102 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Aug. 4, 1894. 
head is that he knows it all and the dog knows nothing. 
When I train my pnppies I do not go into the woods expect- 
ing to kill a rabbit; I take my gun and walk along, letting 
the pup follow. I do not play with him in the woods, but 
slowly walk around, paying no attention apparently to the 
pup, yet my eye is on every move, and if curiosity or the 
natural hunting instinct cause him to turn to one side and 
smell about I remain just where he left me until his return. 
I say nothing to him, but remain perfectly still, so as not 
even to attract his attention. He, not finding me very good 
company, will soon begin to wander around in search of 
something to interest him, and possibly he may scare out a 
rabbit, but never by any means shoot his first rabbit near 
the pup, unless yon wish a gunshy dog. Wait until he gels 
to trailing and then shoot the rabbit. Do not go near it; let 
the pup find it if it takes all day, he will surely think he 
caught it, and you will be surprised to see how the hunting 
instinct will come out, 
There is a great deal of care required after this to develop 
the intelligence which lies in a hound, but at present I 
merely wish to show Mr. Ellis, "Agamak" and Mr. Robinson 
that when we wish to decide which is the best hound for 
rabbits (as I think that is the point under discussion) we 
should not, like Mr. Ellis, say that a sheep dog like Snyder, 
or the slow-pottering old Turk, or the rat-tailed Ranger are 
the only good rabbit dogs in the world just because he had 
bad luck with the beagle Question. Who was to blame — 
Mr. Ellis, the beagle or the trainer of the beagle? And why 
was he shooting at a rabbit unless his bitch or beagle was on 
its trail? I should just as soon think of shooting my grand- 
father down in cold blood as shoot a rabbit unless my dog 
was trailing it. I go very often into the woods with my dog 
and gun, and sitting down in a comfortable place near a 
rnnway for hares, watch them for hours as they pass me. 
And sometimes the hare will sit up and look at me with his 
big wondering eyes. I suppose you would give him about 
l%oz. No. 5 cold lead, but for the life of me I could not do it. 
I will shoot Mm just before 1 go home and on the run for his 
life ahead of my dog, or not at all. 
Now, "Agamak," perhaps you area little hasty in saying 
Mr. Ellis wished to stir up the beagle men; I don't think that 
is what he meant. He has related his experience as a novice 
at hunting, and wishes the experience of others to learn if he 
is right or which is the better dog. Remember, there was a 
time when you and I only thought of getting the rabbit no 
matter by what means employed; kill him anyway, even if 
you have to take a fish line, bend down a sapling and string 
him up. Thank goodness I have outgrown all this, and no 
doubt you have if you have been a constant reader of Fobest 
and Stream. 
And now, Mr. Robinson, you say you started your beagle 
on the track. What did you start it for? If your beagle 
was properly trained there was no need to start it. That is 
one of the reasons why I stated that many men were disposed 
to think they know it all, and the dogs know nothing; if 
your beagle was properly trained it would hunt its own 
tracks without your help. You also state that you and two 
other friends shot twenty-one rabbits and three quail with a 
foxhound, and the four fellows with four beagles got three 
rabbits. What argument is that against the beagle as a 
rabbit dog? First — How did you get three quail with a fox- 
hound? Second — Did you not have a great advantage in 
knowing your rabbit ground, and perhaps more experience 
in hunting them? Third— Do you always shoot twenty-one 
or more rabbits with your dog? 
It is a known fact if a man goes out just for the sake of 
killing he can kill more rabbits in a day with one good dog, 
used to hunting alone, than he can with three or four, be 
they ever so good, for there never were dogs so near alike but 
that they would bother each other when running together. 
Then again, some men are not — well, we will call it lucky, in 
hunting or fishing as others, but for mercy's sake, do not 
blame the poor dogs. 
To sum this all up and to do justice to all dogs in a con- 
servative manner, without prejudice to any, I will state that 
I have hunted, raised and trained hounds for thirty years, 
from the mongrel, so called, to the pedigreed blue blood fox- 
hound and beagle, for rabbit, fox and coon. For an all-round 
dog for fox give me a foxhound; for coon, a mongrel, half 
hound and shepherd dog; for rabbits give me the beadle, and I 
wilil state here that I can shoot more foxes with a beagle, if 
especially trained for them, as they do not scare a fox so 
much with their musical voices. 
