FOREST AND STREAM, 
[May iS, igai. 
object may, be prepared with nails in it as mentioned un- 
der the head of the force system. The object thus pro- 
. tected is placed in the puppy's mouth, and he is forced to 
keep it therein whether he is pleased to do so or not, but 
all is done with kindness and lirm deliberation. 
The lessons should be conducted without frightening 
him. If he ejects the object from his mouth, it should 
ciuickly be returned and by quiet coercion he should be 
forced to retain it. 
He is next required to carry it steadily in his mouth 
while the trainer leads him about. These lessons are 
persisted in day after day till the puppy will carry the 
object Avithout mouthing it. 
When teaching him to carry steadily, the order "Steady" 
may be uttered every time he attempts to roll or chew the 
object, coincidentally with a jerk on the collar to force 
him to desist, and in time he will learn that the order 
signifies that he is to avoid working his jaws upon the 
object he is retrieving. 
There will be some unpleasant features to the puppy in 
these lessons, but if he is treated kindly as to manner, 
though firmly as to practice, he will not remember them 
long, and, being in separate lessons, he will not associate 
them with the main theme of retrieving. 
As before intimated, the length of time required to 
teach retrieving by the natural method is from puppy- 
hood to maturity. A few families of dogs, intelligent, 
deferential and vain by nature, take kindly to retrieving. 
However, when taught by the natural method, they rarely 
make a fini.shed performance, and display all' their peculiar 
selfish idiosyncrasies in their work. 
After the puppy displays some steadiness and finish in 
retrieving the pad, or whatever other object is used, the 
wing or tail feathers of a comman barnyard chicken may 
be tied to it, so that he will be accustomed to grasping 
them with his mouth. Although no dog hesitates to grasp 
them when they are on a bird which he himself has cap- 
tured, many dogs manifest a persistent repugnance to them 
when they are attached to an object to be retrieved. So 
great is their dislike for them that the trainer may find 
it necessary to place the feathery object in the puppy's 
mouth and force him to carry it about, lesson after lesson, 
till by familiarity his repugnance is worn out. He is 
further schooled in fetching the feathered object till he 
will do so reliably. 
California Coursing. 
San Francisco^ CaL, May 6.— Editor Purest and 
Streain: Visiting Union Coursing Park last Saturday, 
through the courtesy of Mr. R. L. Tajdor, an old friend 
of Forest and SteeaMj I made the acquaintance of Mr. 
John H. Ilalton, the managing director of the park. 
Mr. Halton went around with us — that is to say, we went 
around with Mr. Halton, wlio showed us the equipment 
of the grounds and gave us much information about the 
jnanagenient of the sport, the principal dogs, and about 
coursing in general as it is conducted out West. 
The open stake match, with 128 dogs entered, was in 
progress. We went to the slips,- where we talked with 
Mr. John Grace, the noted judge of coursing, and with 
James Grace, the unrivaled slipper. Both of them are 
very pleasant gentlemen, and we watched with much 
interest from a near point of view the excellent work 
of both men through many courses. I wanted to know 
something about the hares and gathered some infonna- 
tion. ' 
The hares are notably well managed here. The sup- 
ply comes mainly from Fresno and Tulare counties, 
where they are captured by being driven into inclosures 
. and thence into crates or boxes, in which they are brought 
to the grounds. They are not touched by a hand until 
after thev are killed by the dog. They are pastured al 
the park in the main field, which is about fifty acres in 
_ extent, until they are needed. They are then driven through 
a series of yards and separating pens, and finally into a 
chute from which they are run into small closed boxes 
separately. 
These bo.xcs, with a single hare in each, are numbered 
and are awarded by lot, one to each brace of dogs. This 
process gives no chance for favoritism to be shown or 
imagined. Some hares are naturally in better condition 
for a strong run than others, but their allotment being 
: made by chance, luck is an element that cannot be elimi- 
nate.d. Thus if an indifTerent hare is loosed to a brace 
of dogs not closel}' matched in endurance, the weaker 
and quicker dog" may win as against the stronger one, 
while a hardy hare and a long run will favor the dog. with 
the most strength and endurance. 
The hares are most unequal in condition in the spring 
jnonths, and then the condition of the field is bad for 
tliem. When the grass is thrifty and thick the hares 
cannot run as fast nor maneuver as well as later in the 
season when the grass becomes thinner and dry. All of 
rhese things, together with the chances of the hare swerv- 
ing so as to favor a particular dog, are considered by the 
patrons of the sport, and are of course themes for a great 
deal of discussion and speculation. 
