474 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Junk 27, lbt& 



contradictory that really I cauuot follow yon. In one of 

 your letters you gave me to understand that Mr. Hammond 

 had told yon that Patsy was worthless. When I asked Mr. 

 Hammond what he thought of the dog he at once replied 

 that he was the best in the class, barring his size. You, as 

 well as I, know that Mr. Hammond would nover say one 

 thing to you and another to me; he is not a man of that 

 kind. I shall not be called upon to judge Patsy and Des- 

 mond so long as the first named is owned by you. But 

 without seeing the two dogs together it strikes me that 

 Patsy is the better." 



Do not forget that Damon in his letter dated March 4 and 

 addressed to Mr. Perry, gave Mr. Hammond's opinion of 

 Patsy. He was trying to sell the dog. Now read this from 

 a letter to me and dated March 11: "Mr. Hammond's opin- 

 ion to me was that Patsy would breed well with Glencho 

 bitches, other than this his opinion was not expressed, but 

 it was vei-y easy to see what he thought. " On the very same 

 day that Damon wrote me the above he penned the follow- 

 ing to Mr. Perry: "I have decided to breed him to my 

 O'Callaghan bitch Winnie IT., winuer of second at New 

 York. I believe there is more good in this dog than credit 

 has been given him and I think you would say the same if 

 you could see him. In the opinion of such a veteran dog 

 man as Mr. S. T. Hammond I must have great confidence, 

 and he said 'best in his class and T would prefer breeding 

 him to any dog I ever saw.' If you like aud can pay express 

 charges both ways, if you do not want to keep him I wili 

 send him to you on approval at price 1 gave you. I believe 

 yon would buy the don " 



If Mr. Hauituoud'did not express an opinion, then Damon 

 concocted the opinion quoted in his letters to Mr. Perry: 

 and in view of these and other facts he has had the brazen 

 impudence to impute dishonest motives to men who would 

 sooner cut off the right hand than they would stoop to 

 such trickery. A nice character this Damon. Experience, 

 had taught, me that it was no easy matter to guess what 

 Major Hammond was thinking about, aud so on March 15 I 

 wrote Damon to discontinue his correspondence or support 

 his statements with something more substantial than 

 Damon's word. He. replied to my letter next, day, March 

 16, that he was sorry his opinion annoyed me. Of Patsy he 

 said: "If this dog is as represented then J can't tell white 

 from black. Had you written me on receipt of the dog 

 that you were disappointed in him, that he was not as 

 represented, and was not the dog you ordered, it would 

 have been more manly than to try to make me accept a 

 'duffer' as a good one. Graham knew the dog was not 

 first-class and so did you when you received him. It's more 

 my opinion than lack of opinion that now annoys you. I 

 mail you fac-simile of our typical headed Irish setter first 

 at the Strabane chicken s/ioio." 



How is it that it was not manly in me to ship the dog to 

 Damon after he had been bought and paid for and yet it 

 was quite, the proper thing for Damon to try and palm off 

 on to Mr. Perry a dog he considered a "duffer" "not as rep- 

 resented" and "not as ordered." Damon cannot squirm out 

 of this, neither will the public do as the A.K.C. did in the 

 Seitnercase, viz.: acquit him because he intended to write 

 what he did not write and did not intend to write what he 

 did write. 



March 18 I sent Damon this letter: "Yours of the 16th 

 with photograph of Patsy at hand. The portrait shows him 

 to be exactly what he is— a good little dog, and neither Dr. 

 Jarvis nor anybody else can alter my opinion of him. As to 

 your opinion a nuoying me, it can never do that: but I would 

 like you when you write me to confine yourself to facts iu- 

 stead of bringing accusations which you are uuable to sup- 

 port by evidence of any kind. The letters that I sent my 

 buyer are there to prove that I did my best to get a good 

 dog for you; and because in your opinion I failed to do this 

 is no reason why you should make unwarrantable state- 

 ments, such as for instance accusing me of 'dividing' with 

 my buyer, and so on. You say that vour having changed 

 your opiuion annoys me. This is a mistake. 'You so often 

 change it that I would not be a bit surprised to find you 

 next week saying that Patsy is the best dog of his breed 

 that ever lived. When I received the dog 1 wrote you mv 

 candid opiuion of him. and that opinion I now reiterate". 

