July 19, 1888,] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



519 



his share, the stubble, he merely remarked, "Every dog has 

 his day. I'll take the top next time." So the farmer sowed 

 potatoes. Then the devil got vexed, and said, "Now, no 

 more humbugging; next time I'll take the top and the bot^ 

 torn quarters, the middle half is to be yours. Then the 

 farmer sowed all the laud with Indian corn. In a rage, 

 then, Satan insisted on giving up agriculture and going in 

 for a sheep ranch, the wool to be his share- and the increase 

 the farmer's. Then the simple countryman invested the 

 unhallowed funds in a new breed of sheep called swine, 

 and when the imps of Satan came to shear the wool, the 

 mighty outcry and slight return revealed to the devil the 

 fact that he had not got very far ahead of the ingenuous rus- 

 tic. In a fury he then evaporated, leaving behind only a 

 strong smell of sulphur and the more lasting record of the 

 proverb, "Great cry and little wool, like the devil's pig- 

 shearing." 



The following seven hunts are really not worth narrating. 

 We could not strike a good scent, or if we did it was lost. 

 One night, indeed, we did strike a red hot trail, and the. 

 yelling of the old dog in full cry was like uuto the blast of a 

 fish-horn in the season of Lent. At one time his frantic out- 

 cries in the distant woods were very peculiar, and his master 

 explained that such was his manner when he sighted the 

 game he was trailing. Very soon It was treed and we made 

 all haste toward the place, but arrived there we found that 

 no coaxing or contriving could induce him to showus winch 

 was the tree. Various plans to meet the ease were suggested, 

 but did not develop much enthusiasm, until I proposed that 

 we should shoot the dog. This met with all but unanimous 

 approval, the one dissentent voice being that of the dog's 



Diagram No. 1. 



owner, and he having in a most arbitrary and unconstitu- 

 tional maimer appointed himself chairman of the meeting, 

 exercised his power of veto to the full and ruled the motion 

 out. "We lighted several fires and examined all the trees 

 near, but were obliged to give up the hunt and go home, each 

 and all of us convinced that the dog, like the horse, is the 

 noblest of all animals. 



So far we had been out eight nights and had absolutely 

 nothing to show in the shape of either fur or feathers. I 

 was more anxious to see a rabbit than auy other game, for 

 many of the farmers assured me that the rabbit common 

 about here was actualh' the English rabbit, and that it has 

 been introduced into this country within the last ten years. 

 At length an acquaintance brought me one he had captured 

 alive uuder a stump when he was logging, and I was much 

 interested and indeed surprised to see by its shorter ears, 

 gray upper tail surface and general appearance that it was 

 no other than the cotton-tail or Lepiis sylvatievs. There 

 seems to be no doubt that species appeared in this neighbor- 

 hood first within the last fifteen years and that it spread 

 from the direction of Lake St. Clair. This individual in 

 question hf.d a short but interesting history subsequent to 

 his entry into the summer fallow, after escaping dogs, 

 hawks and owls to be captured by man. He was brought 

 into the farmhouse where I was staving; two or the grown 

 damsels of the house were fondling him. when suddenly he 

 made a leap, reached the floor, and then rushed under' the 

 table. My legs were stretched out as I sat, and my pants, 

 beiug wide, fell clear of my heels, so, seeing the gaping 

 asylum offered by the slack of my right leg's covering, young 

 bunny crawled in and continued to work his way until he 

 got. a considerable distance up, unknown to any but myself 

 Meantime the girls hunted far and near for him and won- 

 dered greatly at the mysterious disappearance of the new 

 pet. LoU'ered them to bet any amount of money they could 

 not find the missing rabbit and fortunately for them they 

 declined the wager, for they had to give up the search; 

 they never seemed to think of looking in the right place, 

 and when at length I put my hand apparently in my 

 pocket and produced the little creature, I think I was 

 credited with the successful performance of a good sleight- 

 of-hand trick. But bunny's proud spirit rebelled against 

 such treatment, and soon he died and was transferred to my 

 collection, where now he is to be seen with a number of his 

 relatives, concerning whose peculiarities I may have some- 

 what to say anon. 



Now, another of my employes having heard of my numer- 

 ous bootless quests, asked me one day if I wasn't sick of fol- 

 lowing that cussed old fool of a hound Range. "He was 

 forever running his own track, and if he did tree even a 

 chipmunk was scared to bark up for fear he'd have to fight 

 it, he stated; moreover, that he himself Avas the proud 

 possessor of the finest hound in the Dominion, and at once 

 agreed to go when I suggested a night hunt, without delay. 