Before each course the dogs are taken to scales pre- 
pared for the purpose and carefully weighed. Their 
weight is marked opposite their names on the bulletin 
annoimcing the event, which gives their friends and fan- 
ciers hints as to their condition, They are then led across 
the field, in front of the spectators* pavilion, to the slip- 
per's stand. 
The hate'is Tet out of his box and driven through a 
passage in the pen to the open field where the mounted 
judge and his aids are stationed on either side, and as 
.won as the hare appears they spur forward with him to 
direct his coui^se as nearh' as possible to the center 01 
the field. The slipper, with the hounds in leash, allows 
the hare a start of from 60 to 100 yards. The hounds, 
on sighting the hare, strain and lunge in their excitement 
until the slippex. following them a? they bound forward, 
for a dozen paces, slips the leash and they are ofi^. It 
might appear a simple matter to unleash the dogs, but 
attentively observed it can be seen that it is a thing 
requiring much experience and ability. It is quite as 
difficult to find an expert slipper as to find a competent 
judge. Both positions are peculiarly arduous, requiring 
clear heads, good judgment, great activity and endurance. 
The Union Park management is notably fortunate in 
having men >vith the t^'fut and experience ol the (^racc 
The arrangement of the kennels and yards is excellent. 
Several hundred dogs can be accommodated in the main 
house. The stalls are roomy, well ventilated and secure 
from the intrusion of possible meddlers. They are regu- 
larly fumigated, thoroughly clean, and every precaution 
is taken to prevent accident or disease. 
.A.S an instance of — whatever you like — I confess to 
havmg bet on the races. After having made the tour of 
the grounds and buildings a friend and myself reached 
the pool boxes. The wise were betting 10 to i on Mollie 
R. against Lovina. To be sociable with the crowd I bet 
a dollar for my friend and another for myself, just as the 
dogs were slipped. Mollie was greatly surprised, the 
rabbit annihilated, and the talent was dismayed. I drew 
down $21.60, while I tried to look as though it was an 
ordinary matter-of-course with me, and pose as though 
T had cver}^ reason for my confidence in Lovina. After 
that I bet several times with less perspicacity. If I had 
stayed longer I might have paid all the money back to 
some intelligent people around there. 
The result of the events for May 4 and 5 were as fol- 
lows: E. Geary's dog, Palo Alto, won the 128 dog open 
stake, with D. T. Healey's dog Sisquoc the runner-up. 
The first sapling stake by Wild Eclipse, and the second 
sapling stake by Tame Tralee, both dogs owned by P. 
Hogan. 
Among the favorite imported dogs here is Fiery Face, 
a sister of Fearless Footsteps, who twice won the Water- 
loo stake at Liverpool. Rans.vckkr. 
— ^ — 
Notice. 
All communications intended for Forest And Stream should 
alwaj's be addressed to the Forest and Stream Publishing Co., and 
not to any individual connected with the paper. 
'Mid Reef and Rapid.— X. 
BY F. R. WEBB. 
She did not go sery far. however, for a big rock- 
wagon loads of which usually fringe these fish dams all 
the way across, rendering the shoots more or less trouble- 
some and hazardous — caught the bilge of my boat, just as 
the Avater overflowed my decks and reachd the top of 
the cockpit coaming — a quarter of an inch more and I 
would have been swamped — giving me time to throw my 
weight against the upper side of the canoe and straighten 
her up. The bottom slid up over the rock and the 
stern let go, and she careened until the up-stream side 
was awash, drifting around down stream meanwhile. By 
a d'extcrous shift of position I threw my weight on the 
down-stream side in time to again straighten her up and 
avert a capsize. The bow let go, and she went drifting 
and bumping sidewise down the swift, rocky piece of 
water below, her keel catching on every rock, and tilting 
her over, and keeping me throwing myself back and forth 
from one side to the other to' preserve her equilibrium, 
until still water was reached and I found ntyself safe and 
in position to enjoy the joke, which the other fellows had 
all along been enjoying hugely as thc}^ lay to a short di< 
tance below to observe my progress, all the while freely 
tendering me advice and counsel, more or less sensible 
and appropriate, according to the taste and capacity of 
the advisor and counsellor. 
