Juke 26, 1397. J 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
11 
ing the club's stakes. As the time is short between now and 
the dosing of the entries, the supporters of field trials should 
not procrastinate. Send in the entries at once. 
The meeting at Morris, Man., has every essential of a great 
trial. The competition in its entirety will be under the aus- 
pices of three clubs— ihe Continental, Manitoba and North- 
western, and the management is in charge of famous, skill- 
ful sportsmen. No doubt but what the meeting will be the 
most important one ever held on chickens, considering all 
the circumstances. There is but one factor which could 
possibly detract from its importance, namely, lack of entries. 
The managements have worked diligently, have arranged 
prizes, etc., and the owners must do the rest. They should 
manifest their appreciation by a staunch support. It is 
useless for clubs to guarantee large purses if owners 
are apathetic. In fact, clubs will not do so long. However, 
from the indications, there will be a gratifying support. But 
owners should endeavor to make them greater than any pre- 
ceding trials of the kind. Aside from the interest of the 
trials, the season at that time is when the birds and fish are 
ripe. As one drives along or rides on the train through the 
wonderful prairie country there are the broad fields laden 
with an abundance of the grains which contribute so gener- 
ously to the world's food supply. 
From horizon to horizon is waving grain or corn, or grain 
in slacks. About or in them is where the chickens love to 
feed. In the woods are ruflfed grouse in abundance. In the 
lakes and streams are gamy fish. There is sport for those 
who love the gun or rod or canoe. The air is pure and 
bracing. Besides the immediate pleasure of such a trip is 
the material gain of good health following bodily and men- 
tal recuperation. Besides entering their dogs, the owners 
should not fail to be present in person. 
PROPERTY IN DOGS. 
The legal recognition of the dog, relative to being a 
domestic animal, as in the eye of the law are horses, cattle, 
etc , and as therefore being classed as property, is slow 
irregular and patchy in its coming. The cause of the 
adverse circumstances cannot be in any public lack of 
interest or hostility to him, for no other animal is so univer- 
sally owned and esteemed. If the matter of appreciation 
was the sole factor to be considered in relation to the matter 
the dog would soon be regarded as the most valued article of 
properly. While there is a general appreciation of the dog 
in the abstract, in the concrete the material value of the dog 
is generally confined to his owner or the family which har- 
bors it. To all others he may be offensive, or a noisy 
nuisance, or a harmful depredator. 
The horse, the sheep, the ox, etc.. have a fixed standard 
market value regardless of ownership; the cur dog in most 
instances has no value whatever except to his owner and his 
family, and such value as he has is one of sentiment only. 
It is therefore the dog versus the neighborhood. 
North and South there are millions of worthless curs, the 
distinguising features of which are that each individual dif- 
fers frona every other one in size, color, parentage, though 
all are alike in possessing in common a peevish disposition 
and a vagabond nature. To recognize such a mass of rub- 
bish as being property would be an insult to the common 
sense of the people, particularly to that of the taxpayers. By 
far the greater number of worthless curs are owned by people 
who pay few or no taxes, and are financially irresponsible 
as the very poor in the North and the negroes of tlie South' 
The whole wealth of a negro family may be amply stored in 
the corners of a 10x12 cabin, with room left for the family 
to live in; yet few negroes" are so poor that they do not own 
from one to a dozen detestable curs. 
The taxpayer and property owner suffer serious loss from 
the depredations of the lawless, half-famished curs. Poul- 
try, eggs, sheep and young pigs fall a prey to them on 
opportunity, and in some sections much harm is done to 
growing corn by them. They strip the ears and eat them 
when they are in the milk. 
It is useless to plead that horses and eattle break into corn- 
fields, ete., and do damage, and thus plead an offset to the 
depredations of the curs. Horses and cattle can roam only 
within a limited section, are easily detected, the damage done 
is comparatively trifling, and horses and cattle having a 
universal market value, the owners are financially respon- 
sible and the damage can be collected. The dog can prowl 
over a whole country in the night, is infinitely cunning in 
his depredations, is difficult to detect, and could do more 
damage in one night among a flock of sheep than a horse 
could do in a year in a grain -field. It is claimed as a statis- 
tical fact that the number of sheep killed by dogs in Ohio in 
1&95 was §0,883, valued at |80,647; and the number iniured 
by dogs was 23,406, the estimated damage to them being 
$33,870, This is the damage done in one State. The total 
of the United States must be an enormous sum. On account 
,of the losses in sheep-growing, due to the killing done by 
vagrant dogs, the industry has been checked in some sections, 
and many States have found it necessary to reimburse the 
owners for the losses caused by dogs, or else lose the indus- 
try and the consequent taxable property of the State. Some 
States levy a tax on dogs to meet this contingency. 
