12 



FOREST AND STREAM, 



[3 as. 31, 1884. 



tat e to wing except when hard pressed. While the covey re- 

 mains unbroken they will not lie from a dog or anything else. 

 When broken and very much scattered, if they "have good 

 cover, will sometimes lie, though are quite unreliable. They 

 are "no good" for the sportsman, but are the chief delight of 

 the pot-hunters, who frequently kill as many as a dozen at a 

 shot. As a table bird, they are about the same as the Bob 

 White. They inhabit only' the extreme western part of the 

 State. Plenty of them in' this immediate vicinity, and pot- 

 hunters are now daily bringing in large quantities. M. M. 

 San Angela. Texas, 'January 1884. 



A HOME FOR PET DOGS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



There are in the city of Now York a very great many gen- 

 tlemen who wish to keep a dog as a companion, but complain 

 that they have no place to keep one. If they live at home 

 there are many objections, and if they live at any of the hotels 

 or boarding houses there, are still more. To obviate all this- 

 1 would suggest that a certain number of gentlemen get to- 

 gether and form a club, the object of which shall be to hire 

 premises in a convenient neighborhood, say some stable 

 where suitable kemiels can be made, and rented by members 

 by the year, and a good man and assistant be engaged who 

 shall take charge and feed the dogs. The owners would then 

 take an interest in the kennels, and it might then be further 

 extended for the summer months by taking s»me place in the 

 country, where the breeding and improvement of dogs could 

 be thoroughly gone into. I think this idea would reach a 

 class who are lovers of dogs; but perhaps have not the time 

 or money to indulge in their hobby. We must commence 

 iu a small way. What we do afterward must be deter- 

 mined by the club or a committee appointed by the mem- 

 bers. I shall be glad to receive any communications from 

 your readers, and will say for myself, that finding the difficulty 

 of keeping any of my dogs in city, I would like to meet with 

 a few who are in the same fix, willing to rent a stable or some 

 suitable place where we can have the pleasure of seeing our 

 canine friends, and take them for a wait, I also think that if 

 we get a sufficient number of members, we can institute a 

 home for friendless dogs, and if we are sufficiently prosperous 

 we can engage the best veterinary talent and institute a dog 

 hospital; but this is all in the future, what I want to do now 

 is to get enough men together who will share the expense of a 

 kennel in Now York for companionable dogs. 



John E. I. Gkainger. 



may, by simply making oath that he believes a certain dog to 

 be dangerous, and giving notice of such oath to the owner, 

 cause such dog, however innocent he may be. or however val- 

 uable to his owner, either to be killed or kept constantly con- 

 fined: and any person may kid such dog if it be afterward 

 found outside the inclosure, or away from the immediate care 

 of its owner, however harmless the dog may be at the time. 



Thus, under the sanction of the law, .an evil-minded person 

 may maliciously cause loss and suffering to an honest, peace- 

 able citizen, either by compelling Into to kill an unoffending 

 anirual, or at least to 'keep him perpetually imprisoned, 



If an exhaustive investigation be made into the condition of 

 things under the present law, there can but one result follow, 

 the public will learn how, for the benefit of a few, the many 

 labor under an unjust and overwhelming burden, and if any 

 change in the dog laws be made, it should certainly be in the 

 direction of relief to the dog owner. 



It would seem to bo wise then for the sheep owner and his 

 friends to hold their peace, and be at least satisfied with the 

 existing undue favor shown to them. Let them consider well 

 the experience of the farmer in the fable, who in seeking too 

 much, lost what he had, hi killing his generous goose. Lex. 



THE MASSACHUSETTS DOG LAWS. 



THE present agitation of the question of the dog laws of 

 our State, is due, so it is said, to the efforts of those acting 

 in the interests of the sheep owners, with a view to encourag- 

 ing the pastoral ambition of our people. 



