372 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[May 81, 1888. 



Did any sportsman familiar with deer driving ever 

 know of a hog pen in a drive that was not noted for being 

 a good stand? I have never known it otherwise in an ex- 

 perience of over fifty years, and that brings to mind the 

 year of 1843, when on Porter's Creek, above the town of 

 Bolivar, in Hardiman county, Tennessee, I murdered a 

 poor old pike-nose, razor-back sow, near a hog pen stand, 

 that in my unsophisticated youth and greenness I took to 

 be a wild animal that was thirsting for my meat, and I 

 shot her dead almost at my feet, and immediately had 

 that satisfaction experienced only by a hunter, to see a 

 big buck turn away that would have run right over him 

 but for the unfortunate shot. From that day to this I never 

 see a hog coming to me in the woods that I do not recall 

 the unpleasant incident and regret my blunder. That 

 poor old gentle sow mistook me for her owner, and was 

 running for her accustomed ear of corn, when she re- 

 ceived a charge of buckshot through the brain. Several 

 weeks after this hunt, in a drive along Swan Lake, Mr. 

 Atkins, who was riding along the path to get to a stand 

 in advance of mine, had the opportunity of gratifying 

 his ardent desire to shoot a big buck. 



A short distance before getting to his stand, while the 

 hounds were trailing, he discovered a tremendous deer 

 lying in rather open ground, by the horns sticking above 

 the grass and small bushes. Hastily dismounting from 

 his horse, he took a deliberate broadside shot at the deer 

 as he laid there, about 60yds. distant, and another quar- 

 tering shot as the deer jumped up and bounded off. The 

 deer was badly wounded. My old hounds soon came out 

 and ran it across Flat River, which we could not cross 

 except by going several miles to a bridge. The sun was 

 nearly down when the buck was shot. The hounds ran 

 it for over half an hour and then stopped suddenly within 

 hearing, either catching or coming upon it dead. At any 

 rate, we never got the deer, and it was after midnight 

 before the hounds returned home. Mr. Atkins regretted 

 exceedingly not getting the deer, since he was anxious to 

 have the big horns as a trophy of his shooting. I saw a 

 good deal of blood in the place the deer was lying when 

 he shot, and also on the bushes where it ran. It is strange 

 how often deer are lost after receiving a whole charge of 

 buckshot, and perhaps some may have passed t hrough 

 the heart. Then, again, one small shot, when least ex- 

 pected, produces instant death. 



Some forty years ago I was "branching" near Mt. Leb- 

 anon, in Bienville Parish, when a hunter by the name of 

 Covington Hardy shot one afternoon at a large deer. 

 He told me he thought he hit it, though we did not get 

 the deer then. Branching in those clays, when deer 

 abounded everywhere in Louisiana, was having a cur 

 with a bell suspended to his neck, and trained to follow 

 the bed of branches, usually thick covered with switch 

 cane. In the early spring, when flies, mosquitoes and 

 buffalo gnats were very bad, the deer would lie in the 

 water with only their heads out, and often the heads 

 concealed under the projection of the banks. To get good 

 shots, the hunter trained his cur dog to follow the bed of 

 the branch and roust the deer. By having a hunter on 

 each side of the branch, the chances of getting good shots 

 were very certain, and the tinkling of the bell enabled 

 them to either keep abreast or a little in advance of the 

 dog. 



On the occasion alluded to Mr. Hardy owned the cur 

 which started two deer at the same time, one running 

 out oji the side of Hardy and the other by me. Both 

 shot, but the cur followed the one I shot at and did 

 not catch it under a mile off. I proposed to Mr. Hardy 

 to return the next morning and look for his deer, as he 

 was one of those rare shots we sometimes read about but 

 seldom see, who never missed his deer. We did so, and 

 about a quarter of a mile on the same branch, above 

 where Hardy shot, his cur started a deer, and caught it 

 before getting through the cane. Strange to say, it was 

 the same deer at which he shot the evening before, and 

 twelve 00 shot had passed entirely through its side, 

 several through the lungs, but none through the heart. 

