The Greencoat. 
My uncle had purchased at public auction the 
Lunting rights of the town of S., in Austria. 
i)ne day, in the season of ’81, I was going out 
lone and took with me a German setter dog 
hat was only about half trained. This was my 
■rincipal reason for going alone. 
As I was starting my uncle told me that if 
happened to meet another hunter wearing a 
reen hat with a capercailzie feather and a green 
oat, to invite him to go along with me for a 
lay’s sport. This was a friend of my uncle’s 
nd as he could not get away from business him- 
elf, I should make it my business to entertain 
he friend. 
A mile and a half from S. I met the individual 
n question. I produced my card and he his. 
explaining my errand, he readily accepted the 
Invitation to tramp with me. I sent the dog 
,nto a good promising stubble field and after a 
ew minutes he wheeled into a beautiful high- 
neaded point. “Rebhuhner,” I exclaimed, for 
>y his high head I could readily determine that 
he game in front were birds and not a hare, 
he German dog, pointer or setter, as may not 
}ie generally known, is trained to point fur as 
cell as feather. The attitude the dog strikes in- 
orms the hunters whether birds, head high—or 
. hare, low crouching point—is in front. Ap¬ 
proaching the pointing dog, my new-found friend 
nd I prepared to shoot, when that rascal of a 
etter made a jump right into the midst of the 
covey. I did not shoot, but my friend let 
;o both barrels, for I was watching the dog 
.nore than anything else and calling, “Down, to¬ 
rn, Tyras 1 ” After I had the over-ambitious 
canine under control again and had given him 
, little warning with the whip, the green-coated 
nan informed me that he had killed a bird that 
lad fallen at the edge of the stubble near a 
iotato field in which the stalks and leaves were 
till green and bushy. I ordered the dog to 
etch, but though he was a first-class retriever 
md dead bird finder, he failed to find. We 
ooked the stubble and the potato field over and 
>ver again with no result. I finally called the 
log off, remarking meekly, “You must have been 
nistaken, Mr. N.” He declared he was not, and 
igain I sent the dog in and I let the dog quarter 
every foot of ground. Nothing was found, 
finally, to get away, I said to him, “The dog 
Is out of nose to-day. We had better move on,” 
ind to this he finally but grumblingly assented. 
The next point we got, the birds were flushed 
py us both, the dog being steady this time. A 
)ird flew across my face, and as it was a left 
juarterer, it should have been my shot, but the 
nan in the green coat thought otherwise. He 
dazed away across my face and the wads, fly- 
'ng sidewise, almost touched me. I stared at 
urn in open wonder, but said nothing. He did 
lot score this time either, and I determined to 
'e on the watch for him. After this we had 
ome points on singles and I had the good for- 
une to make a double. As he had shot at the 
ame bird—the last one killed—he promptly 
claimed my bird, and although I felt sure he 
shot ten yards behind it, I made no objections. 
After this he shot three or four times more 
and insisted that the dog be sent to retrieve, al¬ 
though I had watched him closely and saw no 
bird drop. The same thing had to be done over 
again and again, until finally I resolved to escape 
his further companionship. Accidentally making 
a false step, I pretended to have turned my 
ankle and excused myself to hobble home. 
“You better leave the dog with me,” he ex¬ 
claimed. “I will bring him home in the even¬ 
ing.” I explained that the dog would not stay 
with him and went away. 
By this time I had guessed why my uncle had 
WARDEN CHASE AND FAWNS THAT HAVE BEEN' 
RAISED BY HAND. 
business engagements that prevented his going 
shooting on that particular day, and when I 
reached home gave him my ideas about his 
friend, the greencoat. The only sympathy I 
received was a shout of laughter. 
Charles F. Brocicel. 
Pheasants for Louisiana. 
New Orleans, La., Aug. 14 .—Editor Forest 
and Stream: The State Game Commission has 
announced its intention to purchase in the next 
month a number of Chinese ring-neck pheasants 
from Colorado. These birds will be placed in 
the game preserves in Louisiana and also in 
several of the central and northern parishes. 
This pheasant is recommended to be one of the 
best known birds for the destruction of bugs 
and insects that work so much damage to the 
crops of the farmers. It is proposed to experi¬ 
ment with these pheasants by turning over sev¬ 
eral pairs to private parties to raise. 
Game Warden J. C. Durand, of St. Martin 
parish, reports that he often rides fifty-seven 
miles a day in his parish while attending to his 
duties. He says the prospects for an excellent 
game season this year are bright. F. G. G. 
Deer in New England. 
Bennington, Vt., Aug. 14. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: Just one more word about the Ver¬ 
mont deer. I have read, with much interest and 
profit, Naugatuck’s and Mr. Kimball’s letters 
in regard to the deer in Massachusetts and 
Connecticut. What Mr. Kimball writes about 
deer damage to farmers’ crops in his State ap¬ 
plies somewhat to the conditions in Vermont. 
Here, the farmer notifies the chairman of 
selectmen of his town in writing, the selectman 
goes to the premises, and if he decides there is 
damage by the deer, he calls in the county 
warden, and if the latter agrees with him that 
the farmer has suffered loss by deer the two 
appraise the claim and return a certificate under 
oath to the State auditor, who sends the 
claimant a check for his loss. 
This procedure does not cause the farmer 
much inconvenience. He has only to drop a 
line to his selectman and the machinery is put 
in motion. I find the law works very well 
when it is understood by claimants, and we 
aim to pay them fully one hundred cents on the 
dollar for their loss. Of course, there are some 
cases where one side or the other is dissatis¬ 
fied with the appraisal, but that is to be ex¬ 
pected where there is so much uncertainty in 
arriving at a just estimate. 
In my letter to Forest and Stream about 
the deer in Vermont I was careful to be con¬ 
servative, aiming to give both sides of the 
question and draw such logical deductions as 
common sense dictated. But it seems I am 
disputed. A copy of Forest and Stream of 
July 31 fell into the hands of the editor of the 
Rutland (Vt.) Herald, and he immediately 
opened up on me in an editorial headed “A 
Queer Game Warden,” and denied my asser¬ 
tions. He says he has seen deer from the 
windows of the train and other places, and they 
were all “wild as a hawk,” as they immediately 
flourished a white brush and left the neighbor¬ 
hood. For this reason, he says, the “Vermont 
deer is a genuine wild deer.” Did he expect 
these deer to stand quietly by as a rushing 
train went along? The bare fact that he saw 
them from a train window assists in refuting 
his contention. Again, this editor has seen 
them in the forests, and probably because the 
deer did not come forth and eat browse out of 
his hands, he says they are “genuine wild deer.” 
What an argument! How many still-hunters 
have followed on the track of a deer days at 
a time; they could see where the deer had 
lain down; fresh tracks only a few minutes old 
just ahead of them; occasionally they could 
hear the snapping of twigs or just see a white 
flag waving an adieu. Would these sportsmen 
call our editor’s deer genuine wild ones? 
Again, this editor says the deer come down 
on the farms because they are driven there 
from “extremity of hunger.” It is well under¬ 
stood, I suppose, that the deer only come down 
on the farms in spring and summer. If so. 
how consistent this argument is, indeed! 
