FOREST AND STREAM. 
[June 17, 1905. 
Sporting in China. — IL 
In the preceding number I have described, according 
to my own experiences, such a houseboat as a sports- 
man in China would find suitable for travel, and it may 
be added, that, from the more important open ports, 
there are regular lines of steam launches running as 
far into the interior as the depths of the water in the 
creeks and canals will permit. And frequently the 
sportsman has his houseboat towed by one of these 
launches more than one hundred miles into the interior, 
when the boat may at any time be disconnected from 
the launch and sculled up any of the creeks whose 
waters connect with the main channels of inland naviga- 
tion. 
The proper equipment for the sportsman is always 
of the first consideration, for without this essential he 
will face constant irritation when he enters the field, 
and there can be nothing so annoying as an indifferent 
dog and a gun and cartridges in which he has no 
confidence. During the first and middle parts of the 
season, the cover is quite thick, and a good dog is in- 
dispensable, and it is equally as requisite that the sports- 
man should know the carrying power of his gun, and 
that his cartridges are of the best grade. My own is a 
German, pointer, nearly full-blooded, and an excellent 
retriever. He is easily controlled and seldom hunts 
outside of a radius of twenty-five yards. But in that 
excellent book entitled "With Boat and Gun in the 
Yangtsze Valley," by H. T. Wade, I find some inter- 
esting notes by the author, himself an experienced 
sportsman, on the best dog for shooting purposes in 
China, and I could not be more just to my reader than 
to place before him what Mr. Wade has written on 
this subject: 
"Retriever: It will only be necessary here to take 
note of one kind of retriever, the black, flat-coated 
kind, for the objections that may be raised against him 
can only be intensified when applied to the curly-coated 
description. 
"Admitting to the fullest that a retriever is a won- 
derfully sagacious dog, and that he is capable of aflford- 
ing lots of sport, yet the following objections may be 
found to weigh against him and long-haired dogs 
generally. 
"In the first place, rheumatism is by no means an 
uncommon complaint in China, and no animal renders 
itself more liable to this ailment than one that is diffi- 
cult and troublesome to dry. A dog has to negotiate 
a lot of 'water business' in the course of a day's shoot- 
ing in these provinces. He often returns to the boat 
wet, only to be turned over to the tender mercies of 
a coolie, who performs the essential duties of drying 
and grooming in any but a thorough manner; so that 
the animal not only may be sent to bed wet himself, 
but be an active cause of discomfort to his kennel com- 
panions. Besides, retrievers generelly hold so much 
water in their coats as to render themselves a perfect 
nuisance when crossing creeks in sampans or dinghies. 
Further than this, the very nature of their jackets 
renders them specially liable to collect the gjcass and 
other seeds, 'fruitful cause of so much woe.' Finally 
retrievers from their size and weight constantly find 
themselves in trouble when working brambly cover, 
are invariably clumsy in their attempts at extrication 
from tangled beans and similar crops, and as a rule 
are not only slow in setting to work to bring back a 
wounded bird, but slower still in returning with the 
quarry. Such are the more prominent objections to 
this class of dog. 
"Still, should a sportsman elect to have a retriever in 
this country, he might with advantage have regard to 
the following simple points: The head should; be long, 
with a squarish, not a pointed, muzzle; the ear small; 
the neck 'airy,' and the tail carried below -the level of 
the back. Above all, he should stand Iovvt. 