 Yet it had survived some sixteen hours and lived a few 

 minutes after we drove off the dog. I have no doubt Mr. 

 Atkins put every buckshot that was in his No. 10 shell 

 into that big buck, and still it was enabled not only to 

 survive the shock, but run several miles. 



When I was a student at college, I often looked with 

 great curiosity at a specimen in the Museum of the Uni- 

 versity of Virginia of a buck's heart pierced with a stick, 

 that was broken off on each of the deer's sides, and had 

 healed without inflicting death. Subsequently, no know- 

 ing how many years thereafter, the buck was shot, and 

 the hunter finding the heart with a big stick through it, 

 sent it as a great curiosity to the museum. 



This reminds me of a saying often used by an old negro 

 stock-minder before the war, "De deers, marster, is on- 

 commonly 'nacious ob life, dey hab more lives than ar 

 torn cat." Gad. 



Knox Point, La. 



one case, but not in others. Some two years ago I sent 

 money in advance to E. B. Woodward, of New York city, 

 for some live quail. The birds should have reached Tol- 

 edo in 24 hours by express, and strong healthy birds 

 could go so long without either food or water, if neces- 

 sary, and not suffer seriously. But these birds were sent 

 by the only express line which has no direct run to 

 Toledo; they were poorly provided for in the way of food 

 and water, and were two full days on the road. When 

 they reached me two-thirds were already dead, and the 

 remainder died within 24 hours. An examination showed 

 that all had been in poor condition before starting. A 

 complaint to the shipper, backed by the statement of the 

 express company's agent, failed to bring me any satisfac- 

 tion whatever. The firm had my money and I had the 

 experience. In the case of birds from Tennessee, I was 

 much more fortunate. For three or four seasons I 

 ordered birds from ShelbyvUle, and they always came 

 through bright and strong and in good condition. My 

 last order of Tennessee birds (a year ago last winter) was 

 for a crate of four dozen, and only one or two died in 

 transit and none after their arrival. The entire lot 

 were kept in confinement together from December till 

 April, and the per cent of loss was very small. The 

 earlier one can get quail in the winter, if he has any 

 suitable means for then care, the bitter the birds will 

 thrive and the stronger they will be in the spring. The 

 longer they remain in the dealers' hands the more likely 

 they are to turn out badly. — Jay Beebe (Toledo, O., 

 May 18). 



A Moose Struck by Lightning.— New Glasgow, Nova 

 Scotia, May 21 . Brant and geese have been plentiful this 

 spring and continued until the middle of May owing to 

 the lateness of the season. The books at the club house, 

 Kings Head, show that a goodly number fell to the guns 

 of the members. A singular incident happened in Lunen- 

 burg county a few days ago. Near the road leading from 

 Albany to Lake Alma, during a heavy thunder storm a 

 large moose was found dead under a tree. The tree was 

 completely shattered by lightning and there is no doubt 

 that the moose was killed by the electric fluid. Fishing 

 season here very late this year, and no trout have been 

 taken from the lakes as yet. — Globe Sight. 



Wisconsin.— Ft. -Atkinson, Wis., May 21.— Ducks and 

 fish have been disturbed but little on Lake Koshkonong 

 this spring, and game and fish laws have been lived up 

 to in good shape. Many ducks, redheads, bluebills, etc.. 

 are paired and wall nest.— Occasional. 



Calgary, N. W. T., May 18,— The prairies east of here 

 are covered with tho wavy or snowy geese. A few ante- 

 lope are also to be seen there on their way northward. 

 Weather snowy, wet and disagreeable.— Stanstead. 



\m and Mivet 



THE ANGLING TOURNAMENT. 



