FOREST AND STREAM, 
[Af m 3, 1897. 
'lu Menml 
F I XT U R ESt 
BENCH SHOWS. 
March 30-April 2.— Baltimoke.— Baltimore Kernel Assrciation. 
March 30-ApriI 2.— Kansas City.— Kansas City Kennel Club. 
March 81-April 3— S^n Josfi.— Santa Clara County Poultry and 
Kennel Club. 
April 7-10.- Stockton— Stockton Kennel Club. 
April 14-17.— Los Angeles.— Southern California Kennel Club. 
FIELD TRIALS. 
Sept. 6.- Manitoba Field Trials Club, Jlorris, Man. 
Nov. 2.— Monongahels Valley Game and Fish Protective AsEOci- 
ation's trials, Greene county. Pa. 
Nov. 8.— Union Field Trials Club's trials, Carlisle, Ind. 
Nov. 15.— E F. T. Club's trials, Newton, N. C. 
"DAT Ll'LE ALABAMA COON." 
"Away down South in the land o' cotton, 
'Simmon seed and a sandy bottom, 
Look away, look away, look away 
To Dixie Land!" 
''Yo' all is all too pow'ful tired ter go coon huntia' ter- 
night, ain't yer, gen' men?" 
The group of huntftnpn who were comfortably settled 
around the log-fire of thfir heaven upon earth, the Wilder- 
ness Club, looked up at the stalwart form of the negro who 
emerged from the unknown regions of the darkness without 
and addressed them. 
"Whut's put coon buntin' io your bead, Pete?" the Colonel 
asked languidly. The feast whicb they bad bad of savory 
mallards and teal done to a turn, and of squirrels barbecued 
;1 
"thb fur begins to fly " 
as only the club cook could do them, together with the re- 
membrance of the strings of game, including wild turkeys 
ai'd geese, banging in the cold outside air, did not predispose 
the party to violent exertion even if they had not spent the 
day on the lake or in wading about its marshy borders waist 
deep in its proverbial tules and lilypads 
Pete's anxious eyes roved from one face to another, t?king 
in with a sigh their universal expression of post prandial 
satisfaction, as, laying down his axe and sack, he answered: 
"Nuthin' 't all, boss, 'cep'in' ez I wus comin' th'ongh de 
woods dat yaller dorg uv mine done treed er coon, an' I says 
ter myee'f, 'Some deua fine gen'men down ter de club '11 show 
wanter see er coon an' derg fight! Why, gen'men, they ain't 
nary dorg widin dis county ez kin hoi' er light ter my yaller 
dorg— jes' tother day he — " 
"See any possums, Pete?" There were too many adven- 
tures and stories to be told to allow Pete's verbosity. 
"Possums, did I heah yer say? Why, Lord! dey's thick- 
er'n blackberries in fly lime! An' dey's d»ne eat dem 'sim- 
mons an' grapes 'tel dey's so fat dey faihly makes yo' mouf 
water !" His eyes shone at the mere recollection. 
The Colonel turned to the Commander: "Pete reminds 
me of that old joke of Bob's; evah heah him tell it, sir? 
Whut, never heard Bob— but of cou'se you couldn't when 
you 'e evahlastin'ly wanderin' 'round on ther watah ! No- 
body in this woT can tell er joke like Bob, but he says 'that 
^ "You don't say!" and this time the laugh was on the Com- 
mander. 
At that the man who had hunted with Bogardus, who had 
shot deer in the Adirondacks, buffalo on the plains, moose 
in the great Northwest of Canada, and could show the hides 
and horns of strange creatures from across the seas, captured 
in their native haunts, jumped up and cracked his heels to- 
gether: "I don't know what Bogardus would say to such 
hunting," he cried, "but I'll find out if the old lady was 
right. Will any of you gentlemen join me?" 
Despite the fact that they bad been awake "sence long 
'fo'e day," as their negro cook expressed it, and, except for 
the time spent in ravishing the goodly table spread for them, 
had been steadily hunting all the time, three of the men 
responded, and with the joyous shouts of schoolboys they 
followed Pete out into the night. 
