812 



FOREST AND STREAM 



(Nov. 8, 1888, 



THE SPANIELS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Mr. Fellows intimates in his latest effusion that I was 

 started in "this thing" by your "special" London reporter; 

 but he is at fault. Away back in the early summer months 

 I wrote in Forest and Stream, agitating for spaniel field 

 trials, and, to my surprise, my letter elicited not a single 

 response, though the Stock-Keeper's correspondent wrote in 

 that paper that " "sooic (italics mine) of our spaniel men" 

 were agitating the subject. As [ have said before I expected 

 Mr. Fellows's support m the matter and own I was disap- 

 pointed in the man. 



Again he rings the changes on his determination to refrain 

 from assuming a sitting posture until "the sporting spaniel 

 is in its proper place." In what way could that much to be 

 desired end be so speedily achieved as by the adoption of 

 trials in the held ? Put your shoulder to the wheel, man, 

 help ns to get our field trials and then— be at rest. 



By the designation of "the kids" I presume Mr. Fellows 

 points to those gentlemen who hare gone into "the fancy" 

 since his debut "thirteen years since." Let us see how he 

 has fared at their hands. His first serious set back, that I 

 remember at this moment, was received through the medium 

 of Brahmin, owned by a "boy" called Rehore. (How mad 

 "Uncle Dick" was, too"!) And now what chance has he in 

 the varieties they have actually gone in for with "boys" 

 Nelles, West, Oldham and Willey ? 



The more I think over that "little" matter the blacker it 

 looks. In two parliciilas Mr. Fellows was in error as given 

 in the list of Silk's winnings in the Buffalo catalogue. He 

 challenged any brace of cocker spaniels, yet he claims one of 

 the brace to be "champion field trial spaniel of America 1" 

 Mr. Fellows should be informed that in sporting matters 

 when a challenge is made, and by no one accepted, it is en 

 regie W insert the clause "by default" in quoting a title so 

 won. 



Is "the. sire of champions" one of Silk's "winnings" ? 

 Really, the N. D. C. and A. K. C. should take steps for the 

 suppression of "free ads" of this description. Qoestek. 



COYOTE "COURSING." 



HUTCHINSON, Kan., Oct. 27.— On Friday, Oct. 26., the 

 meeting, as a coursing meet, was over, atid thereshould 

 have been public announcement of the failure to run out the 

 stakes, and public explanation of the reasons therefor. In- 

 stead of this the management of the association saw fit, 

 under the name of the association and ostensibly under its 

 immediate auspices, to resort to a catch-penny scheme to 

 which it is to be hoped neither this association nor any other 

 will ever again resort. Two wild coyotes had been captured 

 and general posting of the town took place to the effect that, 

 at 2 P. M. the "Reno-Barton pack of foxhounds" would en- 

 gage in a "grand wolf hunt at the coursing grounds." No 

 one had a distinct idea of what the affair would be, but 

 several hundred people paid the admission fee to find out. 

 At about 2:45 the "grand wolf hunt" began. The spectators 

 were asked to take their places inside the inclosed three- 

 quarter track. In the outside grounds, entirely iuclosed by 

 a tight wire fence through which a rabbit could not pass, let 

 alone a coyote, the poor devil of a captive coyote was turned 

 down and asked to obligingly run about* a while before 

 he was killed. Dr. Royce kindly consented to "shoo" the 

 coyote aloug the fence a little way, and at certain points 

 along the fence "judges" were stationed, whose onerous duty 

 was to see whether the red or white collared dogs were ahead 

 in this most truly novel coursing match, whose primary 

 design was to catch quarters and whose secondary was to 

 murder a captive animal which, given a fair chance, would 

 have shown itself of courage and endurance. (It should be 

 announced that Mr. Arthur Mussey, the regular judge of the 

 meet, had no idea of the nature of the. task he was asked to 

 perform, else he would not have acted on that day.) 



Mr. Allison aud Dr. Royce had managed to get the coyote 

 seared along the fence as much as half a mile when" the 

 hounds were turned loose. The poor animal was running 

 with mouth open, panting, scared nearly beyond effort, and 

 seeking vainly for some loophole of escape, from what even 

 a coyote could tell was an unsportsmanlike death trap. 