THE sixth annual tournament of the National Rod and 

 Reel Association took place on Harlem Mere, Cen- 

 tral Park, New York city, on Wednesday and Thursday, 

 May 23 and 24. When it was first proposed to hold spring 

 meetings, instead of in October, the principal argument 

 w^as that the weather was sure to be good, but a cold 

 drizzling rain on the first day and a steady downpour on 

 the second made it dismal enough to seem November in- 

 stead of May. The attendance was good on the first day, 

 and the familiar faces of many out of town anglers were 

 visible along the Mere and the scene was an enjoyable 

 one, until the rain began. Our English friends find" that 

 it usually rains while they are holding their tournaments, 

 and there is a possibility that Jupiter Phivius has taken 

 the anglers under his care and reigns over their tourna- 

 ments, wherever held. 



In spite of the weather the tournament just held was 

 one of the most enjoyable in the history of the associa- 

 tion. There was not a jar anywhere, that we noticed, 

 and good fellowship was seen in all the contests, and 

 there was a^goodly lot of entries in all the classes, which 

 seems to show that an increased interest is being taken 

 in the sport by gentlemen anglers. The baffling winds 

 seemed to conspire against the breaking of any of the 

 wonderful records for distant casting, but some were 

 broken, as will be seen by the scores. The platform was 

 in the usual place,. one foot above the water and twenty- 

 five feet from the shore, but the buoy line, with its mark- 

 ing floats, was stretched to the south this year, and re- 

 mained unaltered throughout the contests. 



first bay. 



Single-handed Fly-casting, Class A (Amateur), open to 

 amateurs under Rule 2. — Scale of points — Distance, actual 

 cast and accuracy, 40 points; if a contestant casts (iOf't. 

 and is awarded 15 for accuracy, his score will be 75. The 

 scores are given in the order of their winning, and not in 

 the order of casting. All in this class used split-bamboo 

 rods except Mr. Johnston, who cast with a greenheart. 

 Judges: Gen. Rodney C. Ward, Capt. Wm. Dunning; 

 referee, C. H. Mowry. 



Length Weight Distance Accu- 

 ofrocl. of rod. cast, ft. racy. Total 

 Ft. In. 



Robt. B. Lawrence 11 00 



Dr. Geo. Trowbridge II 06 



Wallace E. Blackford 11 08 



A. F. Dresel 1] 04 



Graydon Johnston 11 06 



"Switch" Fly-Casting.— Judges: J. A. Roosevelt, Dr. 

 A. Ferber, Fred Mather; referee, James L. Vallotton. 

 Open to all. Single-handed rods not to exceed 11 J ft. in 

 length; distance only to count. No cast to be counted 

 in wdiich the flies go behind the caster. 



Length Weight 

 of Rod. 

 Ft. In. 



Hiram W. Hawes II 4 



Reuben C. Leonard 11 3 



Ed. Eggert 11 6 



Graydon Johnston 11 5 



C. G. Levison 11 1 



Salmon Fly-Casting.— Judges : Dr. A. Ferber, James 

 L. Vallotton; referee, Prof. P. J. Silvernail. Open to all. 

 See Rule No. 14. No limit as to rods. Distance only to 

 count. In this contest Mr. Hawes broke the record by 

 six feet, the longest previous cast being that of Reuben 

 Leonard, last year, of 132ft. 



Oz. 

 10 



iom 



85 



40 



125 : 



83 



30 



113 



76 



35 



111 



70 



34 



104 1 



65 



33 



es 



Of Rod. 

 Oz. 



I 



12 



Distance 

 Cast. 

 Ft. In. 

 94 



85.6 

 79 

 63 

 62.6 





Length 



Weight, 



Distance 





of Rod. 



of Rod. 



Cast. 





Ft. 



Oz. 



Ft. 







37 



188 





18 



37 



129 



Thos. B. Mills 



18 



37 



113 







34 



97 



Single-handed Fly-casting (Expert). — Judges: Hon. 