I like a beagle for rabbits because a beagle can follow a 
rabbit trail on dry leaves, where a foxhound cannot get a 
smell, likewise on a crust or wet swamp. They are not so 
excitable and erratic, and will follow their trail steadily, in- 
stead of chasing sheep, like old Snyder, or "anything from a 
squirrel to a deer," like friend Robinson's hound. It is the 
beagles' nature, bred and born in them, to stick to what 
they are trained for. It is claimed that a beagle cannot run 
in snow a foot deep; my beagles will run or crawl in snow 
four feet deep from morn until night, where the best rabbit 
foxhound I ever saw gave up in one round, having gone in 
to his neck at every jump, while the little beagle crawled on 
top. I have one now, the mother of it from Mr. Reed's (of 
Vermont) stock, which began to run when five months old 
and ran every day last winter, Sundays excepted. In snow, 
blow, rain or sunshine, crust or no crust, she will average 
ten hours a day for five days, a week. This summer, right in 
the scorching sun she is running now, while I am writing, 
on the hill near by, and is only sixteen months old this 
month. There were over 150 hares shot ahead of her this 
winter. 
Never strike a beagle, they are timid, but talk to them just 
as you would a human being, and they quickly learn to un- 
derstand. Besides being rabbit dogs, they are the best house 
pets also; always neat and clean, and very affectionate, and 
so handy to take in a carriage or sleigh, for they will lie in 
your lap and help keep your hands warm on a cold ride. 
On, 1 could write forty more pages on beagles and fox- 
hounds; on training and their doings, but this letter is too 
long already. Colombia. 
Clabemont, N. H., July 22. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
The beagle is perhaps the true and proper form of dog for 
hunting the rabbit, and it is not the purpose of this writing 
to decry the handsome little fellows which the breeders are 
striving so hard to bring to the front as an ideal hunting dog 
for those who, like myself, are fond of shooting "Br'er Rab- 
bit," careering in front of two or three couples of these musi- 
cal-voiced little dogs. But it is not always possible for every 
man to find just the Simon-pure beagle that will suit him; 
they, like many another good thing, cost money, and if the 
man who would have a pack is not wealthy, he is forced to 
buy puppies or breed his pack if he would economize, and 
any one who has tried this experiment knows just what it 
means; time, patience and something of skill to properly 
break the pack to the gun and whistle, ere he has just what 
he wants. It is commonly supposed that a beagle will break 
himself, his blood and general make-up preparing him for 
the chase; but it has been my experience that these dogs will 
stand all the training that any other dog needs to fit them to 
hunt with any degree of pleasure to the hunter. 
The blue-blooded beagle is a hunter, as game as any other 
animal with blood; but this breed has not the advantage of 
years of association with man and the influence of genera 
tions of trained progenitors, hence they are not always the 
easiest to control, and sometimes will not submit to control 
at all. The rabbit dog, on the other hand, is always with us: 
you can buy a carload of him at almost any price and of all 
degrees of excellence, and at the risk of being considered a 
pessimist, I must confess that, in my opinion, the good- 
looking rabbit dog, showing as much blood as possible and 
something larger than the standard-bred beagle, is for some 
countries— like my own, for instance— a better dog than his 
more highly-bred competitor. 
Where I live the cover is rank, the rabbits hunted until 
cunning as foxes, and it needs a dog with long legs to push 
them so that the gun gets a chance. It is all very well to 
have a pack of blue bloods, nothing better, if all are first- 
class dogs, for then you know just what, to expect, but put 
a genuine rabbit dog or two into the pack, and my word for 
it, the latter will have the rabbit ruu to the gun or into a 
hole almost before the little fellows get well warmed up on 
the trail. 
The prevailing sentiment of the writers on such subjects 
seems to be that the mere pleasure of hearing the dogs run 
is sufficient return for the trouble of going afield; but I have 
long since come to the conclusion that this sounds better on 
paper than it operates in actual practice. We go hunting 
tor pport and for game, and while the music of the dogs is 
all very well for the time, it does not fill the empty game 
pockets worth a cent; any man with a love of sport can en- 
joy a good race with his beagles and not kill a thing but 
time, that is all right in its place, but sentiment does not go 
very well when a man gets away from business for a day's 
sport and returns at night with nothing more substantial as 
a result of his day than the remembrance of the canine sym- 
phonies he has heard. Now, if this is so, we want a dog to 
go right down to business, and as I have said, if the ordinary 
sportsman wants dogs for rabbit hunting he is forced to get 
a rabbit dog or go without; and if he does get the right kind 
of such a dog, technically known as a "nigger dog" or "meat 
hound," he is going to have some superb sport, such sport 
as will easily console him for the good-natured jibes and 
taunts of his more exclusive friends, who are able to buy the 
pure quill, and perhaps if in company with them for a day 
turn the tables on them by the superior work of his plebian 
stock. 
