July ^8, 189^.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



71 



pointed this way I got into that fence corner pretty quick. 

 Just as the bird was opposite me I saw the feathers 

 knockpd out of it. Look whore it lies, and it was not 

 over 13ffc. high when it was hit."' It was thiity-five steps 

 to where it hit the ground. It seems incredible that a 

 bird can fly so swiftly and safely through such thick 

 brush, but they do do it, and have often done it in the 

 night, too. 



We next went into a tract of several hundred acres 

 that had borne many large white oak trees. They had 

 been cut down the year before when the leaves were on. 

 The bodies of the trees had been hauled away, but the 

 leafy tops still dotted the ground and were excellent 

 cover for the birds. Wild rose berries, black haws and 

 the seeds of various weeds furnished abundant food. 

 Oae of the dogs pointed at the edge of a thicket and I 

 saw the bird standing on a log not ten feet away, 



"Come over here, Dave," said I, "there's one on that 

 log." 



"Why don't you shoot his head off?" said Dave, 

 "Oh, I'll kill him with a club;'' said I, "look out now!" 

 And I tossed a stick that flushed the bird. We shot 

 three times at him, but for all T know he is a good bird 

 yet. 



The next find was in one of the big oak tops. We 

 stationed ourselves on each side and urged the dog to go 

 in, but he did not like to and stood looking alternately 

 at us and at the leafy top that hid the bird. After a good 

 deal of urging he ran to the butt end of the lop, got on a 

 big limb six feet above the ground, walked out on it till 

 he got directly above the bird and pointed again, partly 

 crouched on the limb, his head hanging down at one 

 side of it. In spite of our urging he stood this waj 

 several minutt s, but finally sprang at the spot he thought 

 held the bird. Out came two in a mighty hurry. There 

 were two shots, two clouds of feathers floating "in the air 

 and two birds fluttering on the dead leaves. The dog 

 came out of the top and looked as though he had very 

 grave doubts about that being the proper way to do it 

 and wondering whether he would be switched or praised. 

 He was patted on the head and told to fetch the dead 

 birds, and after that was fully satisfied that it was all 

 right, because we said it was.' He had also got the idea 

 that the birds were all in these tops and put in the rest 

 of the day running from one top to another, always going 

 on the lee side, generally running right by if there was 

 nothing there, but would occasionally stop and take a 

 snitf or two to make sure he had not overlooked a bird, 

 and soon got very willing to go in and scarce the birds 

 out. 



At noon we lay on the dead grass in the warm sunshine 

 and ate the lunch that our host had slipped into our 

 shooting coats, and afterward tried to take a nap, but our 

 minds were too full of the sport we had had and of the 

 sport to come, and the dog wagged his tail and whined, 

 90 we were soon afield again. 



At last the sun got low and the air chilly, but still we 

 tramped the woods, and the faithful dog ran from top to 

 top, and our guns cracked and the birds flew away or 

 were killed, till at last the dark came on and the woods 

 •were left to the owls and the coons and the foxes. If the 

 day had been longer the sport woidd have lasted longer, 

 but we felt that we had had enough. 



A review of the day's incidents showed that we had 

 flushed sixty-five birds, shot at forty-two of them and had 

 bagged twenty-one. Of caurse, we did not see sixty-five 

 difierent birds, as quite a number were flushed more' than 

 once, and more than fifty shots were fired, as both of us 

 frequently shot at the same bird. 