Let us look at the matter then from the sheep owner's stand- 

 point. Let it be conceded that our legislators should look with 

 a single eye to the development of the prosperity of such per- 

 sons as desire to lead the guileless life of shepherds, and let it 

 be conceded that other interests, even if they are those of a 

 majority of our citizens, must be subservient to the small shep- 

 herd class. Then let us examine our statute books, and briefly, 

 or fully, investigate the results of our present law, and it must 

 be at once apparent that the gentle shepherds are amply pro- 

 vided for. 



Chap. 102, of the Public Statutes of Massachusetts, Sec. 98, is 

 to this effect: "Any one who suffers loss by the worrying, 

 maiming, or killing of his sheep, lambs, fowls, or other domestic 

 animals, may inform the chairman of the selectmen of the 

 town, wherein the damage occurs, the chairman shall then 

 decide whether the injury was caused by dogs, if so he shall 

 appraise the amount thereof, provided he does not think it ex- 

 ceeds $20, if he thinks the amount of damages greater than 

 that sum, he shall appoint two other appraisers to act with 

 him ; in either case a certificate of the appraised loss shall be 

 made, which is to bo allowed by the county commissioners, if 

 no objection to the appraisal is proven before them ; where- 

 upon they shall issue an order for the amount of the certificate, 

 which is paid from the dog taxes received and in the county 

 treasury.'" This generous law does not compel the suffering 

 farmer to prove his actual loss, nor to demonstrate that any 

 particular dog, or, indeed, any dog did the mischief, the 

 declaration of the omniscient selectman is sufficient, and upon 

 it the dogs are convicted, his judgment is usually to the effect 

 that the sheep or fowls came "to their deaths by some means 

 unknown, probably a dog. 



Should the dog be decreed to be the criminal, the selectman 

 then receives a fee of one dollar for making the appraisal of 

 damages, but should he decide that any one of a thousand 

 other possible causes led to this loss of the complainant, then 

 such selectman receives only his mileage fee. Under such cir- 

 cumstances is it to be wondered at that only by a direct inter- 

 position of Providence are the dogs ever declared innocent, 

 and is it not natural that tie amounts disbursed from the 

 county treasuries, on account of damages alleged to be caused 

 by dogs, are so enormous? The decisions of the selectmen or 

 the appraisers are, of course, chiefly based upon the ex parte 

 statements of the complainant, and damages are assessed ac- 

 cordingly. . 



Here is a fact within my own knowledge to illustrate the 

 working of the law: 



In a certain town, which could be named, a certain farmer 

 discovered one morning that several of his fowls had departed 

 this fife during the preceding night. Conscious that this ap- 

 parent misfortune is in fact a real bonanza, he complains to 

 the selectmen, and his loss is promptly assessed at about S40, 

 to be paid from the dog taxes; after the certificate of damage 

 had issued, a neighbor of this farmer confidentially informed 

 the writer, that upon the night of the slaughter of the poultry 

 he himself saw a fine fox emerging from the farmer's hen 

 roost. "'But," said he, "I shall say nothing of this, because 

 there is no reason why my neighbor should not gethis money." 

 But we have recited but one of the remedies allowed by our 

 impartial law. When, as is rarely the case, a farmer has any 

 legal proof that a dog did the mischief of which he complains, 

 he" may then recover from the owner of such dog, in an action 

 of tort, double, or in certain cases triple, the amount of dam- 

 aces caused. This remedy is an alternative to the one first 

 mentioned. Are these facts of a nature to bear out the asser- 

 tion that sheep cannot be profitably bred in this State because 

 our law- does not afford the farmer adequate protection? 



Having considered the case of the sheep owner, we may now 

 fairly devote a few lines to the interest of the dog owner. He 

 is taxed two dollars per year for every male dog over three 

 months old, and five dollars for the same time for every 

 female dog, and these taxes are farther increased by muuici- 

 pal regulation, a perfectly enormous percentage when the 

 average market value of dogs is estimated. These taxes are 

 paid into the county treasuries to meetthe drafts of the county 

 commissioners under the provisions of law already cited. This 

 charge is then, strictly speaking, rather of the nature of an 

 indemnity fund, than a tax, and isfieposited in order to rescue 

 all possible losses attributed to the injuries caused by clogs. 