 There are very few dogs of Patsy's inches that can beat 

 him, but of course a larger dog of equally good formation 

 would go ahead of him. If you had had an opinion of your 

 own and had known what you wanted you would have said 

 that the dog was too small. My buyer sent you his exact 

 weight and I wrote you exactly what he said. You replied 

 that the dog was large enough. You now try to make it 

 appear that it was my duty to tell you the dog was too 

 small. If the dog had been too large' it would have been 

 the same thing. I think before you buy another you should 

 make up your mind what yon want. But even'if you did 

 this a man could not please you, because, as soon as you saw 

 the dog or somebody told you he was a 'duffer' you would 

 want another of entirely different type." 



March 19 Damon sent Mr. Perry another letter. I do not 

 find in it that he told Mi-. Perry that Patsy was a "duffer," 

 'not as represented" and "not as ordered." Neither do I 

 find that Damon told Mr. Perry that Damon was unmanly 

 in trying to palm off a "duffer," which it was his duty to 

 have doue seeing he believed Patsy a "duffer." Damon said: 

 'I have had him on grouse this spring, and he is all that is 

 claimed; fast, a keen worker and very staunch and readily 

 handled. On quail aud chickens he will prove a grand one 

 I shall show Patsy at Boston with my Winnie II., second at 

 New York. After the Boston show you can have him if you 

 choose. He is very much more of a dog than you imagine, 

 and at my price is the cheapest do<j 1 ever. saw. 1 feel confi- 

 dent could you see him you would take him. Kate IX 

 whelped Sunday night eight puppies by him, four dogs and 

 four bitches, a nice lot and very even. Mason says he con- 

 siders Patsy a better dog than Desmond II., secoud at New 

 York and first at Troy. In condition and souuduess Patsy 

 has not an out. He is an all day dog and of great value: for 

 his field quality alone he is worth my price." 



Does this last letterprove that in Damon's opinion Damon 

 bought a "duffer," or does it prove that he bought a good, 

 honest dog? There is a deliberate falsehood in the letter 

 that must not be overlooked. It is where Damon savs- 

 'Mason says he considers Patsy a better dog than Desmond. " 

 If readers will refer to my reply (given above) to Damon's 

 letters of March 4 and 5 they will notice that I wrote, "with- 

 out seeing the dogs together it strikes me that Patsy is the 

 better^' Very different from saying "Patsy is a better dog 

 than Desmond." But then Damon is a "gentleman;" he is 

 above trickery of any kind; he does not believe in it; and 

 when he discovers anything of the sort he "brings pressure" 

 to suppress it. Wonderful man! Great genius! Sweet 

 chicken! How few possess thy virtues! 



Mr. Perry bought Patsy and a few days later the dog was 

 sent to the Boston show, where I gave him vhc. in a strong 

 class. Damon looked daggers when I took down his num- 

 ber He had written Mr. Perry that Patsy would do better 

 at Boston than he did at New York and the decision made 

 him wild. To think that I ordered a dog in England for 

 him and gave it only vhc. put me on a level with' all the 

 tricksters in dogdom. That was not all. M v decisions were 

 uqt correct, and on April 8, Damon wrote Mr. Perry: "I re- 

 ceived Patsy back from Boston in good shape to-day He 

 was given vhc. at Boston, but dogs won first over him not 

 worth a fig m the field. Of the four dogs placed over him I 

 would prefer only one to Patsy and that was Desmond II 

 In general outline Desmond is not so good a dog as Patsy 

 Winnie II., my O'Callaghan bitch, won third." Please re- 

 member that Kenmore was third at Boston. In Damon's 

 last letter we have proof that he considers Patsy a better 



dog thau Kenmore and Sunset, the first aud third prize 

 winners at Boston. 