 So after supper John, the new huntsman, appeared with a 

 jaunty-looking hound, named Towel, and another he called 

 Johnston, though the rest of us called him Bobtail, because 

 he had on one occasion run a mile aud three-quarters on the 

 track before the locomotive, but was overtaken on a high 

 trestle bridge and pitched into the river below, minus bis 

 tail. 



We duly started and crossed the first swamp without 

 results, but in the second Towel gave tongue, at first inter- 

 ruptedly, thereby showing that a rabbit was his quarry. 

 Very soon, however, the two hounds got him "straightened 

 out,'" and by their continuous tonguing and rapid coursing 

 around the woods showed that the chase was warming up. 

 At length we managed to get a glimpse of the affair in an 

 open place, for it was moonlight and we could see poor bun- 

 ny straightening out his supple back with tremendous 

 energy, as he leaped along ahead of his yelling pursuers. 

 But Lcpus sylvaUcits does not long keep above ground 

 when so hard pressed, and very soon the continuous roaring 

 at one place showed that bunny had "holed." Away we 

 went to the spot, for we had come prepared for such a 

 result. From a canvas bag on his back Dod drew forth a 

 ferret. It was the first time I had ever seen a ferret used, 

 and I watched the proceedings with no small interest. It 

 was also the first time this particular ferret was so engaged, 



so that he too was somewhat curious about the aims and 

 objects of the company. As 1 noted his little snakelike 

 form, his flat venomous looking head and wicked baleful 

 eyes I could not repress a sensation of horror at the idea of 

 sending that villainous, bloodthirsty thing into the burrow 

 after a poor defenseless rabbit, but usually sportsmen have 

 but little time for compunction or sentiment, and I was 

 glad to see the foui--footed snake disappear in the hole. 

 After all there is something admirable in the perfectly dia- 

 bolical courage of this animal. Imagine one of us sent 

 alone into a dark corner where we are to find and fight some 

 strange beast much larger than one's self, and for aught we 

 knew, able to destroy one in an instant. But the ferret 

 never faltered, and before long there was a thumping sound 

 in the hole, then a rush, a grab and bunny was a prisoner. 

 I carried him carefully home and have since succeeded in 

 taking several photographs of him in pleasing attitudes. 



The ferret is an animal much in use about here now, too 

 much so in fact, for the rabbits are disappearing before it. 

 Our present ferreteer has an old male that he claims is able 

 to put a fox out of his hole, while a skunk or a mink is sim- 

 ply beneath his notice; it is, I doubt not, the "best ferret in 

 Canada." My own observations, so far. do not fully lead me 

 to credit the above, and 1 may give the experience of a sin- 

 gle day in proof. Two lads and I set out into the woods 

 after a fall of soft snow, our minds filled with sanguinary 

 intentions and our pockets with cartridges. We tramped 

 about for a while, but found nothing to murder and no signs 

 of anything but tracks. At length, wearied of our wan t of 

 success, I proposed to my companions that each should take 

 a track, stick to it, follow it through thick and thin until it 

 is holed and then come back for the rest that we may prose- 

 cute tin; case vigorously and if necessary carrv it on to a 

 higher court. Here are two fresh skunk tracks and an 

 equally fresh mink trail— we will each take one. The plan 

 was readily agreed to and like the three young hopefuls in 

 the story book each set out on the road of his choice. The 

 mink trail was mine, I had followed it for some time when 

 I crossed the skunk track of my youngest comrade, with his 

 boot mark in close pursuit. Then after traversing ravines 

 and going around hills, I met my friend pursuing skunk 

 trail No. 2, but our paths diverged, and after tracking my 

 game through numerous log heaps, brush piles and swamps 

 and down a hill where, by the way, he had indulged in a 

 slide of 6 or 8ft., after the manner of the otter, the trail 

 finally came to an end in a perfect labyrinth of logs and 

 brush. 



Having holed my quarry my next duty was to holloa for 

 my comrades. After a while he of skunk No. 2 responded 

 and presently appeared. He was the bearer of the ferret and 

 we at once unmuzzled that imp of murderincarnate, pushed 

 him into the hole and awaited the result, rather anxiously, 

 for it was a big mink and a small ferret. But it was all in 

 vain, though we could not find any track away from the 

 brush and made our snake-like colleague traverse the place 

 in all directions, we found no sign of the mink and had to 

 give him up. 