Did the day's enjoyment end with the day? By no 

 means. It was enjoyment to see the interest of wife and 

 children as they unpacked the birds and counted them, 

 and admired their plumage, and asked how they lived 

 and how we got them. It was enjoyment to sit down to 

 the luscious feast they made, to eat them and to see the 

 loved ones eat them. It was enjoyment to lay one nice 

 young bird in the hands of an invalid friend, -r nd to be 

 told how lie had bsen longing for just one pheasant's 

 breast. It was enjoyment to read the letter from a city 

 friend to whom some of the birds were sent— a letter 

 that said the birds made him smell the autumn leaves 

 and see the smoky Indian summer, acd ended by com- 

 plimenting the skill that bagged so many of such wary 

 and swift-winged birds. Neither wa=! all this the end of 

 that day's enjoyment, for the day had been lived over 

 Hgaia in memory a hundred times, and will be a hundred 

 times again. And further yet, that day and others like 

 it have kept my body strong and my mind clear from 

 many weary cares, and mide warm friends for me, 



O, H, Hampton. 



A Deer Floating Incident. 



Mb, Elliott Smith, president of the American Wood 

 Powder Company, though an enthusiast at trap and tield- 

 shooting, does not think much of the sport of deer hunt- 

 ing — at least, by the method of water butchery so common 

 in the North Woods. 



Several years ago he was initiated into the mysteries of 

 "floating," and killed a fine deer the first night. He had 

 been out the best part of the night and had fallen asleep, 

 when he was suddenly awakened by the boat stopping. 

 He had heard his guide whisper to shoot, but though he 

 looked carefully on all sides, he could see nothing at 

 which to aim. Though only a few feet away, the deer 

 the guide had located was hidden from view. Presently, 

 however, it made a sudden leap for the safety of the 

 woods, and he caught a glimpse of its tawny form. It 

 was only a glimpse, but it gave him the opportunity he 

 needed, and he bowled it over with a neat snap shot. 



Several days later the guide he had on this expedition 

 approached Mr. Smith and asked if he did not want to 

 try for another deer. He agreed, and that night they 

 went out jacking a second time, when the guide suc- 

 ceeded in paddling him up to a fawn that was neck deep 

 in the water in search of the succulent lily bulbs, of which 

 deer are so fond, and brought the boat so close that Mr, 

 Smith was enabled to reach out his rifle and tap the 

 frightened innocent on the head. This last expprience 

 was enough for him. The sport savored too much of 

 barnyard butchery, and he made up hie mind to give up 

 deer hunting till he could find some better method. 



Chained to Business? 



Can't go fishing? Make the best of it. Read Forest and 



ST«JtA.M. 



THE OLD MUSKET. 



! Yeaes ago, in the dreamy days of my early childhood, 

 there stood, in the earner of "the kitchen entry, one of 

 thosa fearfully and wonderfully made firearms known to 

 our grandfathers as a Queen's Arm, musket. How well t 

 remember the old gun, with its long barrel, heavily 

 stocked full length, its insty but still formidable bayonet, 

 the iron ramrod and massive lock. How strong and safe 

 seemed the great bands which strapped the barrel to the 

 stock, and how suggestive was the heavy black leather 

 pling which dangled about the piece from the big swivels. 

 Proud indeed must have been its first possessor, as he 

 shouldered the musket and hurried to the Assembly on 

 General Muster Day. How at "ground arms" its glitter- 

 ing bayonet must have towered above my tail ancestor's 

 head, as if to smell the battle afar ofi"; and" how handsome 

 its carefully polished stock, redder than the blushing 

 cheek of the maiden who stole admiring glances at his 

 sinewy form, as the "Right shoulder arms, march," com- 

 XDelled him to go from near her. 



It had in its youthful days been a noted weapon. 

 Stories were told around the lire to eager, childish ears, 

 of how the British had recoiled from its muzxle when 

 my great-grandsire had pointed it in their direction at 

 the battle of Odwego; and well they might, for its huge 

 iron bore and mighty barrel seemed capable of annihilat- 

 ing a small arriay if it were only loaded to its full 

 capacity, I, at least, never doubted that it had slain its 

 dozens on that momentous occasion. That was half a 

 century before I saw the light. Yet when I made its 

 acquaintance it lacked none of those chief attributes 

 which had made it formidable to invaders. The great 

 brown barrel, the long red stock, the iron ramrod and 

 the heavy bayonet which had lost its glitter, were all 

 there. One great change, however, had taken place in 

 its mechanism; when it no longer became necessary to 

 hurl huge leaden bullets from its angry mouth at public 

 enemies or dangerous beasts, it had been put away until 

 the time came for gi-andfather to learn the use of fire- 

 arms. Then it had been taken to a smithy and trans- 

 formed into a percussion musket. What a lock that was! 