 D. O'Reilly, James It. Breeze; referee, Francis Endicott, 

 Open to all. Distance only to count. Rods not to ex- 

 ceed ll+ft. in length. Here the record was broken by 

 Mr. Leonard with the remarkable cast of 102ft. 6in. : 



R. C. Leonard 11 03 



Hi W. Hawes 11 04 



T. B. Mills ...11 00 



C. G. Levison ....11 01 



Ed Eggert 11 06 



G.Poey 11 00 



Owing to the rain the two last did not cast off the tie. 



SECOND DAY. 



Length. 



Weight, 

 of Rod. 



Distance 



of Rod. 



Cast. 



Ft.In. 



Oz. 



Ft. 



11 03 







.11 04 



i 



92 



11 00 





89 



11 01 





84 



11 06 



mi 



75 



11 00 



8 



75 



A DEER DRIVE ON FLAT RIVER, LA. 



IT was a very pleasant morning in last August when 

 Mr. James W. Atkins, a member of the Knox Point 

 Gun Club, accepted my invitation to take a deer hunt on 

 Flat River of Bossier Parish, La. The week previous I 

 had killed a fine deer in this same drive that I proposed 

 making at this time. At the various club matches, or 

 tournaments, Mr. Atkins has been the successful shot, 

 winning the medals and various prizes. He had shot at 

 but one deer previous to this hunt, and that he killed. I 

 had recently become the happy owner of two most re- 

 markable deerhounds, and I was now very anxious to 

 exhibit their splendid qualities to my young friend. It 

 was with the true pride of the hunter that I praised my 

 hounds to him as he rode to our front gate on this 

 memorable morn. 



I knew where some deer were in the habit of lying 

 near the plantation, and though I could drive them more 

 certainly to the "Bee Tree Stand" than any one else. I 

 x-equested Mr. Hodges to put Mr. Atkins at that stand and 

 go himself to the "Hog Pen Stand," while I would take 

 old Buck and Stonewall, go up Flat River to the pole 

 bridge, cross and drive down to the mussel shell road. 

 This drive is a long one, embracing several thousand acres 

 of land, which are intersected by several small bayous 

 and cypress brakes, affording most excellent situations 

 for deer to hide and conceal themselves from their aunoy- 

 ing pests, the mosquitoes and small horse flies. It usu- 

 ally requires a full hour before the driver can get through, 

 unless the hounds jump the deer, when but a few minutes 

 suffice to take it either across the mussel shell road, or if 

 it runs up Flat River, to carry it to Honey Lake, several 

 miles above. 



Before separating to go to his stand, I requested Mr. 

 Atkins not to get impatient, but remain still at his posi- 

 tion, until I should come out, because, were the hounds 

 to run above, I would get them back , a nd some time dur- 

 ing the day most assuredly would a deer run through 

 that stand. All that was necessary was patience, and to 

 keep a sharp lookout. With these parting injunctions, I 

 mounted the Hon. Sir Patrick O'Hara, my coal black 

 hunting pony, blew my horn, and galloped to the pole 

 bridge. 



I had never crossed this bridge at any time for the 

 last two months that my hounds did not strike the track 

 of a wildcat, or a catamount, several times they jumped 

 it, but invariably it ran to Moor Lake, a wide lake across 

 which I could not get, and there the hounds either 

 caught or treed. I never knew which. On one occasion I 

 saw the cat swimming.for a quarter of a mile to the op- 

 posite bank. 



With some difficulty I got my hounds away from the 

 rat track, and after going down the river some half a 

 mile, they struck a very cold trail, which I knew to be of 

 a deer, by their smelling high upon the bushes, though I 

 could not. find its tracks. Over half an hour passed, 

 when I heard the faint booming of two guns in rapid 

 succession, about wdrere I had directed Mr. Atkins to be 

 placed. 



The hounds continued trailing slowly along, until I 

 got within a mile of the "Bee Tree Stand," when the 

 three long blasts of several horns called me to the stand. 