The difficulty in making progress as to property in the 
dog lies in that the owners of good dogs generally make com- 
mon cause with the owners of curs against any law im- 
posing any special license fee or taxation on dogs, or re- 
strictions on their ownership. The owner is rare indeed 
who thinks his dog should not be privileged to bark all night 
if such be its pleasure, or run through his neighbor's grounds 
when in the mood of strolling; and, if the dog be filthy in 
its habits, the owner rarely considers it an offense of suffi- 
cient importance to notice. 
Of course, there are careful owners, and well-behaved, 
well-bred valuable dogs. They are in a minority. We are 
well aware of iheir existence, and we champion their cause. 
We are not writing of them at this time. We are showing 
what is harmful to them. 
So long as the thousands of curs exist with theu- present 
freedom, and their ownership is so careless of their doings 
and so financially irresponsible as to their depredations, just 
so long will dogs be wholly or partially fern naturm in the 
eye of the law. 
In respect to any laws which have been passed, making 
dogs subject to taxation or to license fee, or to wholesome 
restriction, it has been the policy of nearly all dog owners to 
complain of the hardship worked by such laws and to de- 
nounce them as unfair in themselves and as unjustl'^ dis- 
criminating against the owners of dogs as compared with 
the_ owners of other animals. It furthermore has been the 
policy of nearly all the kennel journals in this country to fall 
in with the humor of their patrons, and inasmuch as they 
?oiad rant and inveigh louder and longer than said patrons, 
JO much the more was their wisdom greater and their loyalty 
proven as it related apparently to their patrons' interests, 
though really pandering to their whims and unreasoning sel- 
fishness. No class can expect to have its public rights im- 
partially considered if it refuses to consider the same rights 
of others. 
If each State would pass a law and enforce it after it is 
passed, discriminating between the well-bred dog and the 
cur, by imposing a license fee of $5 or more on the cur, the 
latter would soon be driven out of existence. The well-bred 
dog then would be free from the odium he now shares with 
the cur depredators, there would be a greater demand for 
dogs of pure breeds, and, being then property in fact instead 
of being such largely in the fancy of the owner, they would 
soon ^e recognized as property in law. 
So long as owners grieve at the restrictions which are in- 
tended to give their dogs protection and ignore and fight 
such to the extent of their powers, so long may they expect 
to stay at a standstill so far as the legal property interest of 
the dog is concerned. 
Correction. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I note two errors in list sent you which please correct. 
Sport should be entered as Sport Mc A. Hamp S.— C. T. 
Eastman's 1. and w. pointer dog (Von Gull— Rip Rap's 
Flake). Count Edward— W. McKerr's b., w. and t. setter 
dog (Count Eric— Ann). W. S. Bell. 
POINTS AND FLUSHES. 
Mk. a, B. Wingpield told in our Natural History col- 
umns the other day of a dog which seemed to know when 
its death was proposed to its master. Here are two similar 
cases, recorded in the Springfield RepuhUcan: 
"Allen H. Norton, of Winsled, Conn., is the owner of a. 
farm over the line in this State. For many years Mi-. Norton 
has had on the farm a dog of cocker spaniel and hound 
breed, which has been of considerable use about the place, 
and also a good hunter of coons and other game. But the 
dog is now twelve years old, minus some of its teeth and 
getting feeble, so it was thought best to shoot it. Conse- 
quently, about two weeks ago, the man in charge of the 
farm took the dog out in the lots to dispose of it. He laid 
his gun on the ground and proceeded to dig a grave for the 
dog, while the faithful animal lay beside the implement in- 
tended soon to end its life, and watched the hole in the 
ground gradually grow deeper. The man had nearly finished 
the excavation when the dog suddenly sprang to its feet and 
rushed from the place. For the first time on record it re- 
fused to respond to the man's call, but hurried to the river 
bank, swam to the oppesite shore, disappeared in the woods 
and is still absent. A similar case occurred about a month 
ago. William R Griffin, of West Winsled, remarked to 
some of his friends that he intended to kill his dog. A 
short time afterward the dog disappeared and spent a week 
in another part of the town. When the animal finally i-e- 
turned, the arrangements to shoot it were carried out," 
Mr. W. B. Wells, honorary secretary of the I. F. T. C, 
informs us that Messrs, John Davidson, of Monroe, Mich., 
and E. Warner, of Detroit, were selected to act as judges at 
the next field trial meeting of the club, to be held at Mitch- 
ell's Bay, beginning Nov. 1. He further states that "already 
a number of entries have been received for the Derby, which 
closes July 1. The call of Bob White is heard throughout 
the country, and the indications are good for an unusually 
large crop of birds." 