Did you ever step from an overheated room into the crisp, 
frosty night air, when the firmament above was spangled 
o'er with diamond dust wrought into a myriad of patterns, 
which were accentuated here and there with solitaires? To 
suddenly be in the wilderness, far from the madding crowd, 
where e'en the organ-throated voice of Nature was hushed 
and still under the glistening coverlet of rime, when the 
crispneas made the twigs and dead leaves crackling under 
foot the only sound that broke the silence of the night? 
Nay, not the only sound, for as you stealthily pursue your 
way the barking of the dogs comes quick and sharp, the 
flarfling torch comes to a staudstill, the shadowy figures ges- 
ticulate wildly in the weird half-light as the negro guide 
strips off his coat, and tying the sleeves around the boll 
of a tree rushes forward in the footsteps of the frantically 
barking dogs. 
A "Hie there! What are you up to?" elicits the response 
from Pete: "Hit's al'right, boss; they's er possum up de 'sim- 
mon tree an' er coon down in de holler!" 
Maily following, we arrive in time to see two glistening 
balls of fire gleaming at us in the darkness, and then, as 
the torch is carried nearer, we witness the gamest fight im- 
aginable. 
Surrounded by a ring of enemies, with his back against a 
tree and no hope of escape, the coon stands his ground cour- 
ageously, ready to fight to the death. 
One moment only he stands there alone, facing his deadly 
foes; the next he is the center of a scrambling, and scratch- 
ing, and snarling, a biting and barking and yelping mass, 
exhibiting a boxing match worthy of a belt winner, and re- 
ceiving yells of encouragement from the men as the fur 
begins to fly and the combatants close in. 
"Sic him, Tige!" 
"Whut's de mattah wid yo', sir?" 
"Name o' goodness, look at dat coon!" 
"Whut's come over dat yaller dorg?" 
Pollowed by a shout of joy as the "yaller dorg," thus en- 
couraged, fiercely seizes the coon by the chest and crushes 
him until he ceases to struggle. 
"Whut 1 done tole yer?" is all that Pete can say, as he 
pats the head of his "yaller" mongrel amid the plaudits of 
the hunters, and then dropping the coon into the sack leads 
the way back to the treed possum. 
To get the branch of a tree between you and the new-risen 
moon, to decipher the silhouette of what appears to theun- 
HOMEWARD BOUKD. 
"DK HACOOON HAB a R.INGT TAIL." 
trained eye a mere bunch of leaves, to insist that you rec- 
ognize the outlines of another possum on what the guide 
assures you is a bunch of mistletoe or a squirrel's nest; to 
see the coat sleeves, whicb have kept the possum prisoner 
during your absence, untied, and the persimmon tree vigor- 
ously shaken by the negro until the mass of leaves, or fur, or 
what not, falls to the ground and lies there passive, while 
the dogs snarl and bite at it; to see the negro pick it up and 
wind its tail around his axe helve, which he swings over his 
shoulder as he explains; "No, sah, 'tain't no danger uv dia 
heah varmint er droppin' off, he'd h.ang on all day ef I was 
ter tote him 'roun' ; he ain't dead, sah. Ain't yer never heerd 
uv possumin?" — is but the work of a short time, and then the 
forest resounds and lake re-echoes the shouts of the return- 
ing hunters proclaiming their success to the friends who 
await them at the fireside. 
Bob-tailed Bulger and Tige, which from a long ancestry of 
abbreviated curs were born curtailed, were the canine 
heroes in the strife. After bagging old Zip coon and hook- 
ine the possum's tail around the axe helve, and turning their 
inward eyes toward sweet 'taters and possum soup, with 
Dinah and the pickaninnies, Gabe and Pete brushed their cot- 
ton-picking chicken-stealers across their banjos, and while 
Sam patted with hand and foot they chanted and intoned 
with Afric melody, in the heart of that cane brake "mash:" 
The Black BasS Season in New York. 
JacobstaB'f sends us the following note written by his 
friend W. L. Stone, of Mt, Vernon, and printed in the Sun, 
relative to the proposed change of the black bass close season 
to run from Oct. 15 to June 30. 