April 15 Damon wrote Mr. Perry again: "I must say that 

 my O Callaghan bitch Winnie II. is now in heat and I am 

 anxious to try the experiment of an inbreed with Patsy. 

 She will surely take this week and that will settle, the ser- 

 vice I am entitled to. Patsy is beginning to shed his coat, 

 but you can see how good he is in this respect. His superior 

 in coat and color and tail and feet aud chest does not stand. 

 My eight puppies out of Kate IX. by him are four weeks 

 old yesterday. The strongest, smartest puppies I ever saw. 

 with splendid bone and powerful limb." Here we have 

 proof that Damon's first litter of puppies by Patsy were the 

 strongest and smartest this great man had ever seen. 

 April 30 Damon wrote Mr. Perry: "Your card at hand. 

 Patsy goes on Monday. He is a dog that will always mind 

 the voice and a blow would break his heart. Did you ever 

 see. finer feet on a dog'? His pups have the same shaped 

 feet." 



April 23 Damon wrote Mr. Perry: "I gave Patsy his last 

 run, fed him and saw him off in good shape last night. I 

 put him into the box with regret, for I had become attached 

 to the little fellow. I don't know but I have made an error 

 in selling the dog, but it is too late now." Jan. 10 Damon 

 "hates the. sight of the little fellow," but three months later 

 he discovers his error, becomes attached to the dog and puts 

 him "iuto the box with regret," 



But, alas for poor Patsy ! the unseen power that controls 

 the. erratic movements of Damon's uneasy brain stirred up 

 thai grand and wondrous composition to further efforts, and 

 early in June Damon describes Patsy in a city contemporary 

 as a dog with "ears and nose so suipy as to fit a fox better 

 than an Irish setter." In regard to the dog's stud qualities 

 he says: "As to the stud properties of Patsy others may 

 risk them, but none, for me." Possibly the fact of the dog 

 with the snipy ears having sired the smartest puppies 

 Damon had ever seen induced him not to breed to such an 

 animal again. Shades of O'Callaghan and Old Kingdom 

 make room for O. Damon, of Northampton The printed 

 letter, from which I have just quoted, contains also a state- 

 ment to the effect that Mr. Weuzel gave Patsy a vhc. card 

 at New York because I had previously told him the dog was 

 a good one. . 



Damon's last to me contained the startling news that 

 neit her Patsy nor his pedigree had been received by Damon. 

 To this I replied April 27 as folio vs: "In the letter before 

 me you say that you have neither received Patsy nor his 

 pedigree. In a previous communication you state that you 

 have received Patsy, by Frisco out of Nellie IX., and that 

 you are much pleased with him. In another letter you say 

 your dog Patsy is half brother to some of the best field and 

 show dogs in England. A correspondence such as you in- 

 dulge in is fit only for the columns of the Sh-notinq Times." 



I have already shown (see Damon's letter of Jan'. 11 to Mr. 

 Perry) that when Damon wished to sell Patsy to Mr. Perry 

 he wrote that his other dog. Darby II., "should never be 

 bred to so fine a bred bitch as your Nino." Now, let us see 

 what Damon wrote of Darby II. as soon as he had succeeded 

 in selling Patsy to Mr. Perry. The very honorable gentle- 

 man sent this letter to the Chicago paper that has for special 

 commissioner in Eugland that novice and ignoramus, Hus- 



croft: "I must, through the pages of the •, let the lovers 



of red dogs know of my recent importation, per City of 

 Rome, of the red Irish setter Darby II., first in local class of 

 twenty-nine entries at Cork in July last, aud second in the 

 open class at the same show, when he, at fourteen months 

 old, crowded Killarney Chieftain for first, but lost, owing 

 to age and condition favoring Killarney Chieftain. He is 

 bred from a field dog of well-known ability, and i»a grand- 

 son of that old grand one champion Palmerston aud Quail 

 (8,289), while upon the dam's side he is a grandson of that 

 well-known dog Cock n ere |should be CoekshureJ, a sire of 

 many good ones afield as well as upon the bench. This 

 3 oung dog will be of great worth to our red setters, and will , 

 another year, be an easy Winner. In coat and color I have 

 not seen his equal this year. He is a most, valuable addi- 

 tion to my kennel, and very different from my last impor- 

 tation in type and character." lu these Darby II. letters 

 there is further proof that E. O. Damon will stoop to any 

 contemptible device in order to carry his ends. 