 It yawned open when at full cock, like a bear-trap; and 

 when the hammer fell something had to go. 



It was during- this period of its existence that its fame 

 as a game destroyer became established, and traditionary 

 tales of marvelous shots at vast distances and close range, 

 performed by the old gun, have come down to the writer 

 through generations of truthful men. Thirty-five pigeons 

 at one discharge; a wild goose "at 30 rods;" a black squir- 

 rel at "90 paces," with bird-shot, and a man's leg at 10ft., 

 with buckshot, are only a part of the wonderful record of 

 this lead-slinging machine. 



In the course of nature my grandfather laid the gun 

 away, and my father, then a sturdy farmer's boy of four- 

 teen years, became its possessor. Many times have I 

 hung about his chair in breathless interest, listening to 

 the story of when he went muskrat hunting. He used to 

 tell it something like this: ' When I was a lad I lived in 

 the country on a big farm, which was a little boy's para- 

 dise. There was small game of all kinds to be had in the 

 fields and woods, and through the back end a small brook 

 ran, where I used to catch some nice fish. One day I was 

 hoeing corn near the brook, and being thirsty went to it 

 for a drink. As I clambered over the fence, to my de- 

 light I saw a number of muskrats swimming about in the 

 water. I ran at once to the house for the old gun, which 

 I knew how to use; stopping only long enough to hammer 

 down a good big load, I went back to the creek and stole 

 quietly up behind the fence. There were the long-tailed, 

 sleek rats still sporting in the water, at least six of them. 

 Carefully poking the gun through the rails, I took good 

 aim. and shutting both eyes, I fired. 



"Tnere was a stunning report, a crash against my face 

 as though a mule had kicked me, and for the next two or 

 three minutes I didn't know anything. Then I got my 

 senses, and began to look around me for the wreckage. 

 My nose was bleeding a stream; there lay my hat a rod 

 away : there lay the musket smoking like a volcano, I 

 picked it up, got my hat and staggered home, with a fear- 

 fully blacked eye, an acbiug head, and a shoulder that 

 was useless for a week. The gun was already loaded 

 when I put in that second generous charge," 



Just here I always asked, "Pa, how many muskrats 

 did you kill? " But he never would tell. 



The time finally came when my older brother must 

 learn how to shoot, and to that end, the venerable Queen's 

 arm was taken to the town and thoroughly cleaned. One 

 day, a great flock of crows settled in the wheat field near 

 the house, and began business on an extended scale. My 

 brother saw them, and came flying into the kitchen 

 caught up the musket, loaded it heavily, ard ran out,' 

 Stealing up behind the lilacs, he took aim and pulled the 

 trigger; the cap only snapped. Afresh one was tried, 

 with the same result. Then another was put on, the gun 

 was cocked, and he was about to try again, when the 

 thought came into his head to prime the nipple. Running 

 back to the house, he leaned the gun against the side of 

 the woodshed, and went in for the powder horn. Scarcely 

 had he secured this, when a cannon-like roar and a crash- 

 ing sound, aa if the building was collapsing, broke the 

 stillness. Rushing out, the cause of all the uproar was 

 apparent; in some manner, possibly by slipping a trifle, 

 the gun had been fired, and the entire upper corner of 

 the wood shed had travelled off into the supernal em- 

 pyrean, along with the charge of big shot. 