 How my old eyes glistened as I beheld a beautiful doe 

 and fawn stretched dead right on the usual run of the 

 deer through the stand ! 



"Who killed them?" I shouted. 



"I murdered them," replied Mr. Atkins. 



"Come, tell me all about it, how it took place." 



Lighting my pipe, I dismounted, turned Pat loose, and 

 took a seat on the ground to listen to Mr. Atkins, as also 

 to wait for the old hounds, that were still on a cold trail. 

 As Mr. Atkins does not drink, smoke nor chew, I had to 

 enjoy my pipe alone, and listen to his recital, as he told it 

 thus: 



"I had seated myself by the side of that little tree on a 

 chunk that I placed there, and had been listening to the 

 hounds trailing so slow and so distant, that I scarcely 

 could hear them, and I had become wearied and worn 

 out. I had pictured in my mind how r the deer would 

 come to me, and the precise spot I should shoot, over and 

 over again, and I had got into that dreamy state that I 

 did not believe any were coming, and had given it up as 

 a hopeless case, when something red darkened the space 

 between those two trees, just where the doe is lying. I 

 looked up, bringing my gun to position, for I did not have 

 time to rise from my seat, and fired the moment it came 

 to the shoulder. I saw T her go down as if struck by light- 

 ning, and as she sunk I saw the beautiful spotted fawn 

 spring behind the big tree on her right. A second leap it 

 made, clearing the tree, and the left barrel fired, and the 

 fawn turned a sommersault, and died without a struggle. 

 I never made two quicker shots, and none that gave me 

 such intense delight. I have now had three shots at deer, 

 and killed at each shot. For a long time, I have been 

 desiring to have two deer run to me at the same moment, 

 to see whether I could kill both. I have done it; gratified 

 my deBires, and now only "want to have a huge monster of 

 a buck run to me, and test my nerves." 



It was some time before my hounds could be induced 

 to come to my horn. They did not want to give up the 

 trail, and I think never once struck the trail of the doe 

 and fawn. From the direction that Mr. Atkins told me 

 they came, I think they were frightened perhaps by 

 some freedman hunting squirrels in another drive and 

 came across to this stand to go to water at Stumpy Lake. 

 It was about the watering time of deer, when they came 

 through the stand, and Stumpy Lake was not a quarter 

 of a mile the other side of it. 



I was as much gratified with our success as if I had 

 made the shots myself. Mr. Atkins tied the fawn on 

 behind his saddle and went home. I had the pleasure of 

 eating some of it the next day, cooked under the inspec- 

 tion of his charming wife, who is one of the nicest house- 

 keepers on Red River, and can herself cook a piece of 

 venison to suit the taste of the most fastidious hunter. 



Clarence, a freedman, who usually accompanies me 

 hunting, took the doe behind him and carried it to the 

 residence of Mr. Hodges. That night his wife, my eldest 

 daughter, had some splendid steak made of the doe, and 

 as she knows how to suit the palate of her old father. I 

 enjoyed it hugely. Venison, if properly cooked, is de- 

 licious meat, but if done up in the usual manner of our 

 negro cooks I know no poorer flesh. 



A week after this hunt Clarence killed a fat doe at the 

 ' ' Hog Pen Stand. " It was coming direct to me at the ' 'Bee 

 Tree," when a freedman, who was in the drive, shot at it 

 and turned it across to Clarence. 



Quail fob Breeding.— Editor Forest and Stream: A 

 correspondent in your issue of May 10 complains of the 

 heavy mortality among quail shipped to him for breeding 

 purposes. My own experience has been similar to his in 



Single-handed Fly-casting, Class B (Amateur).— Judges: 

 Louis B. Wright, W. J. Cassard; referee, Louis Reynal. 

 Open to amateurs only, under Rule 2, who have never 

 made a score of over 70ft. in any tournament of this 

 Association. Rods not to exceed H^ft. in length. By 