Damon's last freak was to write to Dr. Boyd, from whom 

 Patsy was purchased, to ascertain if as much as £50 had 

 been paid for the. dog. He had previously sent an insulting 

 letter to Mr. Graham, and so when Dr. Boyd wrote and 

 asked Mr. Graham if there would be any objection to his 

 giving Damon the exact price, Mr. Graham replied that he 

 had sold the dog to me and not to Damon, and that it was 

 none of Damon's business. In order to prove that Patsy 

 was not picked up on the streets of Lifford, as Damon has 

 insinuated, I print Dr. Boyd's reply to Mr. Graham, and at 

 the same time I ask Dr. Boyd's pardon for making it public- 

 property: 



Ltfford, County Donegal, March 26, mX-Dcav Sir: Inclosed 

 you bare letters returned as requested. You are the party I had 

 the transaction with, so will certainly do as you desire, hut I can- 

 not see what objection there is to saying I got far more rhan €50 

 for him. This answer would. I think, make hirn (Damon) more 

 satisfied, knowing there had been a big price paid for him at this 

 side, and it would stop his writing to me, as I would sUte, with- 

 out Mr. Mason's or your permission, f would not toll the exact 

 price. But you are the best judge. Will I even say that. I had 

 written you after receiving his letter and that you wished price 

 kept secret V Please let me know this, but indeed my idea would 

 he to let him know you had paid me the big price, Yours truly. 

 J. V. Bovo." 



Looking over Damon's letters to the press and to private 

 indiduals I find: L That when Damon wished to make him- 

 self heard he wrote to a paper edited by a thief. 2. That 

 Damon complained of getting "left," and then tried the ex- 

 periment on Mr. Perry. 3. That an examination of Patsy 

 showed Damon that the dog was the exact contrary of such 

 dogs as Tim, Elcho, Jr., and Kenmore, but that a later 

 examination showed him to be a better dog than Kenmore. 

 4. That Damon wauted a "good, reliable stud dog, one and 

 a half or two years old, of the best of breeding aud strain," 

 and a dog whose first points must be "speed, nose, style and 

 field work combined." 5. That Damon bought what after 

 seeing him he pronounced a splendid field dog, a superbly 

 bred dog, a dog that sired the best puppies he had ever seen 

 and a dog that in looks surpassed Kenmore and was defeated 

 at New York only, he claims, because the judge owned two 

 stud dogs and did not wish to hurt his business by bringiug 

 iuto prominence, a dog advertised at a low fee. 6.' That Da- 

 mon considered Mr. Graham a scoundrel for shipping a dog 

 that was " dwarfed," notwithstanding the fact that 

 Mr. Graham had previously sent the exact weight of the 

 dog. 7. That Damon considered me a scoundrel for 

 not returning the dog after I had seen for myself 

 that he was the exact weight that was given to Damon 

 and approved by him. 8. That Damon charged Mr. 

 Wenzel with pegging back Patsy in order that Mr. 

 Wenzel's pocket might not be a sufferer. 9. That 

 Damon accused Mr. Wenzel of giving Patsy more than he 

 was entitled to because of mv having told Mr. Wenzel that 

 Patsy was a "good little one." 10. That Mr. Graham and 

 myself were scoundrels for palming off on Damon a "duffer. " 

 11. That Damon was a scoundrel for patmiug off on Mr. 

 Perry a dog that in his opinion was a "duffer," not "as 

 represented" and "not as ordered." 12. That Darby II. was 

 not fit to breed to until Damon had sold Patsy. 13. That 

 Darby II. was a corker as soon as Damon had disposed of 

 Patsy. 14. That Damon hated the sight of the little "duf- 

 fer." 15. That Damon parted from the little fellow with 

 regret. 16. That Patsy is "wonderfully like the dog Chief." 

