June, 1918 
FOREST AND S T R E A M 
333 
’RIFTED leaves 
covered the old 
logging road in 
which we stood, 
j and as I moved 
one of my feet, 
from the very toe 
of my hunting 
boot, a quail that 
had lain buried in 
the leaves took 
jj w in g and sped 
swiftly down the 
roadway. Throwing up my gun, I brought 
it down with a snap shot. As Old Dash 
cantered past us to retrieve it, Bill excited¬ 
ly said, “Look there, Neil! Look there!” 
and pointed to the side of the road some 
six feet away. There sticking above the 
dead leaves was the head of a cock quail, 
his little eyes glistening like beads as he 
moved his head from side to side. 
“Did you notice, Old Dash nearly jumped 
over that bird as he went after your dead 
one, don’t that beat the Dutch? Look 
there! there is another one,” and looking 
carefully around, we discovered three or 
four more heads sticking above the leaves. 
We were in the midst of the lost covey— 
they were all around us. 
Old Dash now brought in my bird, and 
with the other dog was ordered to 
“charge.” It was the strangest experience 
of my whole life’s quail shooting, and true 
in every particular. The quail by some 
strange provision of nature were most posi¬ 
tively withholding their scent, for there 
within six feet lay two good dogs, one of 
them I believe to have been one of the best, 
if not the best, dog in the State of New 
Jersey, taking no more notice of the quail 
than if they had been a mile away. 
For quite a while we enjoyed this strange 
experience, then Bill said, “I’m going to 
end this,” and he kicked up the cock quail 
first noticed, killing it nicely as it rose. 
At the report of the gun, the whole covey 
took wing like one bird, covering us with 
a cascade of dead leaves as they did so. 
We marked them down at the woods’ edge 
along a ditch bank, and there G'ld Dash 
seemed to renew his youth, and got square 
with the birds that had fooled him so bad¬ 
ly. They did not withhold their scent now, 
and in the slashing style of old he “nailed” 
them one by one and we did our part like 
good men tried and true. One of the birds 
killed fell in the ditch, and the old dog 
went after it. He did not return, and Bill 
going to the ditch bank called, “Come here, 
Neil; isn’t that a picture?” The bottom 
of the ditch was covered with grass killed 
by the frost, in some places quite thick. 
There stood Dash as of old, pointing with 
a dead quail in his mouth; by the way he 
held his head, the bird was at his very feet. 
For a moment we watched the old fellow, 
then Bill got down in the ditch and kicked 
in the grass, no quail. Again he kicked— 
no quail. “I guess the old boy is wrong 
this time,” said Bill.—“I’ll bet he isn’t, the 
bird is right under his nose.” Then Bill 
knelt and parted the thick grass with his 
hands and the quail burst out in his face 
and I fortunately killed it. 
We took heavy toll from this covey to 
pay for our trouble, finding other coveys 
later on, and when the day came to a close 
had a fine bag between us. As we walked 
down the turnpike, the grand old dog came 
slowly behind us. With the excitement of 
the chase gone he showed plainly his weari¬ 
ness and staggered as he walked, but his 
courage kept him on his feet. We both 
realized that his hunting days were over, 
and before another hunting season came 
around, Old Dash had gone to the bourne 
from whence no dog returns, and I 
mourned a canine friend. 
Many years have passed since then, and 
Curtis has attended many field trials and 
seen great dogs in action and heard them 
acclaimed winners and crowned with great 
applause, but to him, as to the writer of 
this sketch, there will never be one to 
equal dear Old Dash, the king of them 
all, who while worthy of the title, had 
never worn the crown. 
THE FIELD TRIALS OF THE SETTER CLUB 
CONTESTS TO DETERMINE THE QUESTION OF SUPERIORITY BETWEEN BIRD DOGS ORIGINATED 
IN ENGLAND BUT HAVE REACHED THEIR HIGHEST DEVELOPMENT IN THIS COUNTRY 
By ROD RANDOM 
The dogs display their natural qualities to the best advantage 
A FIELD Trial, we Will 
explain, is a race be¬ 
tween bird dogs — 
setters and pointers—to de¬ 
termine the question of su¬ 
periority. Just where the 
first Field Trial was run 
would probably carry us 
back to the days when men 
began using dogs to assist 
them in the chase. The 
first Trial of this kind re¬ 
corded took place about 
seventy years ago in Eng¬ 
land. The sport was taken 
up in America in about 
1873, and here it has 
reached its highest develop¬ 
ment. There were very 
elaborate rules for govern¬ 
ing, and a complicated sys¬ 
tem for scoring these early 
events. Every single bird 
or covey find, every point, 
back and flush, was given 
specific value in a sliding 
scale of points. The con¬ 
ditions under which Field Trials were held, 
however, were so unequal and uncertain 
that this method, which looks so well on 
paper, did not work out with equal justice 
in the field. Gradually a new system was 
worked out that practically left everything 
to the judges, so that Field Trials of to¬ 
day are handled under the simplest of 
rules which allow practically unlimited lati¬ 
tude to the men who have been selected 
to make the awards. 
The usual Field Trial procedure is as 
follows: Whenever a sufficient number of 
sportsmen and bird dog enthusiasts decide 
to run a Trial, they form themselves into 
a club, elect a Secretary and other officers, 
and announce through the sporting papers 
that they will hold a Trial at a certain 
time and place. The entries usually close 
from thirty to sixty days in advance of the 
Trials. The sportsmen desiring to com¬ 
pete, fill out and file with the Secretary of 
the club a blank form, 
which gives the name, 
breed, date of birth, pedi¬ 
gree and description of the 
dog they propose to run as 
well as the handler and 
other information. 
The entry fee is usually 
from five to ten dollars, 
this being paid at the time 
of making entry. The night 
before the Trial the vari¬ 
ous sportsmen, having gath¬ 
ered at the Field Trial 
headquarters, hold the 
“d rawin g," and all who 
have decided to fill the em- 
tries they have made, pay 
the Secretary an additional 
starting fee, usually the 
same amount as the entry 
fee. The name of each dog 
entered is then written on 
a separate slip of paper 
which is folded and placed 
in a hat or other receptacle. 
These slips are drawn in 
pairs and the braces of dogs represented 
constitute what is known as the first series. 
The start is usually made in the morning; 
the two dogs first drawn are started together 
under conditions which as closely as pos¬ 
sible approximate those of the ordinary 
hunting trip with dogs. They are allowed 
to range freely across the field with their 
owners or handlers walking along together 
quietly. Good handlers do not interfere 
(continued on page 375 ) 