A recent article in these columns reminded me ol the ex- 
perience I had several years ago when I wanted a rabbit dog. 
I had just moved into the country, and just as soon as it 
became known that I wanted to buy a dog, my place was 
simply taken by storm. At almost any time in the day a 
dog and a man or boy, might have been seen, either negotiat- 
ing a sale or making their way toward the house for the same 
purpose; all were first-class dogs, of course; that was under- 
stood at the offstart; pedigree or kind of dog had nothing to 
do with their ability as rabbit dogs, certainly not; a big 
woolly dog or a bull-terrier, it was always the same; it is or 
was the best rabbit dog in the world. I think, without ex- 
aggeration, there must have been twenty-five dogs brought 
in for inspection, only to be turned down, with some emphasis 
toward the last, the hunting season finding me still dogless. 
With the open season came a different strain of dogs for in- 
spection, something more like what I wanted. I remember 
one pair of black and tans; they were beauties, and their 
owner was a sportsman, too. We turned them down in my 
orchard one morning, and in a few minutes they were off on 
a hot trail; they ran like fiends, but in a few minutes they 
lost, and after some time spent in trailing gave it up and 
came in. This happened a dozen times during the morning 
and at noon the owner called them in and left, disgusted, 
volunteering no excuse, but very sore, for he had boasted not 
a little of the staying qualities of the pair. I did not then 
know as much as I do now or I would have bought that pair; 
the explanation of their poor running was easy to one with 
experience; the weeds were high, the day dry, and the dogs 
out for the first time that season. Afterward when they 
were in better shape I hunted over the same pair and killed, 
with a companion, eighteen "cottontails" without an error 
on the part of the dogs. 
Billy Fieles, he of Christiana, though he then lived in Bal- 
timore, finally filled the bill for me and the bitch I got from 
him, albeit somewhat old, is still the pride of my heart ; a 
rabbit-dog pure and simple, though showing signs of good 
blood somewhere in her breeding, for, while over the stand- 
ard size, measuring seventeen inches at the shoulder, her 
long, drooping ears and hound head, and her softly blended 
black and tan markings, make her a pictuie worthy of an 
artist's brusn. In the field she is a grand hunter, using both 
ear and eyes as well as nose ; many times I have seen her 
leave a hot trail after scanning the vicinity and rush to a 
clump of briers or a rail pile, routing bunny out of his form 
while the other dogs were still puzzling over the trail. She 
will find woodcock and open as they flush, and I have killed 
many Bob Whites with her. (This dog is not for sale, or, 
thank heaven, she is not the best dog in the wot Id, only a 
reasonably intelligent animal that it was a pleasure to train, 
responding with affection to every advance of her master 
and friend.) 
Just at present I have a pair of genuine "nigger dogs," 
perfect little beauties, too, looking something like beagles, 
nice size and the most remorseless little fiends on a rabbit's 
trail I ever saw, and as intelligent as could be desired, but, 
alas, without the sign of a pedigree. With these and the 
other mentioned above I have had rare sport, hope to have 
more in the near future, and probably to my discredit, would 
not swap the trio for the same number of pedigreed dogs 
even if I could find any one fool enough to offer me such a 
deal. Samuel J. Fort, M.D. 
Ellicott City, Md. 
Altcar Club Meeting. 
We have not heard from Mr. L. F. Bartels, of Denver, 
Col. , for some time, but when he does favor us with a com- 
munication it is generally worth publishing. This time he 
tells us that at a meeting of the executive committee of the 
Altcar Club held at Denver July 24, they mapped out the 
following programme: 
Altcar Stakes for aged greyhounds, 32 or more, $10 entrance 
for members and $12 50 for non-members, $150 added money, 
with 50$ entrance money to first, 25$ to second and 12%% to 
third and fourth each. 
Colorado Stakes for dog puppies, 8 or more, entrance $7.50 
for members and $10 for non-members, $50 added money, with 
50$ of entrance money to first, 25% to second and 12%% to third 
and fourth each. 
Holyoke Stakes for bitch puppies, 8 or more, with prizes 
same as Colorado Stakes. 
The club will retain 10% of all entrance moneys to help 
defray expenses. The meeting will be held at Holyoke, Col., 
(on the Burlington Railroad), on Nov. 6 and days following. 
They have secured the services of E. H. Mulcaster as judge 
and Ralph L. Taylor as slipper. Wallace, Neb., boys have 
promised that they will hold a meeting the wees following 
the Altcar meeting. This ought to bring a number of 
entries. 