 18. That Graham does not know a sporting dog. "19. That 

 Patsy "shows very strongly and it takes a great one to beat 



him." 20. That Damon did not receive Patsy. 21. That 

 Damon sold aud shipped to Mr. Perrv a dog that Damon 

 never received. 22. That Damon is not responsible for his 

 actions. 



If E. O, Damon has been egged on in his foolishness by the 

 Chit-ago trickster, and I am told that he has, it will be well 

 for him in the future to remember that once upon a time a 

 man named Balaam owned a long-eared quadruped that was 

 stopped. chak. h. Mason. 



Thanks to Mr. Mahew for having tried to show Damon 

 the folly of his ways, and to Mr. Perrv for having sent me 

 copies of Damon's letters. C. H. M. 



PATSY. 



THE Irish setter dog Patsy is the subject of a long commu- 

 nication in our columns this week. We give a portrait 

 of the dog sent to us by Mr. Damon who wrote of it; "It is 

 taken from a photo and is an exact likeness, no exaggera- 

 tion whatever, and the fancy see him just as he is if his 

 superb color could be shown. In a letter dated Dec. 3, Mr. 

 Damon writes: "Patsy will make his mark in the stud aud 

 as new blood he will be in demand, being splendidly bred 

 aud never beaten. I have coming out a grand bitch selected 

 with special reference to breeding to this dog. * * * 

 Patsy is the most level-headed aud obedient dog and has 

 more sense than any other Irish dog I ever saw. Mr. Masou 

 can give you abetter idea in his writing up than I can. Bnt 

 he is no duffer I can assure you. In coat and color he has 

 no superior in the country." Following is the description 

 of the dog by Mr. Mason which was published in our issue 

 of Dec. 13, 1888: 



"A few days ago I had the pleasure of giving Patsv, Mr. E. O. 

 Damon's recently imported Irish setter, a careful examination. 

 As this young dog is almost certain to make a mark, especially in 

 the stud, I will give your readers a brief description of him. 

 Skull well formed; muzzle somewhat too light; ears set a trifle 

 high; eves a shade too light in color, but well set and with tine 

 expression; a head full of quality and character, but rather 

 effeminate; neck better thau average and would bo improved by 

 less hulk and by a little more length; shoulder, beautifully laid 

 on; chest very nearly perfect; hack firm as a rock and' truly 

 formed; loin symmetrical and strong; hindquarters showing 

 much strength; tail of correct length, beautifully fringed and 

 always well carried; stands on a superb set of legs and feet; coat 

 and color perfect; feather of best quality and sufficiently abund- 

 aut. A graceful, stvlish and easy-moving dop whose most prom- 

 inent defect is a lack of size. His late owner considers him one 

 of the most promising field dogs ho has ever owned— fast, stylish, 

 and steady to wing and shot. Mr. Damon says: 'He is fast, 

 covers his ground thoroughly, carries a high bead, has an ex- 

 quisite nose, and is remarkably steady on his points, also to gun 

 and wing. 1 We want some new Irish blood in this country, and 

 as Patsv is well bred (Frh.co— Nellie IX.) aud possesses those great 

 stud essentials, hone and substance combined with quality, it is 

 almost certain that he will he heard of in ihe near future.'' 1 



Of this description Mr. Damon wrote us Dec. 14; "Mr. 

 Mason's criticism of my dog is absolutely correct. A 

 breeder can read it and know just what sort of a dog he is." 