"Spaniels: By far the most numerous class of sport- 
ing dogs in China are the spaniel descriptions. They 
run in all sorts of shapes and sizes and colors, and for 
the most part are of the most mixed origin. Seldom is 
a really well-shaped spaniel seen out here, less fre- 
quently a well-broken one. In the open country they 
are of but little use, as the speedy pheasant can easily 
run away from them; in a canebrake they are not big 
enough to get over or strong enough to force their 
way through the thick tangle which lies at the foot of 
the canestalk; and it is seldom that one comes across 
a dog that will work a copse in anything like_ a sys- 
tematic manner. Still, if spaniels were taken in hand 
early, were taught to work the covers properly, and 
restricted to that particular kind of shooting, it might 
be just as well to own one. _ A brace of busy, well- 
broken spaniels is a pretty sight, no doubt, but one 
quite unknown in these parts. Yet should the sports- 
man determine on a spaniel, he would probably be on 
the right track if he secured a dog with some of the 
unmistakable Clumber strain in him. Clumbers are 
slow, but they are pretty sure and very strong; and 
being flat-coated — for any curl is indicative of a cross — 
are better adapted for working undergrowth than any- 
other kind of spaniel; and the bigger and heavier the 
dog the better, for a three-pound fluttering cock pheas- 
ant is no mean mouthful. Other great drawbacks to 
spaniels are that their long ears and full coats are 
certain seed-traps, and require a large amount of care 
to keep clean and dry. 
"Setters: From time to time some capital setters 
have been seen in China — handsome, well-bred and 
in some instances well-broken dogs of nearly all the 
recognized breeds — Laveracks, Llewellyns, Gordons, and 
Irish; of the two last kinds, Shanghai can still boast of 
some good examples, 'surpassingly beautiful,' as Id- 
stone enthusiastically describes them. In a less de- 
gree, because his coat lies flatter, but still to some 
extent, the same objections that have been advanced 
against the retriever and spaniel apply to the graceful 
setter. Seeds will find their way into his feet and 
ears and armpits, and the thick hair between his toes; 
and, when it is remembered that one cruel grass seed 
between the toes is enough to lame a dog, and one 
seed in the ear quite sufficient to set up an annoying 
cankerous discharge, the reasonableness of not shoot- 
ing over a valuable animal until the seeds have been 
rendered harmless by the frosts, should be willingly 
admitted; and if one's setter is only to be available for 
shooting purposes for a couple of months in the year 
at most, the question of expense alone is one worth 
a passing consideration. One point in favor of setters 
is that they are hardier dogs than pointers, especially 
the Irish dogs, and they are certainly more companion- 
able. 
"Pointers: The preceding objections have been 
raised not against the virtues of the dogs enumerated, 
but against the unsuitableness of their coats for work 
in this climate until the cover lightens and the seeds 
are down. Something may be done toward mitigating 
the seed evil by working the dogs in canker-caps, but 
still their necks and feet are ever open to the reception 
of the fell annoyance. Now, pointers may be said to 
go harmless through these trials ; seeds very seldom get 
into their ears, and are without much difficulty 
extracted from their feet, while the 'set' of the short 
hair of their coats is not favorable to their lodgment. 
"What seems to be required for shooting throughout 
a season is a strong, well-broken, but perhaps not too 
highly bred pointer; one that will take the water, face 
the thick covers, and possibly retrieve; and there are 
such dogs in the place. The coats of some setters lie 
very flat, and they are the next best dogs to pointers, 
but the long-haired varieties, all good and useful in 
their way, had better not be taken up country until they 
can work the covers with impunity to themselves. A 
sentimental objection to pointers is that they are not so 
companionable as other breeds, which is true to a cer- 
tain extent; but it must be remembered that when a 
pointer is on business he means business, and that is 
exactly what he is wanted for. In choosing a pointer, 
always try to get one with sloping shoulders, long, airy 
neck, a deep but not broad chest, and a loin arched, 
very wide, strong and muscular. Some useful pointers 
occasionally arrive here from Germany. For the most 
part they are well educated and good at retrieving, 
but they run big and heavy, and are too much given 
to 'pottering.' A last word may be said in favor of 
the pointer: he can be worked from the beginning to 
the end of the shooting season, whereas it is little less 
than cruelty to take a spaniel or a" setter out before 
December. 
"If the foregoing considerations are worth anything, 
the reasonable answer to the question this chapter 
commenced with is that the pointer is the best dog for 
shooting purposes in North China." 
