve, tlie game til] I could 

 m tftf owner of a wonderful retriever. 



who would go with such speed that his hair would fly off 

 him and fill the air behind him with it like a streak of red 

 mint (for red was his color), by which it was easy to follow 

 liLm, and with him I seldom lost a bird. Yes, he would 

 bring in his birds with such velocity that they would often 

 be quite deuuded of their feathers, "and it would puzzle me 

 to tell what 1 had killed. I once fired a ball from tiiis gun, 

 and standing perfectly still for some minutes in the place 

 from which I had fired, the spent ball struck me smartly in 

 the calf of the leg. How it could have made the circuit of 

 the world without deviating from its course, or striking some 

 object which would stop h, la something which I could" never 

 account for. Its prodigious range made it dangerous, and 

 another objection lo it w T as the rapid succession of recoils, 

 which was like the hammering of a gigantic woodpecker. 

 After having shot through the houses of two or three villages, 

 fortunately without killing anyone, aud having my shoulder 

 pounded to a black and blue jelly time and again, I aban- 

 doned its use, though I keep the gun as a curiosity. Some 

 years ago, as a special favor, I allowed three of my friends 

 who called on me to fire it with blank charges. One was a 

 lightning-rod man, another an insurance a^ent. and the other 

 a book agent. They w^ere all affable fellows, and seemed to 

 have a great regard for me, but so little did they appreciate 

 the privilege I had given them, that none of them has called 

 on me since. For all that I would not like to part with the 

 gun. 



In my younger days I had a hunting companion who had 

 but one eye, but with that, according to his accounts, he had 

 seen more than is vouchsafed to ordinary mortals who have 

 two. Indeed, I sometimes had doubt"of his veracitv, but 

 never was quite satisfied that his statements were" well 

 founded. Had I been, I would have done with him at once, 

 for it has ever been my rule to keep aloof from those who 

 have not the strictest regard for the truth. He was a keen 

 sportsman, and we had great sport together, especially with 

 burrowing animals, such as woodchucks and foxes. "When 

 w T e had found an inhabited burrow, or our dogs had driven 

 animals to earth, he being almost as strong as I, the two of 

 us. would lay hold of the mouth of the hole, pull it forth and, 

 turning it inside out, let our dogs kill the contents, which 

 would be sometimes as many as a half-dozen foxes. In this 

 way we often got muskrats along the banks of streams, and 

 once a fine otter, which my little fox-terrier shook completely 

 out of its akin, so that we were saved the trouble of using a 

 knife to save our peltry. 



My friend had spent some years in the far West, and I re- 

 member his telling among other strange things seen there, of 

 a quail which had an eye at the roots of the tail. A bevy of 

 them would squat in a circle with their tails pointing out- 

 ward, and when come upon by dog or sportsman, would fly 

 directly' upward into the sky and quite out of sight. It was 

 his opinion that they were natives of another planet, and had 

 been brought to ours by some freak of the elements, and as 

 I have found no mention of such a bird in the w T orks of any 

 of our ornithologists, I am inclined to think his theoiy cor- 

 rect. My friend went back to the West, finding the East too 

 tame for him, and became one of the Jacks or Bills who have 

 of late years been so popular with the readers of fractional 

 currency fiction. Remembering his peculiar fondness for 

 malt liquors, I think he must be the Bruin Bill of whom we 

 read. 



FABLES AND FABULISTS. 



WHO can solve the mystery of the following problem. 

 Given a boy just strong enough to handle a gun, or a 

 man of full strength. Suppose the boy to be a direct de- 

 scendent of George Washington, and endowed through in- 

 heritance with the conviction that the truth must be told 

 under every circumstance, whatever may be the conse- 

 quence; or suppose the man to be distinguished "for probity 

 in all his business engagements. Let this boy or man go out 

 hunting or fishing, and he will return and tell a string of 

 lies about the incidents of his trip, the beautiful and difficult 

 shots lie made, the arnoimt of game he bagged, the number 

 and size of the fish he caught, lb at would shame the veriest 

 mendicant, and prove the proffer of the Baron's hat from 

 Munchausen, were he present, to the sporting romancer, who 

 could "see" the yarns which made the Baron's reputation, 

 and "go him one better." 