Mr. Bartels informs us that Wallace is only sixty miles 
from Holyoke on the same railroad. Greyhound owners 
intending to run dogs can therefore take in these two meet- 
ings without having to travel all over the country and 
"jinning" the dogs all up. Holyoke, Col., is an enterprising 
city in the eastern part of Colorado; the citizens are thor- 
ough sportsmen, and have lent material assistance to all 
sports in their part of the country. The Burlington railroad 
have assured the club of their material assistance, and, adds 
Mr. Bartels, you all know what it means if the Burlington 
does anything — nothing half-way about it. 
Further our correspondent says: But the best piece of 
news 1 have for you is this. During an animated discussion 
as to the merits of some of the more prominent greyhound 
sires, between a number of our members, I suggested that we 
have a Produce Stake next year. At our executive commit- 
tee meeting of the Altcar Club the matter was again brought 
up, with the result that the club has decided to give a Produce 
Stake in the fall of 1895 for the produce of 1894. Nominations 
are to close on Nov. 6, 1894. Entrance money .is to be divided 
50 per cent, to first, 25 per cent, to second, and 12% per cent, 
each to third and fourth. The entrance fee is of which 
$2.50 is to accompany the nomination, and the balance, $2.50, 
is to be paid before the draw for the Aged Stake at our next 
meeting in the fall of 1895. It is safe to say that the follow- 
ing well known sires will be represented: Lord Neversettle, 
Trales, Babazoun, Miller's Rab, Boomerang, Glenkirk, Royal 
Crest and Norwegian. You can count on the Colorado boys 
entering at least thirty, as we have pledged ourselves to 
do it. 
A good Produce Stake will do more to enhance the inter- 
ests of the greyhound fancier than any other stake. As this 
is the first Produce Stake for America, we earnestly ask the 
co-operation of all greyhound fanciers, coursers and sports- 
men. Let us have a number of nominations, so that the 
stake will be well worth winning. It will be the aim of the 
Altcar Club to add a suitable purse or piece of plate. 
The boys are all anxious for Fall to come, to get out with 
their dogs. Some of them have commenced to "road their 
dogs" already, preparatory to training them. 
HUNTING AND COURSING NOTES. 
The next meeting of the National Beagle Club's field trial 
committee will be held at the A. K. C. rooms, 44 Broadway, 
New York, on Aug. 9, at 3 P. M. As the several committees 
appointed to arrange matters for the club's trials will report 
at this meeting a full attendance is desired so that definite 
action can be taken. The club will give settled money prizes 
so that those who run dogs at these trials will know just 
what they are out for. A new rule this year is that all entries 
must be entered in the A. K. C. Stud Book, and while this 
will debar two or three undoubted beagles whose pedigrees 
in the early generations have been "lost," still in the long 
run it will be beneficial and preclude any such unfortunate 
contretemps as occurred last year when Pade played havoc 
with the blue bloods. Mr. B. S. Turpin will be one of the 
judges and is a good choice; the other will be a beagle man 
who has not yet officiated in that capacity, but is said to 
know his business. Altogether, given a good country, the 
coming trials promise to be a greater success than ever. 
Mr. Chapman unsettles us with an invitation to run up 
and see him in the wilds of Maine where he is busy with his 
beagles, holding out visions of trout and bass fishing difficult 
to resist these humid days. Mr. Chapman has a number of 
Mr. Manice's dachshunds, in training for the fall trials and 
is able to take a few more dogs as he has ample facilities for 
training young hounds, being in the heart of a good game 
country, about five miles from Bucksport, Me. 
The Forest and Stream is put to press each week on Tues- 
day. Correspondence intended for publication should reach 
us at the latest by Monday, and as much earlier as practicable. 
faceting. 
FIXTURES. 
2. Rochester, Squad. Sail and Re- 13 
view, Charlotte, L. Ontario. 16 
3. Manchester, Ch. Ren., Mass. B. 
4. Squantum, Ladies' Day, Squan- 16- 
tum, Mass 
4. Cape Cod, Club, Orleans. 17. 
4. Beverly, Club Cham., Monu- 18. 
ment Beach. 18. 
4. Fox Lake, Club, Fox Lake, 111. 18. 
4 Lynn, Expert Cup, Lynn, Mass. 
4 Winthrop, Club, Boston Har. 18. 
4. Indian Harbor, An. Regatta, 
L. I. Sound. 18. 
4. Douglaston, Open, L. I. Sound. 
4-5. San Francisco Cor., Cruise, 18. 
Sausalito. 