' 'Now the fact is that in Brant Lake, Warren county, 
New York— and I myself stocked that lake in 1875 with bass 
sent me by Seth Green — the bass did not spawn until July. 
Therefore this proposed enactment, if passed, will, so far as 
Brant Lake is concerned, be entirely nugatory. Indeed, I 
know of two sportsmen (?) from New York city who, 
knowing of this tact, come up regularly each season "in July 
and catch large quantities of that fish (often hundreds of 
pounds) directly Irom off the spawning beds; and for this 
reason, viz. : It may not be generally known that the mother 
bass (or any other fish for that matter), while on their spawn- 
ing beds and engaged in protecting their young fry, in their 
search after food eagerly seize on any bait that appears. 
Hence the anxiety of the mother fish to procure all the food 
possible for their young just hatched out, rendering the bass 
(generally a very shy tish) utterly reckless in procuring their 
food. I would suggest, therefore, that the closed seaiaon be 
from Oct. 1 to Aug, 1. 
"Again there is another point which this game commission 
does not apparently take any account of, viz. : that they 
cannot make general regulations to suit each particular case. 
For instance, near the confluence of the Boreas River with 
the Hudson there are two large lakes — "ponds" the hunters 
call them — within one-quarter of a mile from each other, 
and known respectively as (he "Upper" and "Lower" 
Beaver and filled with trout. Now in the "Lower Beaver" 
the trout spawn in September, while in the "Upper Beavor" 
the latter part of October, It is thus seen how lutile it is for 
the commission to make a universal law on this subject 
which shall cover each case. 
"The remedy for this, it seems to me, is for the commis- 
sion carefully to investigate these facts and make a law 
which shall cover all cases, even if it does curtail the "open 
season, " for it will at once be seen that in the case of these 
two takes a "pot fisherman" may obey the law in regard to 
one pond, while he exhausts a month later the other pond, 
and all within the law." 
Lons -Distance Casting. 
EscASTABA, Mich., March 23. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Some twelve or fifteen years since some of the young men of 
New York complained bitterly because Seth Green and 
Reuben Wood won all the prizes at fly-casting. I joked 
them in Forest anb Stream and called them boys, and 
advised them to improve their tackle and practice, as I saw 
no reason why one should not reach from 90 to 100ft. Soon 
after that Dr. Henshall gave me a big shot and warned peo- 
ple to look out for anyone who made such a statement — "as 
it could not be done." The next year Mr. Prichard cast 
over 90ft. ; since over 100ft. has been done, Thos. Mans- 
field's cast I do not like; the papers say he stood on the dock, 
but fail to say how high above the water. The caster 
should be the same as if in a boat. A. F, Y. 
The Nepigon Trout Record. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
ijjin a recent issue of Forest ajsd Stream on the large fish 
caught in the Nepigon River was a 16lb, trout. This should 
read "lake trout," as the largest speckled trout caught in the 
Nepigon (that is on record) weighed 81bs. 2oz., and was 
caught with a fly by a gentleman from Pniladelphia. 1 re- 
ported this to FoREs r and Stream at the time. If a 161b. 
speckled trout was ever caught in the Nepigon it is unknown 
to anyone around that place. John E. Newsomb. 
[The 161b. brook trout of the Nepigon was caught, if at all, 
mure than twenty years ago by Dr. Hoy. This fibh has so 
long had a place in brook trout records or legends that we 
are not disposed to dismiss it summarily upon such testimony 
as given by Mr. Newsome.] 
Fishing Tackle. 
It is a pleasure to record the fact that some of our leading manu- 
facturing firms deserve all of tde good fortune that may come to 
them. Owing to their .vtraignt for ward dealing.s, Messrs. Abbey & 
Imbrie, 18 Vesey street. New Yorlr, are a notable example of the 
above, as they have been in business— as they put it— '"seventy-seven 
honest years," and distinctly owe their success to the quality and 
style of their manufactures and honest method of doing business. 