We then set out for the spot where my companion had left 

 the track representing skunk No. 2, and as we went we 

 heard the shout of our friend, who'had charge of the case of 

 skunk No. 1. He had put in the last few hours in faithfully 

 following his leader through forest, field and fen, and had 

 finally lost it among a host of other skunk tracks a mile 

 away! We now gave our undivided attention to skunk No. 

 2, aud in very few minutes had traced him to a hole, into 

 which there led a multitude of trails and from which there 

 issued an odor whose evidence was beyond question. Again 

 we submitted the case to our subterranean representative, 

 and nothing loth he went down, but presently reappeared, 

 much as he went, undisturbed and unodorized. Again and 

 again he was sent down, but with the same result, and so at 

 length we thrust him iguominiously into the bag, and hav- 

 ing" plugged up the hole we went to the house. Now the 

 youngest brother of one of my supporters had a little dog, 

 the darling of his heart, just such a dog as you read about, 

 a most miserable, pampered, cross, ill-bred, useless and 

 snarling little beast. Prin was his name, for Ab, his little 



master's bosom, by keeping the whole household awake all 

 night, are of no interest to the general reader. 



This last incident is parenthetical by the way, and is also, 

 chronologically, out or order, for before it occurred I was at 

 last rewarded by a share in a successful hunt. 



The tenth evening of unsuccessful rumaging through 

 Plutonian darkness after invisible hounds, in quest of hypo- 

 thetical game, was passed without result, but the eleventh 



Diagram No. 2. 



found us again on the warpath. We had passed a couple of 

 miles of country, one dog had beaten half a dozen swamps 

 to no purpose. We then cut across to the lake shore and 

 made our way toward an extensive swamp that marked the 

 outlet of a creek. Our dogs were not lacking in spirit, and 

 at once began splashing about, far and near, among the 

 alders, and soon old Towel gave a loud bay, then another, 

 and kept up the racket. In a few minutes his mate joined 

 in the chorous, and then the yelling of the two must have 

 been very annoying to the coon most interested, for such our 

 leader announced the game to be, judging from the locality 

 and the noise the dogs made. Presently the tonguing 

 ceased altogether, but, after a few minutes silence, was re- 



DlAGRAM NO. 3. 



master, never lost an opportunity of asserting that this was 

 the prince of all dogs, and that his price was above rubies. 

 Now Satan had entered into the heart of the hunter brother, 

 and he influenced Prin to leave the house and seduced him 

 with soft words so that he came with us to the skunk's den 

 in the woods. It required but little encouragement then to 

 make the doglet run into the hole and set about making 

 himself disagreeable to its occupant, and presently Ave were 

 entertained with a succession of growlets and barklets, then 

 a volley of howlets, followed by a most unchristian smell. 

 Soon afterward Prin reappeared howling. For some min- 

 he did nothing but roll himself in the snow, rub his eyes 

 and yell. I merely mention these facts to show that there 

 really was a skunk in the hole and that the ferret was valor- 

 ous, having discretion, which is the better part of valor. 

 (The subsequent facts, that my colleagues ventured the sur- 

 ra ise that there must be a skunk under the barn, to judge by 

 poor Prin's condition, also that for a time he lost caste in 

 the family circle and avenged his loss of his usual bed in his 



sumed. This break, we subsequently learned, had been 

 caused by the coon crossing a small lake in the swamp, but 

 the dogs knew enough to go around till they caught the 

 scent again. Then for a time the pursuit was poor, for the 

 coon had made along the pebbly shore of Lake Ontario, and 

 the scent did not seem to lie, but when at length he again 

 took to the woods business brightened up immediately, and 

 coon stock, hitherto weak and panicky, loomed up at once, 

 strong and rising ? with a tendency to boom. It was not long 

 before his coonship, wearying of the companionship of the 

 noisy dogs, and doubtless becoming impressed with the idea 

 that solitude is the parent of great thought, selected the 

 highest tree on the highest knoll, and having ensconced 

 himself in its highest crotch, he gave himself up to the 

 solid intellectual enjoyment of glaring at his pursuers. 



Now, Mr. Editor, being possessed of a chronic and consti- 

 tutional predisposition to diagrammatic elucidation of my 

 cosmically-induced cerebrations, I would have essayed ere 

 now to enliven my page with an illustration or two, but it 