Before I grew large enough to put in a claim to the use 

 of the old mu-^ket, it had begun to show signs of dilapida- 

 tion. In the first place, the bayonet was missing. Only 

 two people in the whole world know, or ever knew, 

 where or bow it went; those are my brother and myself. 

 He had been shelling corn in the time-honored way of 

 rubbing two ears together, when the brilliant idea oc- 

 curred to him of fastening that bayonet into the edge of 

 the tub, and ripping the kernels olf the cob on the point. 

 The scheme was speedily put into operation, and worked 

 splendidly for a time; but growing careless, he made a 

 luckless motion, the point of the bayonet entered his 

 wrist, and laid his hand open to the bone, an ugly gash 

 Sin. in length. 



Never shall I forget the ominous silence which suc- 

 ceeded his first yell of pain; then he seized the bayonet, 

 wrenched it loose from the tub, and rushing out of the 

 barn threw it a mile and a half into the next township. 

 It was never seen again, unless some one has since plowed 

 it up and put it carefully away under glass as a me- 

 mento of some ancient conflict fought in that neighbor- 

 hood. 



Then the ramrod went ; I suppose I was accountable 

 for that. Down tlie road a piece, where the creek had 

 been bridged, a deep pool, thronging with big yellow sun 

 fioh, used to tempt small boys like me to dally on their 

 way to school. One morning I rigged the long, springy 

 ramrod with line, hook and sinker, and started for 

 school, intending to spend a few minutes in fishing at the 

 bridge. I had pretty good success, and was hatding out 

 the yellow beauties very freely, when suddenly I was 

 startled at hearing the recess bell ringing from the 

 school window. Forgetting that f had the ramrod and 

 not a Bwiloh for a pole, I dropped it into the deep water 

 and started for the seat of learning on a run. Tuen the 

 horror of what I had done flashed upon me, 1 stood 

 still, almost paralyzed. School was forgotten, fi^h were 

 disregarded, and I spent the rest of the morning trying 

 to recover the lost ramrod, I never did. 



But the last and greatest catastrophe which befel the 

 old musket, overtook it at the hands of my mother. We 

 moved from the old home into town, and the days of its 

 usefulness would thus naturally have been over, but it 

 might, in its last days, still have adorned the wall of my 

 bed-room, had it not been altogether shorn of its true 

 proportions. One day after the kitchen stove had been 

 put into place, mother wanted to insert a piece of oil- 

 cloth beneath it. She was juat then alone in the house; 

 the stove was heavy, and would have oft'ered an insur- 

 mountable obstacle to almost anybody else, but not to 

 her. First she tried removing the lege, one at a time, l5ut 

 nearly brought the whole apparatus down, pipe and all. 

 Then she thought of a lever, and casting about for a good 

 one, discovered the musket in a corner of the store room. 

 Eureka! The gun was brought in, and set to the task. 

 As on every other occasion, it did its full duty, but when 

 the job was over, what a gun it was! Had it been loaded 

 and fhed at the top of the church steeple, the charge 

 would surely have blown a hole through the door. It 

 was too bad, for four generations had loved, prized and 

 revered the old Queen's Arm, and that it should meet its 

 fate in that unromantic manner was hard. After its 

 ruin, however, it was put away in the cellar with all its 

 record and associations, and its history ceased to be told. 

 I found it there the other day, in a search for something 

 else, and there it still hes, rusty, worm-eaten, a,nd almost 

 nothing but a memory. D. F, H, 



MAJOR MERRILL'S "BLACK WARRIOR." 



The story of the late Maj. Merrill's hors*^, "Black 

 Warrior," which we copy from a New York Herald of 

 November, 1857, is interesting, not only because it is the 

 record of a noble war horse, but also because it shows an 

 admirable feeling on the part of Black Warrior's master 

 —a regard for the faithful comrade of march and scout, 

 which provf d a warm heart and fidelity to friends. The 

 Herald said: "This remarkable war horse died in this 

 city last week at the advanced age of 28 years. He was 

 raised in Tennessee, and branded U, S, D, (United States 

 Dragoons) on the opening of the war in Florida, where 

 he served in the swampa and everglades to the close of 

 that inglorious campaign; after which, for several years 

 he was used in the chase of wild Indians, horse thieves, 

 border ruflians and at odd spells of foxf s, deer and buf- 

 falo, at the various military posts on the prairies west of 

 Arkansas. 



