814 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[May 27, 1911. 
Old Fur Papers. 
We are permitted to copy a bill and letter 
of eighty years ago, dealing with fur prices of 
that date. They have been loaned us by Mrs. 
Fannie Hardy Eckstorm, and are among the old 
correspondence of her grandfather, Jonathan T. 
Hardy, the father of the late Manly Hardy. 
Those of our readers who are trappers, or who 
are in any way interested in the fur trade, can 
hardly fail to find these letters of very great 
interest. 
The papers are a bill in French from P. 
Tondut, of St. Pierre Miquelon to Jonathan T. 
Hardy for six fox skins, the most expensive of 
which—a black fox skin—cost $9. This is fol¬ 
lowed by the bill of lading and a translation of 
the bill rendered by Tondut. The letter from 
Barzillai Homes quotes prices of furs in Boston 
in 1835. Homes was a Boston fur buyer and 
his prices are interesting, compared with those 
of the day. The second item in Tondut’s bill 
probably refers to cross foxes; chaudronniers, 
as Mrs. Eckstorm suggests, very likely means 
“inclining to reddish.” 
FACTURE a 6 Peaux de RENARD, chargees 
sur le Falcon, Capitaine Hatch, allant a Castine, 
a l’adresse de Mons. Jonathan T. Hardy, pour 
etre realisees pour mon compte. 
1 Peau noire . F. 45 
3 dito chaudronniers .@ 15/. “ 45 
2 dito rouges .@ 4/. “ 8 
F. 98 
Dont je prie Monsieur Hardy de vouloir bien 
vendre au mieux de mes interets ou de les ex- 
pedier a Boston, s’il croit en avoir une defaite 
plus avantageuse. 
En attendant je le salue amicalement. 
Tondut. 
Je n’ai pu me procurer de peau de loutre ainsi 
que je l’avais promis a Mr. Hardy, mais j’espere 
etre plus heureux ce printemps. 
Tondut. 
St. Pierre, le 3 Decembre, 1834. 
SHIPPED, in good Order and Condition, 
by P. Tondut, of St. Pierre, in and upon 
the good Ship or Vessel called the Falcon 
whereof Wm. Hatch is Master for this 
present Voyage, now lying.in the Port of 
St. Pierre and bound for Castine. 
Viz. 
r Box J T H Six Fox Skins 
being marked and numbered as per Mar¬ 
gin, and are to be delivered in the like 
good Order and Condition, at the afore¬ 
said Port of Castine (all and every the 
Dangers and Accidents of the Seas and 
Navigation, of whatever nature or kind, 
excepted) unto 
Jonathan T. Hardy 
or to his Assigns, he or they paying 
Freight for the said Goods- 
with Average accustomed-In Wit¬ 
ness whereof, the Master or Purser of 
the said Ship or Vessel hath subscribed 
to these Bills of Lading, all of this Tenor 
and Date; one of which being accom¬ 
plished, the rest to stand void. 
Dated St. Pierre this 3d day of December, 1834. 
Wm. W. Hatch. 
Bill of 6 fox skins shipped on the Falcon 
Captain Hatch bound for Castine to the address 
of Mr. Jonathan T. Hardy to be sold for my 
account. 
1 black skin . F. 45 
3 “ cross @ 15 francs.. 45 
2 “ red @4 “ .. 8 
F. 98 
Which I beg Mr. Hardy to kindly sell for my 
best interest or to forward them to Boston if he 
believes that he will have there a more advan¬ 
tageous sale. 
Meanwhile, I salute him in a friendly manner. 
Tondut. 
I have not been able to procure any otter skins 
as I have promised M r. Hardy, but I hope to 
be more fortunate this spring. Tondut. 
St. Pierre, December 3rd, 1834. 
Boston, March 9th, 1835. 
Jonathan T. Hardy, Esq.: 
Dr. Sir. I recvd yours of 14th inst. this day, 
and agreeable to your request send you a list 
of the prices that I am now paying for prime 
furs, viz. Prime Red fox, 7/6 — X@i5/; 
Otters, 5.50 @ 6$; Minks, 45c.; for large Salt 
water Minks, 50c.; Sables, 100c.; Fishers, 1.50; 
Lusevees, 1.50 @ 1.75—House cats if large & 
Black, 20c.; Common, I2j4c.; Prime Bears, 3.50 
@ $4.00; Cubs, 1 @ 2$; Mushquash & Beaver 
very dul sale. Should you send your furs to 
this Market I will alow you the highest prices 
for them. They ought to be hear in all April. 