My own experience and observation during a resi- 
dence of ten years in China confirms the opinion of 
Mr. Wade, as expressed in the above quotations. But 
without a gun of accuracy and carrying power, the 
sportsman will not enjoy himself, however plentiful 
the game and sensibly trained his dog. 
Nearly every sportsman in China prefers a 12-bore 
gun with 30-incn barrels aJnd chambered for the 
standard length of cartridges. _ A friend of mine always 
shoots with a gun of 28-inch barrels and weighing about 
6>4 pounds. He has one barrel :of his gun choked so 
as to make a pattern of 169 pellets in a circle of 30 
inches at the distance of 40,vyards, and the other, the 
left, a pattern of 180. A gu-ii; making such a pattern 
may be considered as about half choked, especially the 
left barrel, while the right #Ould be about a quarter 
choked, or what may be calledjiL .highly improved cyl- 
inder. But, as stated, the,.Avera-ge gun is of the stand- 
ard length, with thej iiglTt barrel a cylinder and the left 
a modified or full choked. 
The gun that I have mostly used is, like that of my 
friends, an exception to the rule, and of the opposite 
extreme. The barrels are 32 inches in length, both full 
choked, and each makes an even pattern, with black 
powder, 215. This gun weighs 6^^ pounds and was 
built for me several years ago by W. W. Greener, and 
of his special brand of wrought steel. With 3 drams 
of Schultze's powder and 1% ounces of No. 5 chilled 
shot, it is difficult for a pheasant to escape anywhere 
within a radius not exceeding 60 yards. When held 
straight that is almost a sure death radius, but its 
carrying power is sufficient to kill dead at 80 yards if 
the aim be steady and the eye quick. I have shot 
pheasants not further off than 15 yards with this long- 
barreled and full-choked gun, and, strange to write, I 
have only shot two or three cruelly. Now that I am 
in the habit of using the gun described, I do not know 
what success I would have were I to begin using one of 
the standard length. Mr. Greener has repeatedly per- 
suaded me that I gained nothing in the shooting quality 
of the gun by the extra two inches of barrel, and that a 
modified choke was a preferable gun for general field 
sport. But the sportsman knows how difficult it is to 
put aside a gun with which he has shot under variable 
circumstances for a long time, and one that has never 
failed him when the chances were reasonable. The 
sight of such a gun is like the face of an unfailing friend 
against which one does not wish to turn. It is prob- 
able that a majority of the guns used by sportsmen in 
China are built by English and American gun-makers, 
with the former in the ascendency, though there are at 
present many guns by continental gun-makers in the 
market. Occasionally a Purdey gun is seen, and never 
iwithout exciting admiration by its beautiful symmetry 
and workmanship. There are no guns that shoot-, 
harder than Greener's, and many by this maker are;: 
also ornaments to the gun-maker's skill. The Americani 
gun, by Parker, is fast becoming a favorite, and there , 
are several in use at each of the gun clubs at Shanghai. ; 
Another American gun, by Remington, enjoys the repu- 
tation of shooting close and hard, but it should not be' 
understood that the gun-makers named are meant to' 
exclude others, for, as I write what I have observed, 
the Purdey, the Greener, the Parker, and the Reming-, 
ton guns have come more directly under my immediate: 
observation. 
The hammer gun and black powder have about dis- 
appeared, and very rarely does one see either in use. 
Occasionally a sportsman is met with who insists that; 
a look between the hammers fixes the attention more, 
closely to the proper line of sight, and that there is no 
grade of smokeless powder which will equal in regu- 
larity or pattern the best grade of black powder. There: 
is reason in favor of the contention, and notwithstand-' 
ing the improvements constantly being made in smoke-i 
less powder the black is still used to test the capacity! 
of a gun, both as to penetration and the regularity of; 
its pattern. 