 The ease with which this deposit may be drawn upon by 

 claimants, and the want of any proper restrictions as to proof 

 of claims, have been sufficiently illustrated. Yet in spite of 

 the exorbitant drafts upon this fund, there is still a large sur- 

 plus paid back to the towns every year for the purpose of 

 mamtaming schools or libraries. Why dog owners should be 

 fixed upon as the victims to bear this burden, though it be 

 to support excellent institutions, is certainly not clear. Nor is 

 this all; any owuer of a dog which has actually caused a loss 

 for which damages have been paid from the county treasury 

 as already mentioned, is still liable to the county for the 

 damages so paid tebe recovered in an action of tort. 

 Further than this, any person, be he of good or ill-depute, 



CINCINNATI DOG SHOW. 



FOLLOWING- is the premium list of the bench show to be 

 held at Cincinnati, 0., the first week in March: Mastitis, 

 St. Bernards, Newfoundlands, greyhounds, Scotch deerhounds, 

 Irish water spaniels, field spaniels (over 28 pounds), cocker 

 spaniels (under 2S pounds), foxhounds, beagles, dachshunde, 

 bull-terriers, black and tan terriers (over 7 pounds), Bedling- 

 ton terriers, Skye terriers, hard-haired Scotch terriers, Irish 

 terriers, Yorkshire terriers, pugs, toy terriers, King Charle3, 

 Blenheim and Japanese spaniels, $10 for the best dog or bitch, 

 and $5 for the second best; champion English setters, Irish 

 setters and pointers, $20 for the best dog and 820 for the best 

 bitch; champion Gordon setters, $20 for the best dog or bitch; 

 champion fox-terriers, collies and pugs, $10 for the best dog 

 or bitch. Open classes, English setters and Irish setters, jgl.5 for 

 the best dog, $5 for the second, bitches the same, puppies #7 

 and $3, dogs' or bitches; black and tan or Gordon setters, $15 

 for the best dog or bitch, $5 for the second ; puppies $7 and $3, 

 dogs or bitches; pointers, dogs over 55 pounds, pointers, dogs 

 under 55 pounds, bitches, any weight, $15 and $5; puppies §7 

 and $3, dogs or bitches ; fox-terriers, collies, bulldogs, dogs, $10 

 and $5 : bitches the same ; fox-terrier puppies, $5 for the best 

 dog or bitch; miscellaneous, three prices of 85 each, making a 

 total of $840 distributed among fifty-one classes. 



DUKE. 



DUKE— plain Duke without any extras. A common enough 

 name, but no common clog, thank you! Of Irish extrac- 

 tion, which accounted for much of Ms wit and humor. Left 

 an orpan at an early age, his youthful owner raised him on 

 the bottle, sleeping on the sitting-room lounge that he might 

 conveniently feed the puppy during the night. At two months 

 of age Duke would retrieve nicely, and in due time became a 

 reliable field companion. It is not of his field qualities that I 

 am going to tell, but some of his pranks and misdoings. His 

 original owner presented him to a brother-in-law, an official 

 at Washington whose residence was in the country, fifteen 

 miles from Washington and four miles from the railroad 

 station. While his master had time to hunt, Duke was a 

 model of perfection; but when business at the capital required 

 the daily presence of his owner, Duke grew restless and cast 

 his eye about for employment and recreation. 



Duke wished to follow his master's carriage to the station 

 each morning, but fearing to lose him, Mr. H. always fastened 

 the dog in the house before starting. This grew monotonous 

 to Duke, so he changed the programme by disappearing on 

 the appearance of Mr. H, at the breakfast table. All search 

 for him was fruitless, but at the sound of wheels going out the 

 lane, Duke's head would appear around the corner of the 

 barn, and setting off across the wood he woidd meet the car- 

 riage at a curve two miles from the house, and smile just as 

 sweetly as if he was thpre by appointment, and there was no 

 resisting that smile. Returning with the coachman, he would 

 rest for a half hour and then start on the war path. After 

 overturning the feed troughs of the chickens and turkeys, he 

 would gnaw the halter of a favorite horse' and race him clown 

 the lane. If the oxen were in the pasture, he would drive 

 them into a corner and keep them there until some person 

 called him awav. He was contented if anybody would stay 

 and play with him, but he must play, and if left alone would 

 seek company among the stock, or amuse himself at the ex- 

 pense of somebody or something. 