 Following the cries of the pursuing — or let us rather say the 

 "shoo-ing" horsemen — the dogs ran at full cry down the 

 track, fifty yards off on the wrong side for wind, cut across 

 a corner to Dr. Royee, who was riding after the "chase,' - 

 and ran into the coyote at the north fence. Did that end 

 the hunt? Not at all. The coyote was taken away from the 

 dogs and put down to crawl around his death trap once 

 more in tnis truly "grand" wolf hunt, put on foot by men 

 professedly upholders of legitimate sport. Again the hounds 

 galloped around the fence, and again ran into the puzzled 

 and heartbroken creature, which panted slowly on, hunting 

 a way out into the open, where it could have fair play and a 

 show for its life. This time, fortunately, the hounds killed, 

 it, and put an end to the disgraceful exhibition. The repre- 

 sentatives of Forest and Stream and another sportsman's 

 paper protestedagainst this affair as being simply cruelty 

 to animals, and in no wise fit to be called sport. They were 

 told by one. Muskimmons, an attache of the grounds, that if 

 they did not like it they could leave. At this point Forest 

 and Stream's reporter withdrew from the grounds, not 

 caring to witness or give notice to such an affair, except to 

 stigmatize it as a piece of abominable cruelty, and one al- 

 together unworthy of real sportsmen's countenance. 



Forest and Stream has not a word to say against charg- 

 ing an admission fee to witness any legitimate sport, and 

 certainly Forest AND Stream is the best friend the National 

 Coursing Association has; but neither this paper nor any 

 other respectable paper can for one moment support a phase 

 of sport in which fair play is on the face of it entirely 

 barred out. It is of course plainly understood by Forest 

 AND Stream that this lamentable affair of the "grand wolf 

 hunt" had nothing to do with coursing, and nothing to do 

 with what are supposed to be the first objects of the 

 National Association; but it has this special misfortune 

 about it, that it brings the fair and grand sport of coursiug 

 into disrepute through the indirect relation it gaius by ap- 

 pearing on coursing grounds and under the management 

 of those who claim to be coursing men and managers. The 

 association can not succeed if it covers such side show 

 schemes with its skirts. Let it not be too anxious to make 

 a few quarters of dollars. Let it go slowly and carefully, 

 fostering always first the idea of fair play and working to 

 perfect the conditions of a sport which is on the eve of a great 

 development, and it cannot fail of a rapid and pronounced 

 success, in which the sporting press will not only rejoice, 

 but will assist. Let it go on with a few more "grand wolf 

 hunts" — in a pen — and it will lose just that honest and re- 

 spectable support which it caunot afford to lose. Of its 

 position in this matter Forest and Stream is absolutely 

 sure. The right of the case dictates the position. This is 

 further supported by the verdict of the spectators, who 

 almost universally joined in public aud vehement condem- 

 nation of a wolf hunt, in which the wolf was doomed before 

 he ran. The public knows what sport is. It will not long 

 pay to see a false sport. H. 



A DENVER COURSING MEET. 



Mr. E. R. Mason, clerk to the woolsack in Des Moines Cir- 

 cuit, is local headquarters for racing news. Not only is he 

 fond of fast horsps, but of that other yet more rapid animal, 

 the greyhound, of which he has some' good specimens. 



Apropos of greyhounds, they tell me that the fancy exhi- 

 bition rider, Miss Belle Burke, left her fastest racing grey- 

 hound, a we}] bred bitch, at Creston, Iowa, last summer. 



The bitch was sick and unfit to run or travel. She has now 

 quite recovered, and they say is faster than anything down 

 that country. 



It is surprising how little the general public knows of the 

 sport of coursing. When I spoke here of the meet of the 

 American Coursing Club nobody was quite sure what kind 

 of a thing it was. I labored patiently as best I knew to 

 advance the intelligent interest m what is perhaps destined 

 to be the coming American sport. 



Apropos of coursing, I have a bit of news which nobody 

 but Forest and Stream knows. Denver is going to have 

 a coursing meet, an inclosed one. Movements are this 

 month on foot toward the purchase of the grounds, which 

 will lie within four miles of the city aud will be reached by 

 rapid transit. Fifteen thousand dollars will be expended if 

 necessary; nothing will be done by way of an exhibition till 

 everything works smoothly, and when Denver does turn 

 loose she will do it "with a meet as is a meet." The names of 

 the gentlemen interested are known, but are withheld by 

 their request for business reasons. It is fair to call this 

 good news for coursing. Denver is the city to make such an 

 enterprise go fast and furiously. Score another for coursing. 

 In five years there will be a dozen big meets. 



HEMPSTEAD COURSING CLUB. 



The first meet for this season of the Hempstead Coursing 

 Club was held at Cedarhurst, L. L, last Saturday, The 

 polo grounds of the Rockaway Hunt Club were used as a 

 field. Thirty-one rabbits had been provided. The day was 

 fiue in the morning, but it rained in the afternoon. August 

 Belmont, Jr., was master of ceremonies. W. Rutherfurd 

 dropped the rabbits. All the rabbits but one were killed. 