We are just in receipt of their handsome illustrated catalogue for the 
season of 1897, which they will mail free on request to anyone who is 
Interested in flshiog tackle. Upon looking over the catalogue it will 
be noted that they ha\e a very large numoer of specialties peculiar 
to themselves, also a number of novelties which they are pulling on 
the market for the first lime this season. Everyone knows that the 
trade mark of Aboey & Imone means sterling quality. Write to 
them for information in relation to fishing tackle or for advise as to 
"what will catch fish anywhere they are to be found," mentionuig 
Forest and hTBsAsi.- ^dw. 
Fishing Tackle and Sportsmen's Goods. 
We have received the following card, which speaks for itself. W. R. 
Scott (for many years in churiie of the flshiug tackle department of 
Dame, Sioddard & Kendall, of Boston) will open his new store at No. 
5sb Bromfleld street (up one flight) on or about April 6, with a finely 
selected stock of goods for tne angler and sportsman. New gooris, 
low prices and close personal attention given lo orders, bpeclal care 
and promptness in response to mail orders. Tackle for salmon, 
trout, bass and salt-water fishing, and for trolling in the lakes. Flies 
and leaders of every pattern and style for iviaine and Canadian fish- 
ing. 
Information furnished regarding Maine, New Hampshire and 
Canadian fishing and hunting resorts, and namts and addresses of 
good guides given on application — Adv. 
Salmon Fishing; for Sale. 
Freehold, on the best fishing waters of the southwe tMiramichi 
River (Burnt Hill), For terms and particulars apply to Thomas J, 
Conroy, Srf John street, New York city. — Adv. 
"Angling Talks." 
We have a very few copies of George Dawson's "Angling Talks," a 
series of chapters of entertaining chat about men, fishermen, nsh, 
Itehing and fishing places. Cloth, 50 cents. Forest and Stream tub- 
lishuig Co. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
ANbttYokk city reader who sends his paper to a friend in the 
country received from him a letter the other day which ran: 
"Your papers arrive in due season, and thank you very much for 
them, 'i'he Forest and Stream is my favorite paper. It does a fel 
low good to draw his chair close by the fire on a cold winter's night 
and read a good hunting story like those found in Forest and 
Stream. It sends the blood coursing through your veins, and makes 
you feel like shouldering jour gun and going out the very next 
one linie up in his mountains they wus bavin' er quiltin'— > 
kinder ole-fashioned pahty, yo' know — an' while the young 
folks wus courtin' an' holdin' hands in ther dark cornders thar 
wus er warm an' animated discussion amoner ther ole ladies 
as ter whut wus ther mos' delightful produc' uv ther garden. 
One ole lady said thet so 'fur' as she wus 'consarned' she 
preferred ther 'perturnip;' another preferred ther 'pertater;' 
another ther 'cowcumber,' and still another voted 'ingern' 
king But suddenly a wise ole dame raised her spec's an' 
settled the question by observing: 'Ah, latiies, you may talk 
about yer perlurnips, an' yer pertalers, an' yer passtiip?, an' 
other gyaidin-sass, but the sweetest wegetable thet evah 
mfltea on the e ole gums o' m ne is ther possum !" 
When the laughter which always follows Bob's jokes had 
abated somewhat, the Commander asked: "And who is Bob?" 
"Well," drawled the Colonel, "right at this present settin' 
of ther cou't he ain't nobody in partic'lar, but in Ma'ch he'll 
be, for the third time, Guv'ner of the State of Tennessee." 
"De raccoon hab a ringy tail, 
De possum's tail am bare, 
De ole bar's got no tail at all, 
And no tail's got de bear. 
Ob, dem golden slippers, 
We's climbin' fcodes de stars." 
Ella M. "Whuatley. 
Memphis, Tenn. 
A Dog Worth Two Field Hands. 
Bob Payne mourns the loss of his wonderful dog, whose 
biography we gave in the Enterprise last year, and whose 
forte was worming tobacco. This dog, it is claimed, actual- 
ly repaired daily to the tobacco patch and carefully sought 
for and destroyed the worms which prey on the plant. He 
is now at rest from his labors, and Mr. Payne says he will 
have to hire two hands to take his place in the tobacco 
field. — Lebanon {Ky.) Enterprise. 