I joined the Colonel, whose canoe had slid gently up 
on a large flat reef while he was engaged in advising me. 
and who was making vigorous efforts to shove her off 
without resorting to the expedient of lightening her of his 
20olbs. odd avoirdttpois. There is so mtich of the Colonel 
that he dislikes exceedingly to get up when he is com- 
fortably seated in his canoe, and he will prod and push and 
shove with his paddle in the effort to push his boat ofiE 
the rocks, and do more work and take more trouble twice 
over than it would be to pick himself up and step over- 
board and lift his boat ofif in the first place, which he 
generally has to do anyhow in the end. 
His efforts in this instance resulted in failure, as 
usual, and together we paddled to the landing place at 
the Three Springs camping ground, whither the other 
two had preceded us, his long legs spread out like a pair 
of compasses, and his wet, dripping feet spread out on 
eacli side of the canoe, and hanging over the gimwales, in 
which attitude he presented an appearance that could not 
properly be termed graceful, and in a short time the 
canoes were carried up on the bank, unloaded of their 
freight and in position for the night, with their beds 
made up and tents erected, after which George and the 
Colonel proceeded to go. a-fishing, wading around in the 
river and picking their way from reef to reef, the ledges 
being so numerous that, although the water is quite deep 
here', they were enabled to work their way over pretty 
much the entire river front without getting in above 
their waists, casting their flies in likely spots as they 
worked. Lacy and I, meantime, settled ourselves com- 
fortably alongside our respective canoes to attend to 
our correspondence. 
Lacy, by the way, seemed to have a deal of correspond- 
ence on his hands on this cruise, for at everj'- camp he 
was observed to get out his writing materials and settle 
down to write a letter. He appeared to be a very dutiful 
son. for when qttestioned by George from time to time as 
to the destination of all this correspondence, his reply was 
always that he was writing to his mother. 
"Commodore, our annual canoe cruises are like our 
annual Greenbrier trips in one respect." said the Colonel 
a couple of hours later, as we were doing ample justice 
to an elegant fish supper — the result of their evening's 
work. 
"In what way?" asked George. "Lacy, you may hand 
me a biscuit, if you will." 
'''Well." replied the Colonel, as he helped himself to 
his third half-pound bass, "we've been over the trip so 
often and are getting acquainted with the river so that 
we know where the best camping places are, and generally 
make pretty much the same camps, like we do on the 
Greenbrier road. Thanks, Commodore, you may give 
me another cup of cofi^ee. and some more potatoes, too, 
while you're resting. I tell you there's nothing like fish 
right owt of the w^fer »^n4 in |Q the iTfm^-p^r\," he con-: 
tinued. "We never get fish at home in such perfection as 
we^do on the Shenandoah or the Greenbrier." 
"That's so," replied Lacy. "I'll take somfe more 
provender, too. Commodore, while you're about it," pass- 
mg up his plate for the third installment; "another cup of 
coffee, too, please. Thanks; that'll do,." 
"I tell you an early camp's a great thing," said the 
Colonel, as he leaned back on his stool and filled his 
pipe, while Lacy and George gathered up the supper 
utensils and carried them down to the water's edge, where 
they were scoured bright and clean with sand and water 
before being returned to the camp, to undergo the still 
further cleansing properties of soap and hot water. 
The average canoeist — the average man, in fact, be he 
canoeist or otherwise — is not fond of putting his hands in 
hot, greasy dish water, and a most excellent substitute 
for the humble but useful dish cloth is made by cutting a 
stout, forked twig from the nearest tree, leaving each 
prong of the fork about an inch long, and around this 
forked end wrapping a small piece of canvas, securely 
wraijping and t>'ing it with stout string. Thus equipped 
the camp scullion can do as quick and serviceable work 
as with the more .orthodox cloth, and it possesses the 
further advantage of allowing scalding hot water to be 
used, vvhich simplifies matters, for dish-washing is not a 
favorite pastime among canoeists.* 
"Yes; an early camp is a great thing," I replied, as I 
returned from my canoe, whither I had gone for a fresh 
cigar, which I proceeded to light as I seated myself on 
my camp stool alongside of the Colonel, the better to en- 
joy seeing George and Lacy clean up. "It's an all-roimd 
nuisance to be obliged to make camp and get supper after 
■darkness has set in, poking around by the light of a 
lantern. There are so many little things to do; so many 
little details to attend to, that are not only no special 
trouble in daylight, but are really a part of the little 
pleasures of camping; but when one has to grope around- 
after night with a lantern to do them, they become so 
many troublesome little tasks that must be gotten through 
with in the quickest and .best manner possible under the 
circumslances." 