"Having marched all over the country, and swam all 

 Uie principal rivers between St. Augustine, Fla., and 

 Mexico, he was in the whole of the Mexican war, and 

 took an active part in nine general battles, having been 

 wounded by a musket ball at Molino del Rey, and again 

 by a piece of shell at Chepultap 'c. Peace be'ing restored, 

 Maj. Merrill was unwilling to part with his faithful com- 

 panion in arms, who had borne him successfully through 

 two wars, from the grade of second lieutenant to brevet 

 major, or to break him down with more service, and so 

 he Drought him Nortb and placed him on a 'retired list' 

 for life in this city with full rations, where he has been 

 cared for at the stables of Disbrow. the equestrian pro- 

 fe-sor. 



"He was ridden by Kossutb, and also by President 

 Pierce, on occasion of their triumphant entries into the 

 city of New York a few years since, and was uf ually rid- 

 den by Gen. Sanford on the r((Uith of July, and often by 

 Col, Duryea, at theheadof his famou- S venth Regiment, 



"He was never in harness, but was un. qusb d for disci- 

 pline and grace of movement under the saadle : very fond 

 of music, knowing his place and the word of command, 

 and the bugle call quite like an old soldier, was never 

 sick or lame for a day, or knovvn to fall or stumble: and 

 was remarkable for his great powers of endurance, ket p- 

 ing fat on prairie grass on long marches; a tine bloodfd 

 animal, of medium height and weight, perfectly sym- 

 metrical and beautiful in form, clean limbed, small head 

 well formed, bright, quick, handsome eyes, large thin 

 nostrils, red as fire when distended; very ppirited, yet 

 kind and gentle and very knowing, and possessing a 

 greater number of good points than any other of his con- 

 temporaries in the long line of his service, all of whom, 

 perhaps, he outlived. ' 



"Black Warrior may well ba elapsed along with the 

 Bucephalus, Copenhagen, Old Y/hitney and other cele- 

 brated chargers that have 'said among the trumpets, ha, 

 ha, and smelt the battle afar oft" the thunder of captains^ 

 and the shouting.' " 



Freaks of Bullets. 



If "Podgers" does not answer S. J. Norris'a query I 

 shall be very happy to do so, as I have often noticed this 

 "freak." Every rifle has two points, at which the bullet 

 and the line of sight strike the same point, viz., the near 

 and far point-blank, your rifle being sighted for 75ft.. 

 would have its near point-blank at about 25 ft. ; and pince 

 the lines of sight and fire converge at only 35 and 7,5ft. 

 the rifle would shoot low at 15ft,, the line of sight being 

 above the bullet. The flatter a rifle shoots the less will 

 be the difference in elevation of the two point-blanks 

 This difference is also modified by thickness of barrel and 

 height of front sight^ L D. von Ifpland, 



"Chained to Business." 



Office of ' The Workman." Pittsburg. Pa , Julf 14 —Puhmii 

 ersFureM and Stream: Omtlemen: sSnolasH'i please find 10 cei "s 

 tor the pictures oJ: ihe grizzly btai's bead, etc.. which vou offnT 

 in the last Dumber of your paper. To ihose of us who caDnot set 

 sway sour journal is an ever recurring ^ource of pleasure and 

 jov, and in imagination we can live over again all the former dp 

 lights of outings brought so vividly to our minds by the eranbir 

 and readable acoounta of your oorrespoadents. Yours truly, 



1), L. Pa^s.avans:. 