Why is this? Can it be possible that the pure air of 

 heaven excites the imagination so acutely that a sportsman's 

 dreams become to him realities? Does communiou with na- 

 ture, the sight of green lulls and blooming meadows, the in- 

 spection of the immensity of nature, so enlarge the fancy 

 that we unconsciously draw upon it to embellish our experi- 

 ences? Will not some of your readers analyze the anomaly 

 and enrich the realms of philosophy with its solution? 



Every one who has toasted his feet before a camp fire, can 

 testify to the mental aberrations of his friends to whom he 

 has listened on such occasions. 



My old friend L., for instance, who is learned in the fic- 

 tions of the law, and whose general reputation for truth and 

 veracity none can gainsay, when he narrates to eager ears the 

 incidents of his sporting life, presumes upon a credulity in 

 his listeners which few possess, aud embellishes his tale with 

 fancies, which, though very pleasant to listen to, are very 

 hard to believe. 



A pointer dog, which he owned a few years ago — I think 

 he called lum Sport — is a fruitful theme for fancy to him 

 He tells, with a very sober face, how on one occasion he was 

 out with a party after chickens. Dogs and men were all 

 stowed away in a lumber wagon, for they had several miles 

 to go to reach the hunting grounds; and as they were driving 

 along, as unconscious of game in their vicinity as a noseless 

 statue would be, old Sport stiffened into a point without get- 

 ting out of the wagon. L. did not care to drag out the guns 

 to bother about a single chicken, which he thought Sporthad 

 scented, so the party drove on. But Sport evidenced his 

 disgust at the want of nose the party displayed by continuing 

 his point until the party had proceeded fully three miles", 

 when, judging from the actions of the dog that the country 

 must be full of game, our friends stopped the wagon, pulled 

 out their guns and prepared to bag the chickens the old dog 

 was pointing. Sport was urged from the wagon, still hold- 

 ing his point, and on, and on and ou went the expectant 

 group of hunters with nervous ringers on trigger, thinking 

 every moment the covey might riseT until the sagacious brute 

 had led them backward three miles, over the country they 

 had just driven over, to theexaet point where Sport had nr-i 

 stiffened, and there they found the birds, a fullcovey! 

 Amazing intelligence in ado-', or terrific lying by a man, 

 which would be the appro;.' | i ir the yarn? 



It takes a fertile imagination to impress a tale" like this so 

 firmly upon the mind that even its weaver after a time be- 



• vjaeed Of itS I 

 every time, and | ■ u every 



strand in place as often as]an audience can^be found to ap- 

 pear before him. 



In the schoolboy's alphabet L stands for liar, aud perhaps 

 this may account for the fact that another old friend, nanu'd 

 L. for short, who in jest locates some of his stories in Ten- 

 nessee, can never be relied upon to tell the truth in respect to 

 his hunting excursions. He will shoot at game or glass 

 balls: and if he misses, will declare that lie is using shells 

 loaded three years ago, or that he is shooting Np. 1 shot, 

 which he had loaded for geese or deer in Tennessee in '49. 

 And he will confuse the minds of his listeners with stories 

 about his cur dog Snap that would shame a professional pre- 

 varicator. 



And j r et this L., in a business matter, would as soon think 

 of lying as stealing. I account for the aberration of his mind 

 as follows. He is a printer, and the atmosphere which 

 arises from the leaden type is so oppressive that his minil is 

 ordinarily confined within less than its normal limits, so that 

 when he drops his type and takes up his gun, and seeks an 

 atmosphere in which ozone predominates, his mind expands, 

 his pent up fancy bursts its leaden bonds and leaps beyoud 

 the confines of the strictest truth. Bab M., A. L. Jones, 

 Hod. Boyd, Joe D., and scores of other sportsmen with 

 whom 1 have an intimate acquaintance, will adorn a hunting 

 tale with details so invitingly real that they delight the ear 

 of a stranger, but which must be discounted alarmingly be- 

 fore their value is ascertained as tmthful narratives. 



Every sportsman will vouch for the fact that hunters and 

 fishers will deal in romance. Cannot some one of them ex- 

 plain why they confine their tales of fiction within the limits 

 of their sporting experience? Hoist. 



sporting experience 



WOODCOCK SHOOTING IN COLUMBIA 

 COUNTY. 