Phyllis, the cook, was invited to a wedding which would 

 take place on Monday, and accordingly her best "fixings" had 

 to be dusted, aired and trimmed up to the height of fashion. 

 By Saturday noon all was ready and laid out on the bed of 

 Piiyllis's room in the ; 'quai ters. " 



"Golly ! Dey's prone 1" said Manuel, Phyllis's husband, as he 

 watched her spread them out. "Guess dar won't be many 

 'coons dar dat 'ill take de shine offen dem fixins." 



"Urn. well I 'specs not. Jis' you go an' stir dat soup while 

 1 go fetch missus to look at my boardrobe," and the darkies 

 left the room on then respective errands. 



"Yessurn, 'tis mighty putty, an' dem dar niggers 'ill be bilin' 

 obcr wid jellesum," said Phyllis, as she ushered in Mrs. H. to 

 admire her outfit 



"Very pretty, Phyllis!" 



"Yessuni, and dat dar— um, 1 'specs— whar's dat— bonnit? 

 Manuel! Manuel! What you do wid dat dar bonnit? I 

 'specs he's jis put dat bonnit on an' gone down stars to show 

 off. Comeback yer. Manuel!" 



"Why, Phyllis, I haint got no bonnit. Fo' goodness sake, 

 honey, what vou tink I want wid yoo bonnit?" and Manuel 

 rolled his eyes and gazed around the room, while Mrs. H. 

 went to the" window and looked out on the lawn. 



Down stairs and out doors flew Phyllis. Duke was lying 

 quietly on the grass, and raised his head and heaved a deep 

 sigh as he looked sleepily at Phyllis. "Mighty funny— dat 

 dog's bin asleep, else I'd b'leve he'd bin dar. Um, what's dat 

 doin' dar," as she picked up a large red feather from a flower 

 border. "You Juke, come yer !" but Duke stirred not. Her 

 repeated calls only caused him to spread himself flatter and 

 blink uneasily. 



AVhen Manuel appeared at the door Duke arose cautiously 

 from a mass of tangled green silk, red ribbons and bonnet 

 wire, which he had been lying on to hide, and bounded off to 

 the woods. Mrs. H. made it all right with Phyllis by giving 

 her another bonnet and a pair of earrings, and when Duke 

 reappeared with his master's carriage no ouc would dream 

 that he was anything but an orderly, rather sober dog. 



M. VOW CtJLEf. 



THE BEAGLE CLUB.— We have received several ballots 

 for officers of the aew American-English Beagle Club. Blanks 

 for voting will be furnished by Mr. W. H. Ashbumer, No. 27 

 North Thirty-eighth street, Philadelphia, Pa. The nomina- 

 tions are: For President: W. H. Ashburner, General R. 

 Rowett. For Secretary and Treasurer: A. 0. ivraeger, O. W. 

 Rogers For Executive Committee (three to bo elected) : J. 

 M Dermoid, Dr. J. W. Downey, F. D. Hallett, General F. A. 

 Bond Dr. C. E. Nichols, A. Butler Duncan. A. D. Barber, 

 Louis' Sloan, T. T. Phleger, Jas. A. Stovell, J. N. Dodge. In 

 compliance to the request of those who are interested we will 

 receive and count the votes, which, the committee states. 

 must be in hand by us not later than Feb. 5. We shall be very 

 glad to see this club established, and we hope that all our 

 readers who take an interest in the beagle will add strength 

 to the club by enrolling themselves-in its membership. 