The officers were: Judge, Mr. A. Belmont Purely; Breed 

 Judge, J. E. Cowdin; Field Steward, O. W. Bird; Flag 

 Steward, J. L. Kernochan; Secretary, A. Belmont, Jr., and 

 Slipper, German Hopkins. Summaries: 



NOVrCB STAKES. 



An open sweepstakes for fox-terriers of 20lbs. or under, at $3 

 each, play or pay, with a silver cup presented by Mr. James L. 

 Kernochan to the winner. The runner-up to receive 25 per cent, 

 of the stake and a pewter mug. Fifteen entries: 



First Round. 



J. B. Kernochan nominates A. Belmont Purdy's white, black 

 and tan dog Pincher, who beat T. B. Burnham's white, black and 

 tan dog Jack. 



L. and \V. Hutberfurd's white dog Warren Spider beat S. D. 

 Ripley's white dog Bayonet. 



H. B. Richardson's white, black and tan dog Meadow Brook 

 Jack beat E. Kelly's white and tan dog Earl Leicester. 



H. P. Frotliingham's white and tan dog Mugwump, C. Rath- 

 bone's white, black aud tan dote Beverwyek Tippler, F. 0. Beach's 

 white, black and tan bitch Media, Blemton Kennels' white and 

 tan bitch Tiara and O. W. Bird's white, black and tan bitch War- 

 ren Jingle had byes. 



Second Round. 



Pincher beat Mugwump, Beverwyck Tippler beat "Warren 

 Spider, Tiara beat Media, and Meadow Brook Jack beat "Warren 

 Jingle. 



Third Round. 



Beverwyck Tippler beat Pincher, Meadow Brook Jack beat 

 Tiara. 



Final Rmtnd. 

 Beverwyck Tippler beat Meadow Brook Jack. 



ROCIiAWAY COT. 



An open sweepstakes for fox-terriers of 181bs. or under at $3 

 each, play or pay, with a cup presented by the Rockaway Steeple- 

 chase Association for the winner. The runner-up to receive 25 

 per cent, of the stakes and a pewter mug. Nineteen entries. 



First Round. 



L. and W. Rutherf urd's white dog Warren Spider beat T. B. 

 Burnham's white, black aud tan dog Jack, 



C. Rathbrme's white Olack and tan dog Beverwyck Tippler 

 beat A. T. French's white and tan dog Blemton Volunteer. 



J. B. Kernochan nominates A. Belmont Purdy's white, black 

 and tan dog Pincher, who beat F. 0. Beach's white, black and tan 

 bitch Meiia. 



O. W. Bird's white, black and tan bitch Warren Jingle beat H. 

 P. Frotliingham's while and lan bitch Lottery. 



H. V. R. Kennedy's white, black and tan dog Antic beat Blem- 

 ton Kennels' white, black and tan doe Regent Vox. 



Edward Kelly's white, black and tan bitch Votary a bye. 



Second Round. 



Warren Spider beat Votary, Beverwyck Tippler beat Pincher, 

 Antic beat Warren Jingle. 



Third Round. 

 Warren Spider heat Tippler, Antic a bye. 



Fined Round. 

 Antic beats Warren Spider, after an undecided. 



COTTON-TAIL STAKES. 



An open sweepstakes for fox-terriers of 161bs. or under, at $2 

 each, play or pay, with 820 added to the winner; the runner up to 

 receive 50 per cent of the stakes and a pew ter mug. Sixteen entries. 



First Round. 



L. & W. Rutherfurd's white and tan bitch Warren Dainty beat 

 H. P. Frorlungham's white and tan bitch Lottery. 



C. Rathbone's white, black and tan bitch Blemton Lilly beat 

 Blemton Kennels' white, black and tan dog Dusky Trap. 



A. T. French's white and tan dog Blemton Volunteer, E. D. Mor- 

 gan's white, black and tan dog Tancred, L. & W. Rutherf urd's 

 white dog Wan en Discord and James Mortimer's white, black 

 and tan bitch Suffolk Siren had byes. 



Second Round. 



Warren Dainty heat Tancred, Blemton Lilly beat Blemton Vol- 

 unteer, Warren Discord beat Suffolk Siren. 



Third Round. 



Warren Dainty beat Blemton Lilly; Warren Discord a bye. 



Deciding Round. 

 Warren Discord beat Warren Dainty. 



The second day of the season is announced Thanksgiving 

 Day and the third on Christmas Day. 



