350 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Oct. 21, 1898. 



Vermont Foxes and Beagles. 



BAETON-, Vt.— Editor Forest and Stream: Will give you 

 a, few notas for Hunting and Coursing columns; and I must 

 thank you for the same column, for I think we lovers of the 

 hounds are deserving of one. 



Well, I hate to run up against any such airy writer as "F. 

 J. H.:" but we are having some nice weather for foxhunt- 

 ing; heavy frosts and still days— and I have had the good 

 luck to credit mvself with five cases of murder in seven 

 hunts; and "F. J. 'H." may rest assured that it was no place 

 for him and his steed with wings to be fooling around where 

 these hunts were run. 



Foxes are plenty this fall, but soon the fellow with his 

 traps will be around. 



My beagles are doing finely. Sport R. that won reserve in 

 Boston '93, and that you spoke so highly of, has six nice- 

 marked ones by Ned (Flute M.— Pride). Pride was a 13in. 

 bitch bred by Dorsey and was as good a dog on fox as you 

 would wish to see work, and would stay up all day. Haida 

 has six by same dog, but what I am looking forward to is a 

 litter from Flash (Bannerman— Lou). These pups are sired 

 by Rattler, a son of Flute M. and Skip and I am in hopes 

 there will be another Frank Forest in the lot. Old Skip is 

 looking fine and takes her hunt alone or in company two or 

 three times each week; she is quite deaf. I think I shall take 

 her to Oxford just to show the boys what a good old beagle 

 is. She will be 12 years old in March. Sport R. I shall run 

 at Nanuet. Geo. F. Reed. 



• • • • 



The Northwestern Beagle Club's Trials. 



Those who are admirers of the miniature foxhound and 

 are interested in his advancment in the appreciation of the 

 public should not neglect such opportunities as are ofirered 

 by the trials of the Northwestern Beagle Club of America. 

 The sportsmen of America as a class are not informed of the 



Eractical qualities of beagles. One field trial in the open 

 elds will accomplish more to enhance the value and appre- 

 ciation of the breed than a thousand trials on paper. . Only 

 by real work can their value be demonstrated. The merry 

 ring of voices, the scurrying closely to a trail through open 

 'or cover, the intelligence displayed in solving puzzling prob- 

 lems left by the fugitive rabbit, will all form a part of the 

 work afield and a lesson for the spectators. Goodfellowship, 

 new acquaintance and a better understanding will attend 

 and follow a trial. For every reason, the beagle fancier 

 should strive to give the trials his personal and material 

 support, B. Waters. 



• • • • 



N. E. B. C. Meeting. 



A MEETING of the New England Beagle Club will be held 

 at the Bacon House, Oxford, Mass., Nov. 6, at 7:30 P. M., to 

 nominate oflicers for the ensuing year. Members are earn- 

 estly requested to attend. 



• • • • 



HUNTING AND COURSING NOTES. 



The entries for the National Beagle Club's coming trials 

 show that interest in the sport is spreading. Mr. Thomas 

 H. Terry's name is a new one in this particular field, and 

 that he enters two such good dogs as Glory and Millard 

 proves that he takes more than a passing interest in the 

 sport. Beagle men will also be pleased to see Mr. George F. 

 Reed's name among the entries. The Waklingfield Kennels, 

 owned by the Appleton brothers, are welcome additions to 

 the ranks of the '*practicals," as are Messrs. Welton, Schell- 

 hass, Becker, Mann, Hyland and Rusk. The number of 

 entries from the principal kennels is not so large this year 

 as last, the club in New England evidently having some 

 effect in this respect. Last year the sexes were dtvied in 

 both 15in. and 13in. classes, and polled four more entries 

 than this year, but we trust that when the draws take place 

 a large number will stay in this year, and this is very likely 

 to be the case. The Derby shows an increase of two entries 

 over last year. Taken altogether the list shows a healthy 

 progress, especially when we remember that there are two 

 other trials in prospect. 