CURRENT DOG STORIES. 



XXIV. 



Madame Christine Nilsson's heroic rescue of a deg from tire 

 clutches of a parcel of boys caused a great deal of favorable 

 comment among the members of the Society for the Preven- 

 tion of Cruelty to Animals yesterday, and it was suggested by 

 one of them that the. society might "present one of then new 

 $1.50 silver medals to the son:: stress. Thy face of the medal 

 bears the seal of the society. This represents a fencing match 

 between Justice— with a sword— and a drayman — with a club 

 —over the prostrate body of the latter's" horse, Tbe same 

 member of the society who suggested the giving of the medal 

 thought that Madame Nilsson— having prooably a foreigner's 

 contemptuous ideas of American art — might consider the scene 

 portrayed on the face of the medal to be an attempt at a de- 

 scription of that enacted between herself and the boys. 

 Neither Mr. Abbey nor Charles Mapleson had seen Madame 

 Nilsson's new dog. Mi'. Abbey had called, but the dog was 

 "not at home." Tbe occurrence ha.s revived in theatrical 

 circles many touching stories about actresses and dogs, most 

 of which are comparatively new. 



"Long before Mr. Abbey— I mean Madame Nilsson— rescued 

 that dog," said John Stetson's representative at the Walnut 

 Street Theater, "Miss Sara Jewett's dog fell out of the fourth 

 story window of the Continental Hotel. This was last week, 

 during the engagement of the Fifth Avenue Company here. 

 Two legs and a rib were broken. Dr. Agnew was seat for and 

 repaired the damages. Miss J e wett bore the shock with great 

 fortitude. She took it as one of the trials of a star's life. 

 When she was in a stock company her dogs never fell out of 

 the window, Speaking of clogs, have you seen cur pug?" 



"Miss Jewett's dog is just a little too previous," said Manager 

 Rice, at the Arch Street Opera House." Miss Marie Conron lost 

 her dog, a beautiful Skye, when the Duff Company first came 

 here. It was one of the first things that Mr. Duff did— I mean 

 it was one of the first misfortunes that happened to the com- 

 pany." 



"One of the saddest incidents that I ever beheld," said Mr. 

 Gilmore, at the Grand Central Theater, "was when MissLyddy 

 Denier's dog, a toy terrier; hardly larger than a mouse, leaped 

 from its mistress's arms as she was leaving this theater, and 

 w r as positively crushed to a jelly by a passing coupe. Miss 

 Denier was the leading lady of the Buffalo Bill combination, 

 which I need hardly say was here before the Duff Company. 

 I hardly like to accuse Miss Conron's dog of plagiarism, but I 

 think that Skye is a trifle left, so to speak." 



"All these people forget," said Stage Director Frank 11. 

 Wade, at the Arch Street Tne.ater, "that Miss Rose Eytinge's 

 bulldog which appeared in 'Oliver Twist' leaped from the 

 lightning express train, while on its way to this city from 

 New York, at the very beginning of the season — way back in 

 September— and has never been seen since. Kate Claxton 

 lost her diamonds a little while before. The bulldog recog- 

 nized the crisis and leaped." 



Mr. Zimmerman met the Times reporter as he returned to 

 the Chestnut Street Opera House after his round of the 

 theaters. "The clog stories of this season are all very well," 

 he said, coldly, after listening to them, "but the original 

 canine calamity befel a member of Mr. Abbey's company 

 nearly two years ago. I have just been given by M. Maurice 

 Grau the real reason of Signer Campanin i's absence from tins 

 country last year, Most people who witnessed his farewell 

 performance at the New York Acadenry of Music nearly two 

 years ago will remember that among the evidences of popu- 

 lar favor which followed his superb rendition of Manrico in 

 'Trovatore' was a small dog collar. The singer hid the break- 

 ing heart with which he accepted the gift under a smile. Its 

 intended redolent was no more. On that very day the Eng- 

 lish pug in whose existence the first of living tenors was 

 wra 

 C( 



ease in the tower scene. Signer Campanini 

 revisit the scene of his anguish. Colonel Mapleson was unable 

 to cause lam to changs his dttanfjinaticu but fat yielded to 

 Mr. Abbey's arguments. I think you might just as well sug- 

 gest to those other gentlemen the propriety of calling in their 

 dog stories."— Philadelphia Times. 