Mr. Damon has siuce published statements that are 

 directly the opposite of his opinions as given above. For 

 an analysis of the reasons and motives that brought about 

 this radical change, the reader is referred to the communi- 

 cation of Mr. Mason in another column. What Mr. Damon 

 really thinks of Patsy is something that we defy auv oue to 

 find out from his contradictory statements, ft is perhaps 

 true that he considered the dog to be just what he wrote 

 when he was trying to sell him to Mr. Perry, and that he 

 was not trying to palm off on that gentleman what he 

 thought was a rank duffer. That is the most charitable 

 view to take of *\ and surely this is a case where we should 

 exercise all the charity we have to spare. 



DOG TALK. 



HpHJS Fanciers' Gazette proves that dogs reason as follows: 

 JL "A young man who lived in a cottage in Yorkshire had 

 a splendid mastiff dog, called Ponto, who was allowed to 

 roam about just as he pleased all over the house. His 

 favorite place, however, was in the study under bis master's 



writing table. When Mr. D s was away from home, as 



was often the case, Ponto, much to his disgust, was chained 

 up in the yard. From this treatment he did all he could to 

 keep away. On one occasion his master went for a few 

 days' visit to a neighbor, leaving the usual orders about the 

 dog. In vain, however, did the servants search high and 

 low for Ponto; nowhere was he to be fouud, and they gave 

 up the search in despair. Iu the evening, when the two 

 maid servants were sitting quietly at work' "in the kitchen, 

 they suddenly heard the small handbell in the study ring 

 violeutly. They started up in alarm, and each wanted the 

 other to go and see. what was the matter; but. neither of 

 them dared, and they sat still and frightened. Presently 

 the bell pealed again, arid, curiosity proving greater than 

 their fears, they went to the parlor door. There they paused 

 again, but hearing the bell once more, they turned the 

 handle, and peeped in. What wa3 their surprise to find 

 Ponto sitting on his haunches, with the bell iu his mouth ! 

 He had evident! y seen his master use the bell to summon 

 attendance, aud finding unns.jlf shut in, he thought he 

 would try if a little bell-ringin^ on his owu account would 

 not get him out of his prison." 



At a recent meeting of the commitue of the English Ken- 

 nel Club, Mr. J. Sidney Turner gave notice that" he would 

 propose the following new rule at the special general meet- 

 ing to be held at Olympia, July 10: Th-it any person who 

 shall knowingly exhibit a dog which has suffered from dis- 

 temper at any time within the previous two months of the 

 show at which it is exhibited, shall be debarred from again 

 exhibiting for such period as the Kennel Club committee 

 shall decide. 



We have received notice from Mr. Chas. Deckleman, 

 Brooklyn, N. Y., stating that the Brooklyn Kennel Club 

 will hold a dog show in that city, Sept. 7 to 11. We shall 

 probably be able to give further particulars next week. 



We have received a list of the nominations for the secoud 

 annual Derby of the Southern Field Trial Club, 51 in all, 42 

 setters and 9 pointers. The list will be published next week. 



Mr. H. H. Briggs, kennel editor of the Breeder and, Sports- 

 mau, has been appointed to judge all classes at the dog 

 show held at Los Angeles, Cal., this week. 



We are informed that the National Coursing Association 

 contemplate holding meetings next fall at some of the im- 

 portant Southern cities. 



Mr. E. H. Morris has been arrested upon the charge of 

 evading the duties on a dog recently imported by him. We 

 are informed by the best of authority that the prosecution 

 is malicious, and that Mr. Morris has the requisite consular 

 certificate, for every dog imported by him. 



The St. Bernard Club of Switzerland will hold an inter- 

 national show at Berne, July 12 to 14. 



The California Kennel Club propose holding a dog show 

 at San Francisco, next October. 



THE POINTER CLUB. — New York, June 24.-- Editor 

 Forest and Stream: There will be a meeting of the executive 

 committee of the Pointer Club of America, at 44 Broadway, 

 New Ydrk city, in the rooms of the A. K. O, at 12 M. Mon- 

 day, July 1.— Geo. W. LaRue, Sec'y and Treas. 