Yours respectfully, 
Barzillai Homes, No. 100, 
Milk Street. 
Bobwhite. 
Roanoke, Va., May 20.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: Little bobwhite is the best beloved of 
all the sportsmen in the sunny South, and a rare 
and exceedingly intelligent little fellow is he. 
In times that are past we had them in this county 
in thousands. I have netted them in the long ago, 
but we always turned from two to four pairs 
from each covey out for breeding stock, and for 
a long time they were as plentiful as ever, but 
when the mowing and reaping machines came 
into general use, the little fellows had to move 
from the cultivated fields, and after a few years 
instinct taught them to build their nests in the 
corners of the old rail fences so they would not 
be broken up. 
The last nest I saw in the wheat fie'd was 
when we were using the binder and cut to with¬ 
in a yard of it on the west, but the next time 
the machine came around I directed the driver 
to leave a space of about six feet. He did so, 
but it was all in vain, for I watched it for some 
time and they never returned. I have often left 
the grass and wheat standing, but have yet to 
see the first one return. It seems a little strange 
to me that they should be so particular when I 
once saw a guinea and a bobwhite nest together. 
I took a stick and rolled all the eggs out but 
one, to see what would happen next. Neither 
one ever laid in the nest again. 
Bob soon becomes expert in the knowledge of 
hiding, so you will not have all the advantage 
if he has to take to wing, as all hunters know. 
In my hunting experience I have known oniy 
two coveys to turn this trick. Late in the sea¬ 
son some years ago I found a covey on one side 
of a hundred-acre field. It was late in the sea¬ 
son and they were as wild as the proverbial 
marsh hare. They flushed and flew a long way 
due south, turned to the left and flew almost 
as far north. I did not know this at the time. 
I looked for them, but could not find them, so 
I began to circle until I at last located them. 
Right here is where the cunning or instinct of 
the birds was shown. I made a few kills, then 
the dog pointed the mother bird. I made a 
clean miss, but I observed when she flew she 
had a crooked leg and could not draw it up, 
so I marked her down in some brush and briers 
and went right after her. I made another e’ean 
miss and she flew right back to the place where 
they first scattered. I called the dog and he 
pointed her again over a stump in almost bare 
ground, so I thought I would see the hoodoo be¬ 
fore she flew. On looking I saw not one, but 
two birds within a couple of inches of each 
other. “Now,” I thought, “I will see what you 
do this time.” I advanced a step; up jumped 
the young cock bird and I downed him, but the 
crooked-leg bird did not bat an eye. I then 
flushed her and made a kill. I have often won¬ 
dered whether she took the position by the 
young bird by accident. Her actions on being 
discovered would indicate that she knew I would 
shoot the first bird that got up. 
With us they sometimes rear two broods a 
year. While plowing I have watched for several 
days at a time. The cock bird always has the 
older birds in his care and he is the most vigi¬ 
lant guardian I ever saw; never feeding so far 
as I could see, but perched on a clod, eyeing 
the surroundings for possible danger. The 
mother bird with the second brood kept near 
the others, but allowed no mixing with them; 
and such bird talk the young ones have. There 
are tramp birds in plenty, as I know, for I have 
found them one day and never saw them again. 
In 1890 we had a very deep snow and I thought 
all the birds would die. I put out some oats 
near a spring branch and two flocks found it. 
They came every day for about ten days and 
it was worth while to watch them enjoy the 
feast. As usual one was always on guard. After 
the snow was nearly gone the birds left, and not 
a bird was found on my farm that year; tramps 
they were. In the nesting season bobwhite is 
always on the lookout for a scrap, and on first 
sight you would think he was the John L. of 
his kind, but he is a good bluffer. They chase 
each other up and down a couple of licks at 
the end of the beat, and they turn and repeat 
the tactics. I have watched them for hours. 
Unless some disease kills them there will always 
be birds in the mountains of this county. The 
law prohibiting the sale of game birds in Vir¬ 
ginia for the last few years is showing decided 
results already. Referee. 