BEASTLY BUSINESS.— Jefferson, 0., Jan. 1*.— Editor 

 Forest and Stream: They had a "deer chase" at Newburg, near 

 Cleveland, day before yesterday. I send you the following 

 extracts from the Leader's account of the indecent scrimmage. 

 For then next hunt these gallant "sports" will pi obabiy em- 

 ploy a pet lamb. The account says: The excitement was 

 heightened when there arrived from the city a heavy vehicle 

 in which was a fine buck deer. The long wooden cage iu 

 which it was secured was fitted to the shoulders of four stal- 

 wart hunters and carried within the barn, where an oppor- 

 tunity was given to view the prisoner. He was a beautiful 

 specimen of his much hunted race, but looked anything but 

 savage or ferocious. His weight, as announced with some- 

 thing of a tinge of pride by his keeper, was 240 pounds. A re- 

 porter rode out to Newburg on an early train and started to 

 walk to the scene of the great hunt about two miles distant. 

 The. event that was to take place could have been guessed if it 

 had not been known Great sleigh loads of men and boy-, 

 some of them carrying rifles or shotguns, flashed by, Bleek 

 black and cans and' speckled hounds wars being led to the scene 

 of conflict, and at their heels snapped and snarled a bevy of 

 inferior curs. A more perfect (Jay for the chase could not 

 have been desired. The air was crisp and imparted a ruddy 

 glow to the cheeks, but the cold was not severe enough to put 

 a too heavy crust upon the snow. Scores of men had walked 

 in from Bedford, Independence, Brooklyn and Newburg. 

 They were gathered about in groups, and were, dis- 

 cussing the merits of the various hounds. The hounds 

 were "corralled in the woodshed adjoining the hotel. 

 They howled incessantly, and were apparently anxious 

 for the enase. "We're ready for the chase now," shouted one 

 of the hunters, whose clogs were yelling and howling inside. 

 The management, however, didn't seem to bo ready, and for 

 about thirty minutes the prospects for a first-class row were 

 quite flattering. The management wanted just S3 more, they 

 said, to make up the cost of the deer. Ed. .Lamb scratched 

 around, and hustled together the cash. "Now for &ne hunt. 

 he cried "Not yet," yelled another member of the manage- 

 ment, coming through the door "You said you would go on 

 when we raised $3 more," said Lamb. The management said 

 they must have ^ more. Then the hunters kicked, 'ihoy 

 were not ferocious looking citizens, but they seemed to mean 

 what they said when they told the management that either 

 the deer would run or they would have their money back. 

 Then the excitement became almost unbearable. The deer's 

 cage was dragged out of the barn and the crowd jammed 

 around it. A boy climbed upon the fence and lifted the door, 

 The deer walked out and looked around him. A man jumped 

 at him but the animal didn't run. Then one of the hounds 

 was led up close to him, but still the wild and untamed child 

 of the forest didn't gallop away in that ferocious way that it 

 is generally supposed anything but a pet deer moves. Fmaliy 

 the crowd yelled in unison and the deer started off through an 

 orchard. That wasn't the way he had been expe 

 to go and the crowd chased him, A > oung fellow 

 caught him and he was brought b&efc and put m the c 

 Then the deer, and cage, and boy on top were loaded into 

 a wagon aud driven off into a feltf. Again the door was Lifted 

 and again the crowd chased alter the deer to make him run. 

 4. hound was finally Ic I did not venture ve- 



to the animal. A crowd of small boys then induced him to 

 o-allop slowly down the 



surrounded the ' animal cou 



The crowd drove him around to a low pi 

 ^nto tko road. He wanted _ co the barn, but the 



