454 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Sept, i6, 1911. 
The Negro’s Dog. 
Raleigh, N. C, Sept. 9. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: The white man loves his dog, but 
does he have for that animal the same wonder¬ 
ful brotherhood affection which the darky has 
for his “dawg”? One day I waiked up to a 
little log cabin, its yard swept as clean as any 
floor, the sand shining in the sunlight which 
filtered through the needles of the pines. Against 
the cabin, in the sunshine, lay a dog which 
looked up, but did not growl at my own setter. 
The latter animal looked on, very dignified in¬ 
deed, after the manner of game dogs. When 
I asked the darky what kind of dog his animal 
was, he replied! “Jes’ er dawg, boss.” There was 
some hound, some “fice,” a little touch of wo.f 
perhaps and some other mixture; but the way 
the darky loved that dog was beyond words to 
tell. He said : “What I loves best is my wife, 
Mandy, dis here dawg, and possums and water- 
millions.” 
He could not have said more. His wife 
smiled. I really think she appreciated being 
classed with the dog, ’possum and watermelon 
as an object of her husband’s affections. 
All this hinges on the fact that for the first 
time in the history of this county a dog has 
been sold at public auction for taxes. Henry 
Richardson, a negro, owned this dog. It was 
his most prized possession. He owed taxes 
amounting to $4.03, of which one dollar was 
the tax on this hound, the remainder poll tax. 
The deputy sheriff who went to make the seizure 
almost had tears in his eyes. It was the first 
time he had ever done such a thing. A crowd 
gathered at the sale, but poor Henry was not 
present, as he evidently felt that he could not 
stand the strain. A deputy sheriff acted as auc¬ 
tioneer. A negro named Walters, a devoted 
’possum hunter, bought the dog for $3.13, which 
covered taxes and costs in the case. Unfortu¬ 
nately no white sportsmen were present. Be¬ 
yond doubt if they had been on hand they wou'd 
have put up the money, redeemed that dog and 
relieved the sorrow of heartbroken Henry who 
must this winter depend upon the kindness of 
friends for his ’possum and rabbit hunting. 
This is a simple story, but it will no doubt 
bring many a memory before readers of Forest 
and Stream, particularly those who have been 
in the South and who know the negro’s char¬ 
acter and his love for dogs. A negro remarked 
once to me: “I’se got ten chillun, and has er 
dawg fur every one uv um. Dawgs an’ chillun 
jes nacherly goes tergedder. I likes ter see er 
plenty uv both uv um roun’ my house.” 
Fred. A. Olds. 
Ideal Conditions. 
Galesburg, N. D., Aug. 31. —Editor Forest and 
Stream: The prospect for chicken shooting 
throughout the State seems very fair, probably 
better than last year. The cover is heavier and 
unless the weather is cold and stormy they will 
lie better to the dog than they did last year 
when the cover was short. The season opens 
Sept. 7 and while there are reports of “sooner” 
shooting in some places, the law is well ob¬ 
served hereabout. The opening day is so late 
that one can hardly count on more than two 
weeks of shooting before the frosts and cool 
weather cause the birds to collect in large packs 
and become wild, rising far out of range. 
Ducks are fairly plenty where there is water, 
but many of the smaller sloughs are dry this 
fall. The weather now is exceedingly pleasant; 
warm sunny days, the evenings delightful with 
the daylight lingering long in the northwest, 
crystal clear, carmine-tinted, celestial, and the cold 
enough to call for blankets and give the tired 
hunter sound and restful sleep. There are more 
and larger cornfields than ever before, and that 
is a good thing for the birds and also for the 
hunters. Roasting ears and prairie chickens go 
well together on the table; 
J. P. Whittemore. 
Timely Warning. 
Secretary Kimball has sent to the members 
of the Massachusetts Fish and Game Protective 
Association and affiliated clubs a memorandum 
which is in part as follows: 
The shooting season on quail, woodcock, ruffed 
grouse, ail ducks, geese, shore, marsh and beach 
birds, gray squirrels, hares and rabbits, deer in 
the five western counties, is the same as in 1910. 
A bag limit of fifteen birds is put on blackducks, 
and ducks and geese (the Anatidce ) must not be 
killed between two hours after sunset and two 
hours before sunrise. The season limit of fifteen 
gray squirrels is removed, and grays, if doing 
damage to buildings or crops, may be killed at 
any time. 