CONCERNING RELIABILITY AND RECORD. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Having said all that is necessary about the "practical" of 

 Mr. Davey's letter, I will now add a few lines anent the 

 London fancier's very unreliable statement. It is well known 

 to all readers of this journal that I have the honor of report- 

 ing for Forest AND Stream many of the large and import- 

 ant shows. Mr. Davey will not deny having said that the 

 Forest and Stream's' reports were ahead of all others; and 

 it seems to me that if Mr. Davey was right, his charge of 

 unreliable must be wrong, because very many of the reports 

 which helped to mould Mr. Davey's unsolicited approval 

 were written by me. He cannot claim that his approval of 

 Forest and Stream's reports had reference only to the non- 

 sporting dogs, because he has admitted that he only under- 

 stands one breed — English setters. It would be an easy task 

 to show that Mr. Davey considered my reports perfectly "re- 

 liable" except when the defects of his dogs were brought into 

 public notice. I might, just for the sake of argument, ask how 

 it was that Mr. Davey once wrote me saying that "Our Prize 

 Dogs" would be invaluable to owners and breeders. I might 

 also ask why he ordered a copy of that work C. O. D. For rea- 



sons already given the non-sporting part of the book would be 

 useless to Mr. Davey, and why did he order it if the criticisms 

 on the only breed he knows anything about were to be unre- 

 hable? And why did members of the London Kennel Club 

 ask me to judge some of the sporting classes at their show 

 when Mr. Davey, wdio is a prominent official in that club, 

 considered me incapable of criticising the cow-hocked Locks- 

 ley? Come, Mr. Davey, let you aud me better understand 

 each other. Can't we talk dog, smoke segars, take a drink 

 and have a good time generally without either of us forget- 

 ting the duty we owe to ourselves and to others!' Surely our 

 friendship is not dependent on the Chicago conditions— that 

 you foot the bills and T misrepresent your dogs. If we can- 

 not be friends aud at the same time be men let our friendship 

 be severed now and for aye. 



The Buffalo report on Locksley was correct. If Mr. Davey 

 ever had any doubt on the question he can have it dispelled 

 by consulting Mr. John Davidson, who bred the dog. I 

 promised in my last to show Mr. Davey that I was "breed- 

 ing sporting dogs before his name had been heard of in con- 

 nection with the dog fancy." Mr. Davey first became known 

 as an owner of dogs in 1877 or 1878, not as a prominent dog 

 man, but he owned a dog. The first decent one that he 

 showed was Liddesdale, a third-rate specimen that was 

 bred by Mr. Davidson. Not long after having made this 

 piu-chase Mr. Davey bought— or took as bad debt— that 

 rather good-looking dog Dick Laverack, the best setter he 

 ever owned. Then came Knight of Snowdon, a second- 

 rater that was bred by Mr. Davidson, and lastly Locksley, 

 a third-rater, bred by Mr. Davidson, and offered' for sale by 

 Mr. Davey at $200 or less. Dick Laverack, the only one of 

 the lot that could score in hot competition, was not bred 

 by Mr. Davey, but by Mr. J. Snellen burg. It will be 

 seen from this that Mr. John Davidson has been 

 largely instrumental in making a name for the London 

 fancier. The dogs that were of his breeding did nearly all 

 the winning for Mr. Davey's kennel; and the record proves 

 that while Mr. Davey has bred several winners, more es- 

 pecially dogs that have won at small shows, he has never 

 bred a good one and never owned a really high-class speci- 

 men. While this is a very much better record than men 

 like Whitford, Goodman, the W.K.C ! s white elephant and 

 a large number of other upstarts can lay claim to, it is not 

 a good one, and a man must have something more substan- 

 tial behind him when he rushes into print with such words as 

 the very unreliable "reliable" and that rusty old safety 

 valve "practical." It will be necessary in giving a portion 

 of my own record to use the personal pronoun oftener than 

 I care to, and in this I must ask the patience of your 

 readers. 



My name will be found in the Nottingham catalogues 

 (sporting class) for 1871 and 187:3; and I was breeding good 

 dogs some time before that. Whoever heard of "practical" 

 Mr. Davey in those days? I won first in the sporting class 

 at Manchester, 1872. What was "reliable" Mr. Davey doing 

 at that time? In 1873 I won first and champion prizes in the 

 sporting class at a large number of shows, including Notting- 

 ham, Glasgow and Edinburgh. In 1874 I was asked to report 

 for one of the leading dog papers m England, which shows 

 that I was considered "reliable" before Mr. Davey owned 

 a dog. In 1874 I bred two spotting dogs that won first and 

 second prize in one class at Birmingham, 187tS. I also bred 

 a first prize winner in the sporting class at Birmingham, 

 1875, and a winner at the Crystal Palace, 1870. I have won at 

 the Crystal Palace, Edinburgh, Belfast, etc., with setters, 

 and an Irish setter of mine took the cup at Waterloo, 

 1878, for best dog in a number of the sporting classes. 