The third annual sweepstakes of the American Spaniel 
Club are announced by the executive committee. The bal- 
loting for judges is now in order. No ballot will be received 
later than July 15. 
heeling* 
Communicatiom for this department are requested. Anything on 
the bicycle in its relation to the sportsman is particularly desirable 
IN THE CATSKILLS. 
New York, June 10.— Editor Forest and Stream: B, has 
a cottage in the CatskiUs, near HensonviUe. The Saturday 
before Decoration Day he decided to go up to put the place 
in order for the summer, and upon his invitation H and my- 
self went along. Mrs. B. was also in the party. 
We took the West Shore Railroad to Kingston, the Ulster 
& Delaware to Phoenicia, and the narrow gauge Stony Clove 
Railroad to Hunter. For the last seven miles of our journey 
we had brought along our bicycles, and at the various 
changes we took good care to see that they were properly 
transferred, as we had no wish to see our plans go wrong for 
lack of conveyance at the last stage of our journey. 
From Kingston the railroad follows up Esopiis Creek, 
which is a good trout water in its upper reaches. The 
ascent was gradual here, but when the change was made at 
Phoenicia to the narrow gauge, conditions changed, and the 
grade became very steep. 
The road twisted in and out along the sides of mountains, 
always keeping a httle above the bed of the stream, which 
comes racing down the bottom of^the Clove, and at times the 
engine got into a brown study in its tussle with the princi- 
ples of gravitation and fussed about it, and ran so slow that 
one could have gotten off and picked wild flowers, or ran 
around in front of the engine, if be had been so minded, 
without danger to himself or risk of losing the train. 
We were told that this railroad is nine and seven-eighths 
miles long, and is thus exempt from the law ivhich regulates 
the maximum fare to be charged by roads ten or more miles 
in length. As a matter of fact, it charges at the rate of 10 
cents per mde, or thereabouts. 
It was said that there were some doubts as to the correct 
measurement of the road, but that if it should turn out to be 
up to the ten-mile limit, the owners, to continue their mon- 
opoly, would only have to chop off some inconsequential 
fraction of a mile, which would probably not even necessi- 
tate the moving of their httle frame station and freight 
sheds, 
No doubt, considerhag the grade and the necessarily hm- 
ited bu.siness of the line a great pai't of the year, there is 
plenty of excuse for a high passenger tariff. It takes the 
train an hour to make tne irip, and perhaps the charge is 
based on time rather than on distance. 
At Hunter we found our bicycles in good condition, and, 
strapping on our rods, guns and other impedimenta, were 
soon across the bridge spanning Scoharie Creek and spinnin"- 
down the village street. At the first turn on the right we 
encountered a steep ascent, and, though H. made a spurt 
and climbed several hundred yards up the hill, he was not 
loath soon to dismount and join us, pushing our machines 
up the steep grade. 
The hill was at least a mile long, and it seemed as though 
we had climbed 1,000ft., when we at last reached level 
ground again, and stopped to take in the view. 
The country near by wa^ mostly cleared and farm land, 
but beyond were thickly wooded mountains, including those 
of the Hunter Range. 
As we wore about to mount to continue our journey, we 
espied, 200yds. away on a side hill, a large woodchuck lying 
full length in the mouth of his burrow. This was accepted 
as a challenge to the riflemen of the party, and B., as having 
his rifle in position to be got at easiest, accepted it. The 
woodchuck, however, did not suffer, aside from the shock to 
his nerves caused by a bullet hitting the ground directly 
under him and covering him with yellow clay from his own 
particular dirt pile 
A little further on the road began to descend, and H. 
scorched down the first hill, leaving a trail of flying dust 
and scattered stones. But for these stones, the road, in its 
present condition, would have been good wheeling; but the 
fact of their presence made cautious riding necessary in 
most places, and, when going down hill, there was always 
danger of an upset from this cause. H , however, paid 
little attention to the stones. The next hill was a bad one, 
and B. warned him of the fact. 
Dsspite the warning he started down it at a good pace and 
soon was going at a racing gait. A stone jarred his wheel 
so that his lamp went to pieces and flew in all directions. 