• • • • 



The Bartels Brothers, of Denver, Col., take down a good 

 string of greyhounds to Goodland, Kan. It will consist of 

 Bon Bon, Border Ruffian, Bonny Belle, Billy Taylor and 

 Beau Brummell for the Puppy Stake and Boomerang in the 

 All-Age. They also intended tc take Monk Bishop along for 

 the All-Age, but he went lame a week or so ago, and his 

 training was stopped. Mr. Sam Vidler will take Buena- 

 rita for the All-Age, and Breakaway (one of the Bartels' 

 dogs), for the Puppy Stake. E. H. Shaw, of Wallace, Neb., 

 will have Beaconsfleld (Brabazoun— Daisy B.), a greyhound 

 he bought from Bartels Brothers, for the Puppy Stake, and 

 Hart Boals, of North Platte, Neb., will take two more of the 

 St. Patrick Kennels' breeding— Boal's Hope and Miss Cody 

 (both litter sisters to Breakaway and Beaconsfleld), for the 

 Puppy Stake. Mr. Bartels writes us that they are pinning 

 their faith to Bon Bon and Border Ruffian for the Puppy 

 StHke, while Boomerang, if he runs in his Great Bend form, 

 is expected to more than hold his own in the All-Age. 



• • • • 



The business meeting of the American Coursing Club will 

 probably be held at Goodland, Kan., during the coursing 

 7neeting there this week. The club may hold a coursing 

 meeting next spring at Great Bend, Kan. Aithough the 

 afi^^airs of the club have not been managed as well as they 

 might have been it will be a loss to coursing interests to see 

 its fixture abandoned. There are other localities, and prob- 

 abably better suited for the purpose, where they can hold 

 their 'annual coursing meet. Now that coursing is taking 

 such root among sportsmen it would be too bad for this club 

 to give up, 



• • • • 



Owing to our execrable chirography one or two typograph- 

 ical errors crept into our report of the Huron coursing. The 

 worst was when we were made to say "scent" instead of 

 "scut." Greyhounds do not follow by scent, but they know 

 a good thing when they see it. 



• • • • 



Mr. John Brett had to hurry home after the coursing at 

 Huron, S. D., to get his kennel in shape for a long absence, 

 as he intended starting south in a week or two. He will 

 take with him his Derby entries Maid Marion and Cactus, 

 who will be put through their final preparation for the trials 

 at Newton, N. C. 



• ■ • • 



It has been deemed advisable by the executive committee 

 of the Cowley County Coursing Association, to change the 

 date of its second annual meeting to Oct. 81, 1893, instead of 

 Nov. 7, as has been advertised. Mr. J. R. Ballard, Winfield, 

 Kan., is the secretary. 



• • • • 



Mr. W. H. Sweet, president of the Wallace County Cours- 

 ing Club, and E. H. Shaw were to leave Wallace, Neb., Oct. 

 10, and go overland to the Goodland meeting. It is 90 miles 

 across country. 



• • • • 



Mr. H. A. P. Smith, of Digby, N. S., before running his 

 foxhounds at the Brunswick Fur Club trials, will have a 

 week vsdth the New Hampshire reynards at North Dunbar- 

 ton. 



• • • • 



It is not unlikely that before long a National Coursing 

 Club will be formed to include the different coursing ^clubs 



of the country. There is a feeling that it is rather ridiculous 

 that these clubs should owe allegiance and be governed in 

 any way by a specialty club, whose officers, in most part, are 

 not practical coursing men, and whose affiliations are rather 

 with the dog show than the field. The officers of such a 

 club should be men who are thoroughly familiar with cours- 

 ing. 



Now that the eighth contest for the America Cup has gone into 

 history, it is pleasant to note that the races have passed ofE without 

 the least disagreement or ill-feeling, and with satisfaction to both 

 sides. In all of the immediate conditions of the races, the Cup com- 

 mittee, representing the New York Y, C, has displayed every con- 

 sideration for the wishes of the challenger, and the arrangements 

 have been perfectly fair to both sides. It has been proved, however, 

 that there are two things beyond the power of any committee, how- 

 ever able and fair it may be; it cannot insure wind for the races, and 

 it cannot control completely the host of excursion boats that will 

 crowd the course, whether at New York, Newport or Marblehead. 

 The police arrangements this year were more extensive and success- 

 ful than ever before, but both boats sulJered at times from the 

 ignorance or carelessness of the skippers of outside craft, tugs, 

 steamers, and even yachts. 



CoNsroERiNG the immense numbers of vessels present, there has been 

 no more cause for complaint than might naturally be expected, but 

 the captains, and in some cases the owners of some steamers have 



"VAiKKRIK" ROUNDING THE MARK. 



shown themselves in a very bad light. The main cause of the crowd- 

 ng is the keen competition among the rival steamers which carry 

 passengers at from $5 00 to SI. 00 per head. These boats have been 

 extensively advertised, and West Street has been aUve with runners 

 peddling tickets for them. 