 From 1868 to 1881 I wou over 500 first prizes for pointers 

 alone. From 1874 to 1881 1 wrote reports of shows in every 

 prominent dog paper in England, the Field, included, iii 

 1880 I wou 42 first prizes at six shows (vide editorial columns 

 of Fancier a' Chronicle). I was asked to judge before I was 

 twenty-two years old. 1 will here remind Mr. Davey that 

 anything that wears pants can judge at an American dog 

 show, but that it is not the same in England, although once 

 in a while somebody springs a white elephant on the fancy. 

 My name is epioted in at least three standard works as' a 

 prominent breeder and exhibitor, and dogs from my kennels 

 have been illustrated at home and abroad. "British Dogs," 

 page 1^8, says: "The gentlemen that at pre.«eut possess dogs 

 nearest to mv idea of the model pointer are Messrs. J. H. 

 •Vbitehouse, Samuel Price, G. Pilkington, R. Lloyd Price, 

 G. Moore, T. Staffer, C. H. Mason, Heywood-Lonsdale. W. 

 Arkwright, Barclay Field, R. P. Leeche, Viscouut Downe 

 and Lord Sefton." The "Book of the Dog" says: "Among 

 older breeders the names of Mr. T. Stutter, Mr. C. H. Mason, 

 Lord Sefton, Lord Downe and Mr. Garth, Q. C, appear most 

 prominently, and their blood is eagerly treasured by breed- 

 ers." Add to this that my name was never on any occasion 

 brought before a dog show committee or a kennel club 

 under any charge, no matter how trivia), and Mr. Davey 

 will be able to get a fair outline of my record. Is it suffici- 

 ently substantial to qualify a man to write a "reliable" re- 

 port on Mr. T. G. Davey's cow-hocked English setter dog 

 Locksley ? 



I now call on Mr. Davey to withdraw or substantiate his 

 statement that my report was not "reliable." If he is a 

 gentleman and a man of honor he will do one or the other. 



Chas. H. Mason. 



TRACKING WITH BLOODHOUNDS. 



T DO not think that bloodhounds are ever likely to be of 

 _L much service to the police, for several reasons. As a 

 detective — that is, to go into a house or elsewhere aud pick 

 out a murderer by the smell of blood on his clothes, or to 

 find a dead body hidden — I do not think a bloodhound likely 

 to be of any more use than lots of other dogs. The noted 

 dog that discovered a body of a child in a chimney some few 

 years ago, 1 believe at Blackburn, was a simple mongrel. It 

 may have had some poodle blood in its composit.on, but 

 certainly not a drop of bloodhound. I saw the clog when it 

 was on exhibition, and studied it carefully. 



To use a bloodhound as a tracker in a town is next to im- 

 possible. The best dog I ever had could not track a man 

 through a crowd of say fifty or sixty people, if he were more 

 than ten minutes behind— and this dog, Sclim, was far aud 

 away the best 1 ever saw hunt. I have known him pick out 

 a trail after two hours; but he could not go any pace then, 

 and if the man hunted had any idea he was being tracked 

 of course he could escape; by going faster than the dog the 

 scent would get worse, and finally fail altogether. 



In the open country a well-trained dog, m the hands of a 

 clever keeper ; would often assist the police; but a dog re- 

 quires a lot of training and great natural powers to keep to 

 one scent. Another man crossing the line would leave a 

 fresher scent, and nine dogs out of every ten would leave the 

 stale for the fresh scent. 



1 have had several bloodhounds that were no use at all; 

 they could not hunt a man over fresh ground with any 

 certainty or pace, unless they were familiar with him. I 

 have noticed that bloodhounds always hunt their master or 

 feeder with greater zest than any one else. I always tried to 

 teach mine to hunt mute, as their voice is terrifying to 

 people who happen to be in the line of route; but they almost 

 always gave tongue when they were on my trail, say within 

 ten minutes of me. Another difficulty is to get them to 

 bunt in a line without pulling, which tires both dog and 

 leader. 



Selim was not at all a show dog, his head was a fair shape, 

 except he had not enough peak; he was deficient in wrinkle 

 but very throaty, and his voice the deepest I ever heard; he 

 was a heavy, awkward dog, and a dull black with pale tan 

 J markings, "J got him at about a year old, and at first thought 