"Yes ; and if you lay a thing down you can't find it un- 
til morning." said Lacy, as he laid aside his cleaning 
utensils, and piled the tinware in a bright, shining heap 
on the mess table, turning a large pan over all to keep 
off the dew. 
"From first to last," said George, as he returned 
from the spring, whither he had gone to wash his hands 
in the copious outflow, "this is, I think, perhaps the most 
beautiful camp ground on the whole river." 
It certainly was a beautiful camp ground. A bold, 
rocky bluff rose from the river 150ft. or so, densely 
clothed with fine old forest trees. A little level strip of 
sandy, well-shaded turf between the bluff and the river 
and elevated some 6 or 8ft. above the water, afforded 
ample rooin for the tented canoes, as well as for the din- 
ing fly, mess table, camp stove, etc., while a few yards 
l)elow the camp the water gushed out from the foot of 
the blufl' in a great flood, from not onl}^ three but a dozen 
— a score — of springs, the volume of water discharged 
being equal to a large creek. Indeed, the water gushed 
out from fissures more or less large for 100yds. along the 
river front, and, while wading around among the reefs 
last summer not far from shore on fishing bent, I dis- 
covered a hole in the bottom of the river in a foot of two 
of water, into which I could have thiatst my leg, from 
which the water boiled up in a fountain, some 6 or Sin. 
above the surface of the river. 
A comfortable farm house stood on the verge of the 
bluft' just above the springs, a flight of rude steps — wood 
and stone — leading down to a spring house built on the 
rocks and in the side of the bluff, just above the main 
flow of the spring. In front the river flowed, broad, 
swift and deep, rippling over and among the reefs, while 
the musical brawl of the great spring filled the air with 
melody. It was an ideal camping spot, and one we never 
pass, even if we arrive here — as we have more ^:han once 
done — as early in the day as lunch time. 
Twilight began to steal softly around us, throwing a 
gentle, bluish haze over the landscape and rendering 
softly indistinct the boles of the trees up the steep slope 
of the bluff behind us. As the darkness came on apace, 
the full moon swung into view above the lofty ramparts 
of the Blue Ridge in front of us, and threw her search- 
light-like beams in among the trees, bringing out our 
tents in curious little patches of lights and shades. The 
river sparkled brightly in front of us, the bright, shining 
expanse being lost on the further side in the dense black- 
ness of the shadows cast b}-- the overhanging trees. Light, 
hazy clouds drifted across overhead, through which the 
moon seemed to shoot swiftly across the sky, her bright 
light now and again obscured and the landscape of river, 
trees and mountains teinporarily blotted out. 
A little blaze of a camp-fire, around which we sat en- 
joying om- evening pipes, cast its fitful, flickering lights 
and shades on the objects nearest it. while the more dis- 
tant, tented canoes outside its little circular range loomed 
up ghostly and indi.stinct in the faint glare. 
"Looks like rain," the Colonel observed, as he refilled 
his pipe. 
"Yes," replied George, handing the Colonel the lighted 
match Avith Avhich he had just lit his own pipe. "From 
the looks of that bank of clouds piling up from down 
the river there. I think it will rain soon. In fact, I shall 
not be surprised if we have a rainy day of it to-morrow. 
Here comes some one !" as footsteps were heard ap- 
proaching, and two figures loomed up indistinctly in the 
fitful, rapidly waning light bearing a ghostly looking, 
reciunbent burden between them. 
"What in the mischief is that?" Lacy exclaimed, as the 
party approached the camp. Before answer could 
be made to his query, they had stepped within the little 
circle of light thrown out by the camp-fire, revealing 
the familiar figures of our acquaintances of the day. Dr. 
Tontkins and Mr. Avis, while the ghostly burden between 
them resolved itself into nothing more ghostly than a big 
canvas wheat sack, within which they were carrying a 
noble watermelon — a present from Mrs. Walker. 
The melon was placed in the spring while the visitors 
were made welcome. Mr. Avis proved to be the son of an 
old friend of the Colonel's, and both gentlemen were well 
acquainted with friends and acquaintances of ours in 
Charleston, conset[uently the hour or so's chat with them 
*A dish swab may be bought at any department store or church 
fair fgc a tiickel, whijfh \?UI. ^? fM ^^\^h -" • ^ 