One conspicuous offender has been the steamer Monmouth, owned 

 by the Central R. R. of New Jersey, one of the largest boats which 

 has followed the races. Her interference with the two racing yachts 

 was so marked that the influence of the New York Y. C. was at once 

 exerted to stop it; but her handling was no less objectionable in 

 another way that the club was not called on to take cognizance of. 

 From all appearances she was so maneuvered as to cutoff completely 



the view from smaller boats, her rivals for passengers, a proceeding 

 which netted additional dollars to her owners on the next race. 



No fair-minded man would justify the interference with the racing 

 boats, or even with the rights of other spectators, but a steamer which 

 has the reputation of running the closest to the yachts is sure of a 

 full load of passengers; and) after a man has spent a part of a day in 

 watching the side of a big steamer which cuts otf hia view of the 

 yachts, and has expressed at length his private opinion of the cap- 

 tain thereof, he must be more than human if he does not make up his 

 mind to pay his money for a place on that very boat in the next race, 

 thus encouraging the selfishness which he condemns. 



One petty swindle on the part of another steamer has come to our 

 notice. Two steamers took their passengers from the same pier, one 

 boat charging §3 and the other SI. The boat left the pier promptly 

 on time, but stopped in midstream. After her impatient passengers 

 had speculated some time over the cause of the delay, she put back to 

 the pier and took on board the passengers from the $1 steamer, and 

 after all this delay reached the Lightship too late for the start, to the 

 double disgust of those who had been tricked into paying ^2 for a $1 

 ride. 



The criticism has several times been made by British yachtsmen 

 and yachting journals that the weather conditions are habitually ex- 

 aggerated by the American papers, and that it is quite well grounded 

 is proved by the reports during the season in the New York Herald. 

 Anything more than a drift has been magnified into a fine sailing 

 breeze, while a wind in which clubtopsails were easily carried becomes 

 a cyclone or at least a gale of some appalling description. In the 

 same way a tide rip on the Sound is pictured as really rough water, 

 whUe a lop outside the Hook that sends an occasional dash of spray 

 over a tugboat's bow gives excuse for paragraphs of fine writing, de- 

 scriptive of a storm at sea. 



The weather conditions of the last trial race were grossly exagger- 

 ated, and the weather in the final race of Friday figured in big type 

 as "A Smashing Gale." After such an introduction, it is ridiculous to 

 read that the yachts carried topsails to windward, and that Vigilant 

 safely carried home before this "smashing gale" her clubtopsail, bal- 

 loonjibtopsail and largest spinaker. It is true that there was a gale a 

 thousand miles down the coast, and that in the evening after the race 

 was finished, the wind rose very rapidly, approaching a gale during 

 the night; but at the start the wind was not heavy, the shortening of 

 sail was due not to existing conditions at the start, but to the weather 

 reports and a falling barometer, and even after the wind had in- 

 creased, near the end, all kites were carried on Vigilant. Compared 

 with the Sound in August, there was quite a sea, but by any sailor's 

 understanding of outside conditions it might have been classed as 

 fairly smooth water; the yachts rolled and pitched some, but there 

 was no breaking sea. Once on a time the Herald was deservedly rated 

 as an authority on yachting, and such yarns as have appeared this 

 season would never have been tolerated in its columns. 



The increase of wind in the latter part of the final race seems to 

 have marked the breaking up of the light summer weather which has 

 prevailed since Valkyrie reached New York. That night and the next 

 morning the wind blew very heavily, and since then there has been a 

 strong westerly breeze and much colder weather. There would be no 

 trouble this week in finding wind enough to suit all parties 



One hardly looks for an international race without the accompani- 

 ment of a lot of fossilized old fables, and the present one is no excep- 

 tion; already three old and famihar friends of this sort are traveling 

 far and wide over the country in various guises. The chief of these is 

 the touching incident of the Queen and the Quartermaster, or "Your 

 Majesty, there is no Second," Next to this is the report industriously 

 circulated after every Cup contest that Mr. John Jameson, owner of 

 Irex and later of Iverna, is positively about to cl aUeoge with a new 

 cutter. In this same company is also found the explanation of vari- 

 ous British papers and would-be authorities, to the effect that the 

 centerboard did it all, and that the next challenger for the Cup must 

 be a centerboard craft. 



It is sad to shatter these fondly cherished myths, but not one of the 

 three has the slightest foundation in fact. In the race in which the 

 America won the Royal Yacht Squadron cup, since known by her 

 name, there not only was a second, but a vers' close one considering 

 the course and weather, the little cutter Aurora, of 47 tons, which fir. 

 ished but 23 minutes after the America, and would have won under 



'^VALKYRIE" ?N TOW. 