6. New York, Annual Cruise, Ren- 18. 
dezvouB Glen Cove. 20. 
7. New York, Serni -Centennial 
Race, Glen Cove. 21. 
7-8. Interlake Y. A., 1st Meet, 25. 
Put-In Bay, Lake Erie. 
9. Rochester, Club Sail,Charlotte, 25. 
Lake Ontario. 25. 
9. Interlake Y. A., Cruise, Lake 
Erie. 25. 
10. Manchester, Ch. Pen., Mass. B. 
10- 11-13. Atlantic City Cor., Special 25. 
Midsummer Races, Atlantic 
City. 25. 
11. Cape Cod, Club, Orleans. # 25. 
11. Cleveland, Ladies' Day. 25. 
11. N. Y. Bay, Club, N. Y. Harbor. 
11. Hempstead Bay, Club, Hemp- 25 
stead Bay. 25 
11. Sea Cliff, An., L. I. Sound. 
11- 12. San Francisco Cor., Cruise, 27. 
Petaluma Bridge. 30. 
11. Plymouth, Club, Plym. Harbor 
Schoodic, Open, St. Andrews. 
Rochester, Ladies' Day, Char- 
lotte, Lake Ontario. 
17-18. Corinthian, Midsummer 
Series, Marblehead. 
Manchester, Ch. Pen., Mass. B. 
Fox Lake , Club, Fox Lake, 111. 
Cape Cod, Club, Orleans. 
American, Seaver Cup New- 
buryport. 
Beverly, Sweeps, West Fal- 
mouth. 
Indian Harbor, Ladies' Day 
Race, L. I. Sound. 
Sea. Cor., 21ft., Roosevelt Mem- 
orial Cup, Oyster Bay. 
Douglaston, Open, L. I. Sound. 
Rhode Island, Open, Narra 
gansett Bay. 
Fail River, Open. 
Atlantic City Cor., Open, 
Muckle Cup, Atlantic City. 
Quincy, Open, Dorchester Bay. 
fcsquantum, Club Squantum, 
Mass. 
Indian Harbor, 22£t., Naphtha 
Launches, L. 1. Sound. 
Cor. Mus. Fleet, Ann., New 
Rochelle. 
N. Y. Bay, Club, W. Y. Harbor. 
Knickerbocker, Club, L. I. S'd. 
Columbia, Open. Chicago,Lake 
Michigan. 
Cor. Ptaila., Sweeps, Del. River. 
86. San Francisco Cor., Cruise, 
California City. 
Schoodic. 3d Cup, St, Andrews. 
Rochester, Club Sail,Charlotte 
Lake Ontario. 
Larchmont Y. C— 21 -Footers and Cabin Cats. 
LAKCHMONT— LONG ISLAND SOUND. 
Saturday, July 28. 
The third race of the series for the 21-f ooters was sailed off Larch- 
mont, on July 28, in connection with a race of cabin catboats for the 
prize given by Mr. F. W. Flint. The course for the 21-footers was 
from off the Harbor, around the Scotch Caps buoy, then around the 
buoy off Execution and home, two rounds. The cats sailed the Hemp- 
stead— Matinnicock course, 13 miles, naut. The little boats started at 
12:15 P. M. and the cats at 12:25 B. M., the former being a one-gun and 
the latter a time start. The wind was light from S. W.. but freshened 
considerably as the race progressed. Only two of the new boats came 
to grief, Maysie hung her fin up on the mooring line of a markboat 
at the start and was disqualified, while Hoodoo lost her forward 
centerboard just before the start. The times were: 
21ft. class. 
Finish. Elapsed. 
Dorothy .2 48 05 2 33 05 
Vaquero ...2 49 09 2 34 09 
Houri 2 51 12 2 36 12 
Blonde and Brunette 2 54 20 2 39 20 
Ceha 2 55 30 2 40 30 
Flirt 3 01 05 2 46 05 
Adelaide 3 01 10 2 46 10 
Minnetonka 3 01 45 2 46 45 
May sie » Disqualified. 
Hoodoo Disabled. 
CABIN CAT CLASS. 
Start. Finish. Elapsed. Corrected. 
Mary 12 25 30 2 31 21 2 05 51 2 05 51 
Almira 12 25 54 2 33 33 2 07 89 2 07 21 
Myrtle 12 27 06 5 40 50 2 13 44 2 11 02 
Onoway 12 26 41 2 37 10 2 10 29 3 06 47 
Kittie 12 25 25 2 41 28 2 16 03 2 05 02 
Win or Lose 12 25 47 . 2 42 22 2 16 35 not m'd. 
