May io, 1913 
FOREST AND STREAM 
595 
breed since its advent in America is in itself 
the highest tribute that could possibly be paid 
to it. 
As a companion the Irish terrier has no 
superiors and few equals. Since the breed has 
become standardized, the “Irishman” has found 
his way into the homes of thousands of people 
of all classes and stations of life, and no matter 
what his environments, he fills his place with 
equal credit to himself and to his master. 
He is a “one man dog,” and always looks 
upon his owner as the only person on earth 
worth bothering about, and his owner will in¬ 
variably tell you that he “has the greatest dog 
on earth,” and doesn’t care who knows it. 
Singleton Van Schaick tells of a very amus¬ 
ing incident that happened to a friend of his, 
just arrived from England, on his first visit to 
America, and who, despite his English birth, had 
never had much to do with the Irish terrier, con¬ 
sequently did not understand his ways. 
Van Schaick and his friend, following a 
hearty supper, had decided upon a friendly set- 
to with the gloves as an e.xcellent aid to diges¬ 
tion, and had gone to the barn where they pro¬ 
ceeded to lead and counter. There still remains 
a difference of opinion as to how the bout might 
have ended, as just when things were becoming 
interesting, there was a series of shrill yelps, 
and ten or more of Van Schaick’s Irish terriers 
came galloping around the corner. Van Schaick 
saw the danger and warned his friend to cease 
sparring, but the latter did not take the warn¬ 
ing seriously, and started to press what looked 
to him like a good chance to score some points. 
The points were all scored by the terriers, how¬ 
ever, and Van Schaick was hard put to it to 
rescue his friend from the irate dogs, who were 
evidently bent on impressing upon their English 
guest the fact that home rule had been estab¬ 
lished in America, if not in Ireland. 
As a retriever, the Irish terrier has been 
trained to give the utmost satisfaction. Indeed, 
there are many who hold him to be the equal 
of any breed on this line of work. His unusual 
intelligence aids him in learning very rapidly, 
while his thick coat acts as a great protection 
in doing any form of water work, as he can 
swim for long stretches without becoming chilled. 
He has also been trained to course rabbits, 
and while he does not of course possess any¬ 
thing approching the tremendous speed of the 
greyhound, a coursing match between a couple 
of Irish terriers is a most interesting spectacle. 
He does not toss the rabbit like the greyhound, 
but catches him as he would any other prey. As 
a ratter the terrier is on a par with any dog, and 
will rid a barn of the rat pest almost as effect¬ 
ually as a cat. He makes an excellent coach dog. 
Taken all together, he is one of the most 
useful and companionable members of the canine 
family, and when I see him, as I often have, 
stretched out on the door mat of some poor 
man’s home, guarding it as faithfully as he 
would a palatial dwelling, he always recalls to 
my mind that famous speech of Senator Vest’s, 
which often has been recognized as one of the 
greatest eulogies on the dog: “A man’s dog 
stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in 
health and in sickness. He will sleep on the 
cold ground, where the wintry winds blow, and 
the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near 
his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that 
has no food to offer, he will lick the wound and 
sores that come in encounter with the rough¬ 
ness of the world. He guards the sleep of his 
pauper master as if he were a prince. When 
all other friends desert, he remains. When 
riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, 
he is constant in his love as the sun in its jour¬ 
ney to the heavens.” 
A New Bird Sanctuary in South Australia. 
The South .Australian Ornithological .Asso¬ 
ciation has leased the Coorong Islands. South 
.Australia, for a bird sanctuary and has placed 
them in care of a custodian. 
Let’s Be Brothers. 
BY A. G. GREEN. 
Birds of a feather flock together, and in like 
manner different varieties of the human species 
tend to fraternize, according to their mutual 
tastes or interests. I belong, for instance, to a 
family of the hunter tribe, whose totem is the 
fish. I am a fisherman, and I love the society 
of other fishermen. Fishermen usually love one 
another. Selfishness reigns supreme in most 
phases of earthly existence, but there is less of 
selfishness, and less of the other base instincts, 
among fishermen than among most any other 
people. In all my life I hav^e known but two 
fishermen who were asses and not gentlemen, 
I am a rather lonesome member of another 
clan—that of the bowme.n. Until recently I had 
thought this totem was about extinct. But I dis¬ 
covered these columns in Forest and Stream, 
and my heart was glad. Now, I know that I 
am not the only bow bug left alive. But I also 
perceive dissension among the bowmen, which 
is not as it should be. Let us hasten to fan the 
sputtering flamelet of brotherhood into a warmer 
life. Let me read a heart to heart lecture to 
Robert Page Lincoln, whose article 1 read with 
pain, for his attitude toward Brother Rendtorff. 
Judge not, lest you be judged, Brother Lincoln. 
Remember the fishermen, and be kind. Do not 
take a brother to task for failing to give you 
practical information, and monopolize the time 
of others through four columns of type without 
yourself offering any meat. Here are a few 
items of information, suggested by reading your 
article, that should interest an amateur such as 
you claim to be. 
There probably really have been such things 
in the world as fifty-five-pound (weight) bows, 
and even worse than that. Brother Lincoln, be¬ 
lieve me. I can cite you to the report of a 
United States army officer of the early days de¬ 
scriptive of such a weapon. He found it in the 
possession of an Indian buffalo hunter—a Sioux, 
if I remember correctly. With this weapon this 
mighty hunter had shot an arrow completely 
through the body of a buffalo, which was some 
bow, you must admit. None but the Indian were 
able to draw this bow. The white men placed 
it upon the ground, with their feet upon it, and 
grasping the cord with both hands were unable 
to bend it by main strength to any appreciable 
distance. There were no notches at the end of 
this bow for the string to slip in, such as Mr. 
Lincoln speaks of. They would have caused it 
to split. Only toj" bows are made that way by 
real bowmen, such as savage hunters are. Real 
Indian bows had the string fixed at either end, 
and it was looped across the ends to bend the 
bow. This is the correct way to make a bow, 
despite the white man’s practice of employing 
a sliding loop and a notched horn cap at the 
weapon’s end. 
As to common woods for bow making by 
amateurs, listen. The best of woods is sassa¬ 
fras. The next best is the osage orange. These 
are not easy to get, however, and for amateur 
purposes the best .American wood is the white 
ash, which is common most everywhere. Go to 
the nearest handle factory, where you will be 
able to pick out a rough, squared shaft of it of 
just the right size and length to begin on. 
In changing address, the old as well as the 
new should be given. 