The next obstruction threw his feet off the pedals and his 
wheel was beyond control. No doubt H, wished at that 
moment for a good hand brake— I know the rest of us wished 
it— but he had always held brakes in supercilious disregard, 
and as he was an expert rider and powerful back-pedaler, he 
had never before had any real need of one. 
The loose stones, thank-you m'ams, and steepness of the 
grade combined, with high initial speed made braking with 
his foot out of the question, and H tore down the hill at- 
tempting nothing more than to keep in the road, and was 
out of sight in a moment. The othei\s of us picked our way 
cautiously down, using our brakes and back-pedaling at the 
same time. Around the second curve we came in sight of 
H. sitting beside the road, still alive but very pale. To par- 
ticularize, as a matter of fact, his face was the gray-white 
color of a bromide photograph. He had received a severe 
shaking up and his bicycle was wrecked. 
He showed us where the bicycle had struck a slot in a 
stone culvert after a wide swing into the ditch at the side of 
the road, and here he had parted company with it. Twenty 
feet further down the road (by paced measurement) was a 
scooped- out place where he landed after his header. For- 
tunately he struck side *vays, and most of the force of the 
fall was taken by his hips, which saved him a broken neck 
or collarbone. 
Seeing H. wasn't killed we all fell to and gave him a 
scolding, which was principally deserved becauge he had 
not regarded the warning about the dangerous cnaracter of 
the hill. Then we looked over the ground and at the crevice 
in the culvert and decided that it was a case of "put a bicycle 
in the slot and take a header." 
"Lucky for you that you didn't get a little further down 
the hill before you went off," said B. "There's a little house 
around the corner where Lew Butts lives with his eleven 
children, and you would have carried them all into the 
creek." 
It was beginning to get dark, and we still had four or five 
miles to go before we could get supper. It seemed as though 
we would be obliged to walk, and that H. would have to 
carry his wheel instead of having it carry him. The wooden 
rim of the front wheel was snapped squarely in two in one 
place and badly split in another, and the spokes were all bent 
and tied around the forks. The tire had parted company 
with the rim, but fortunately was intact. We considered the 
case, and decided that the bicycle was not quite beyond re- 
pair. At any rate, it could be pushed along the road if the 
front wheel was put together. 
So we set about doing this. First, we cut the ends of the 
broken rim so that they would dovetail together, then two 
of us sat in the road opposite each other, bracing our feet 
against the rim, and bending the ends at angles with the nat- 
ural plane of the wheel to get them together. 
Then by pushing and pulling, with the assistance of the 
third man, who kept the ends touching, we got the points 
back almost to the normal plane, and wrapped them tightly 
with lire tape. 
The straightening proceas had tightened all the spokes with 
the exception of one directly at the broken place, and the 
wheel looked about as good as ever. The rim was further 
"trued" by laying it across two low stones and standing on 
it where it was out, and afterward the tire was put on and 
pumped up as hard as we could make it, pumping by turns 
and helping the man alone who was doing the work by some 
snappy song. Finally the tire was tied in place by lire tape 
— the most useful single article in the wheelman's repair 
outfit. 
The wheel ran very well when set up in the fork, and we 
were surprised at the success of our experiment. H. was 
even persuaded after a time to try to ride on a level place, 
and made good progress. Two days afterward he was going 
down breakneck hiJls on it, and it had carried him a good 
many miles wiihout any mishap. So much fer the rough- 
and-ready expedients of the road. 
B.'s cottage is beautifully situated in a little glen near the 
top of the divide above HensonviUe. Here for the next two 
days we amused ourselves walking, wheeling, shooting at 
marks and woodchueks, which are more plentiful in the 
neighborhood than any other place I know of, and fishing. 
Monday morning I tried my luck on the stream between 
Heusonvide and Windham, and though 1 did not reach the 
brook till after 9, and found a number of other anglers had 
preceded me, 1 succeeded in catching an even dozen trout be- 
fore 11. Two of these were very fair size, but the others 
were mostly small, and I returned several of them to the 
water. 
I had to return before the others, and so left Monday im- 
mediately after dinner. Most of the way to Hunter was 
down-hill, and as there was very little walking to be done I 
covered the distance in three-quarters of an hour. Coming 
over the foHov?ing day, the others made exactly the same 
time, including the man with the broken wheel, who had 
completely recovered from his shake-up, and rode as reck- 
lessly as ever. He still thinks he can get along without a 
brake, and neither argument nor experience wiU convince 
him to the contrary. 