ON a bright, cool, frosty morning in the month of Octo- 

 ber, 1881, four happy sportsmen could have been seen 

 riding speedily along a pleasant country road in Columbia 

 county, N. Y. , behind a spanking team of bays driven by 

 Ed., a jolly fellow, who knew how to handle the reins. The 

 party consisted of Charley, Granville, Dr. J. (who believes 

 it best to be ready and go than to go and not be ready), three 

 as_ big-hearted, genial and as true sportsmen as ever pulled a 

 trigger, and who know how to enjoy an autumn day in I he 

 fields with gun and dog in search of game, especially the. 

 gamy little woodcock, and in addition to these three, the 

 writer. 



Is man, good brother, ever blessed 

 With satisfaction; mind at rest, 

 Freedom from care, from business fog, 

 So much as when with gun aud dog 

 O'er field and marsh and wooded place 

 He feels his game-bag grow apace? 



We were accompanied by a fine brace of setters. Don, a 

 noble, faithful companion at home, and a dog whose nose 

 seldom fails him in the field, and the Elcho-Rose Irish dog 

 Larry Here let me say the trip was not so pleasant for 

 Granville as it might have been, he having had the misfor- 

 tune to lose his fine little. Irish setter Tilley, who had been 

 accidentally shot a few weeks before near the spot for which 

 this party was heading. Arriving near the grounds at a late 

 hour in the morning, however, the wagon was stopped, the 

 dogs bounding out, eager for the fray," quickly followed by 

 four anxious sportsmen. Overcoats" were doffed at once, 

 guns taken from their cases, pockets filled with shells, etc. 

 Then, after little delay, and Ed. had been told where to meet. 

 us in a few hours, the" dogs were cast off in a large, beauti- 

 ful piece of alders, the sight of which on such a lovely Oc- 

 tober day makes a woodcock hunter's heart jump with de- 

 light, The first few acres were composed of old growth of 

 alders, and proved blank except for two or three 'old grouse 

 which flushed wildly and out of gunshot. After reaching 

 better grounds an occasional cock was found during the bah 

 ance of the day by the veteran Don, well backed by Larry. 

 Most of these came to bag, affording considerable sport, untii 

 darkness coming on we made for the wagon, well pleased 

 with the few hours spent together on our first day. After a 

 chilly ride home, a good warm supper, dogs well fed and 

 cared for, we were early to bed, anticipating a full day's 

 hunt for the morrow. 



We were awakened next morningby Ed., only to meet with 

 great disappointment, as it laiued very hard all night and 

 continued throughout the day, which was Spent lounging 

 arouud the hotel, inspecting Frank's fine horses, sheep, and 

 his thoroughbred bull pup (rough-coated) anil listening-" to : he 

 doctor's interesting anecdotes, "talking dog. gun, ele., till 

 late in the evening, when all were to bed again", to be called 

 early the next morning. 



This proved a delightful day for the sport, but, we here 

 learned with regret that professional duties would pre-, eat 

 the doctor from joining us on this our second day; but with 

 a promise from him that he would join us the next day, 

 everything was. got in readiness, and a start was made for 

 the grounds, which were reached in good season. It was a 

 damp morning, t\ie scent lying well, giving the dogs every 

 opportunity to use their noses to the' best advantage. As 

 Don entered the ground, consisting of young growth of 

 alder, interspersed with briars and tall, dry grass, "bordering 

 on a large swamp, he came to a magnificent point, grandly 

 backed by Larry. As soon as Don established his point, 

 "Little 'un" began to seek for an opening among the thick 

 alders that would afford a good shot, and the writer was not 

 far behind in seeking an opening also. Charley here telling 

 us to keep our eyes "peeled," stepped anxiously, but care- 

 fully, in front of Don, when suddenly two brown beauties, 

 in full plumage, darted up through the alders with that fa- 

 miliar "tweedle leedle leedle" which is music tot) 

 man's ears. Both were cut down in good style, which was 

 a good send off for our second day's shoot. 



To ho! good Don, a splendid find, 



With Larry staunch and trembling close behind; 



A brace is flushed, our star is kind; 



Two tufts of feathers drift adown the wind, 



The shells replaced— hold up ! dead bird I 



Fetch it, good ftojj! Retrieved at wont. 



ie, vrirh smoothed plume, 



Vanish within one pocket's spacious room; 



We were fortunate in striking a good flight on this piece. 

 It WB8 ft glorious sight to see the dogs in the!. 



tudes, pointing and bactting. It would be a pointful [>i 



wilb a back from Larry, "then a point for Larry, the old 

 veteran Don finding moat of the birds. Larry had seen no 



woodcock to speak of previous to U | , 



e;oi to InudToi 

 1 