Permits may be secured for the rearing of 
quail and the Hungarian partridges. 
A minor under sixteen years of age, in order 
to secure a license to hunt, must show the writ¬ 
ten consent of his parent or guardian. 
Trout, six inches in length, may be caught 
from April 1 to Aug. 1. 
The association is prepared to receive orders 
' for fingerling trout to be delivered in October 
at $10.50 per thousand. Expense of transporta¬ 
tion and the attendant (if one is required) to 
be borne by the consignee. Orders should be 
sent in prior to the 25th of September. 
Cloth posters of the fish and game laws in 
English and Italian, and the manual of abstracts 
will be sent free of charge upon application to 
the secretary. 
The Twenty-seven Lions. 
Philadelphia, Pa., Sept. 1. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: I have read with interest your editorial 
on the killing of twenty-seven lions. 
When I was in British East Africa some years 
ago, I am glad to say that the few men shoot¬ 
ing there were all on an equal footing, and at 
that time all lions were shot by men on foot. I 
am sorry to see money enter into this sport, as 
it has lately. There were a good many men 
killed and mauled by lions, but this was part of 
the game. If a man killed twenty-seven lions 
in fair chase, well and good; otherwise they 
might as well be poisoned or trapped. 
I could not help writing this to tell you how 
much I approve of your editorial. 
George L. Harrison, Jr. 
Game Prospects. 
Berlin, N. Y., Aug. 31. —Editor Forest and 
Stream: The trout season just over has been 
rather a failure. There are plenty of small 
trout, however, and the recent rains have filled 
up the brooks enough to prevent their destruc¬ 
tion, and next season should be a good one. The 
beech trees are loaded with nuts this fall and 
gray squirrels will be here in force to harvest 
them. 
Partridges are reported by berry pickers as 
being put up frequently. 
During the last few years sandpipers have in¬ 
creased along the brooks and snipe are begin¬ 
ning to appear. I have seen a number this sum¬ 
mer. 
A good hunting season seems to be indicated. 
Sandy. 
THE TOP RAIL. 
Some of the best fishing and wildfowl resorts 
are inland, where boats are not to be had, and 
where it would not be convenient to keep one. 
In such places folding canvas canoes are some¬ 
times employed, but I have often wondered why 
some person has not adopted smaller craft which 
could, if desired, be carried on the back. In 
Germany, France, Wales and elsewhere such 
craft are frequently used. Some are made to 
fold, and in this form are carried on the back 
or shipped as baggage, and others are rigid and 
are carried just as a canoe is carried, only there 
is a strap that goes round the chest, and the 
boat is held more or less upright. 
Some of the coracles are only five or six feet 
long, and half as wide—overgrown dishpans, in 
fact, being merely a convenience and not a thing 
of beauty. Iflowever, by using a tiny paddle the 
fisherman reaches the place selected for his 
sport, and that is after all about what he would 
do with a boat. Being broad and flat, they are 
more or less staunch, and there is space enough 
in them for tackle, lunch and odds and ends. 
On scores of inland lakes and on streams too 
wide to cover from either bank, but too deep 
to wade, a canvas tub fashioned somewhat like 
the Welsh coracle, would be a handy makeshift, 
and easy to carry. I have never tried, but I 
fancy I could make such an affair of canvas 
with wooden frame, to weigh twenty or twenty- 
five pounds, in half-a-day. Any boy could de¬ 
sign and make a better one, to fold, and when 
finished it would be very handy for pond shoot¬ 
ing and angling. 
* * * 
From the following description of the osveja, 
can you imagine what the creature is like? The 
Buenos Aires Standard says that “it is smaller 
than a sheep, but stands higher; its legs are 
long and slender; its neck long, like the guanaco 
somewhat, but more slender. Its head is much 
like that of an ostrich, except that it has two 
small ears, thin and flexible, like the ears of a 
bat. It has a sort of bill, but it has also teeth. 
It can run very swiftly when alarmed, but is 
usually tame; in fact, most that I saw were pets 
about the homes of the camp folks. The creat- 
use is covered with a curious fine, soft, silky coat, 
midway between feathers and wool, like the 
mohair of the Angora goat, only much finer and 
more silky.” Grizzly King. 