Were I to undertake to name the different brands of| 
smokeless powder I have seen in use in China, I would, 
probably have to name all; but I believe that the, 
Schultze brand is given the preference. There are 
more than a few sportsmen, however, who will tell you; 
that there is no brand comparable to that of the E. C.,' 
and others are equally as confident that the Laflin 81 
Rand brand cannot be surpassed, and thus do opinions 
differ, until one does not have to go far to find a 
champion for each of the standard brands. 
But if the sportsman will supply himself with a 12- 
bore gun, built by a competent gunsmith, and with car^ 
tridges to fit and loaded with the standard charge oi 
Schultze powder and No. 5 chilled shot, he need not 
hesitate to visit any part of China for sport. 
With such a gun and ammunition, he will be equipped 
for successful all-round shooting. J. 
The Ranch m Buffalo Hunt. 
Reference was. made in our last issue to the projectec 
buffalo hunt at Ranch loi at Bliss, Oklahoma, where i| 
was reported a number of buffalo were to be slaughterec 
for the entertainment of the National Editorial Associa.-; 
tion. We expressed the conjecture that the actual killin£ 
would be confined to surplus bulls, and this appears td 
have been the case. 
The widespread announcement of the proposed buffalo 
killing caused the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty 
to Animals to file a protest with President Roosevelt, who 
thereupon directed Governor Ferguson, of Oklahoma, tc 
see to it that the buffalo hunt should not take place on 
any Government land; and Secretary Hitchcock tele- 
graphed to the agent of the Ponca Agency to prevent the 
hunt taking place on Federal land. 
A dispatch to the New York Times sent from Bliss on 
Saturday, said : 
"The buffalo hunt on loi Ranch was held to-day. One 
animal was killed by Dr. H. F. Thomas, of Chicago. The!; 
hunt was led by old Geronimo, and was participated it 
by twenty-five cowboys and a band of Indians in full wai 
paint. 
"Dr. Thomas fired the shot from his automobile, which 
had been in the chase during the several hours which it 
lasted. He was injured in an automobile accident in Chi- 
cago recently, and has since been sojourning with the 
Miller brothers at loi Ranch. Dr. Thomas has two auto-; 
mobiles here, and has entered many races. 
"As soon as the beast fell, old Geronimo, despite hi.'j 
eighty years, leaped from his horse and fired two shott 
into the buffalo and proceeded to cut its throat. 4 
"Miss Lucille Mulhall, the noted woman rider, tooti 
part in the chase, which was full of excitement, as fre^ 
quently the buffalo, maddened by his pursuers, who triec 
to drive him to a certain place for the killing, would turr 
and charge. In one instance Dr. Thomas was compelleci 
to make illegal time in his automobile." 
Agent Noble, in charge of the Ponca Agency at Whito 
Eagle, last Saturday sent this report to Secretary Hitch-, 
cock : 
"Replying to your telegram of to-day, respectfully ad-s 
vise that no buffalo of any description will be slaughtered 
at the celebration to-morrow in honor of the Nationa' 
Editorial Association on Ponca tribal or lands leased b} 
Miller Brothers, nor will any inhuman or objectionable 
act be permitted. Prior to the receipt of your telegran 
this evening Joe Miller had killed one old male buffalc 
on land owned by himself, the meat of which he proposes 
to serve to the editors. God pity the editors. No more 
buffalo will be killed whatever, as the Millers propose t(| 
raise a large herd on their ranch." ; 
The facts appear to be that the Miller Brothers hat, 
planned to kill one buffalo bull, that they killed it, anc; 
that the reports of a hunt in which thirty- five buffalfl, 
were to figure were the products of the perfervid imagina- 
tion of the press agent on the spot. 
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iOS . . ■ . 
^ Take inventory of the good things in this issue 
^ of Forest and Stream. Recall what a fund was 
a given last week. Count on what is to come next 
55 week. W as there ever in all the world a more 
^ abundant weekly store of sportsmen's reading? 
■■<A 
I 
