EECOiiECTIOSS flMK €BM":GEISWDLI> ^^ 3.0 ^^.^ JOHNA.SEAVERNS v^y / . '^' ^ ••"Hrl^t'^.'O^ Compliments of /03.^, 9 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER RECOLLECTIONS OF FRANK GRAY GRISWOLD Volume VI PRIVATELY PRINTED 1923 COPYRIGHT, 1923, BY TRANK GRAY GRI9WOLD THE . PLIMPTQN • PRESS NORWOOD • MASS • U • S • A MADE IN THE UNITED STATES CONTENTS I PAGE Resolute and Shameock IV 3 II The Tarpok v ... 23 Fish Facts and Fancies 61 The Senses of Fish 71 Salmon Fishing 85 III St. Simon 95 Man O' War 103 The King and Queen of the Trotting Track . .115 IV The International Polo Cup 135 The Polo Season of 1922 . 147 V Foxhounds and their Handling, by Lord Henry Bentmck 163 111 RESOLUTE AND SHAMROCK IV RESOLUTE AND SHAMROCK IV WHEN Sir Thomas Lipton challenged for the third time for the America's Cup in 1913, he stipulated that the competing yachts "shall not exceed 75 feet on the water- line and that the best three out of five races shall decide the issue/' This challenge was rejected by the N. Y. Y. C, and Sir Thomas was informed in plain words that any stipulation on his part would bar the way to a race for the Cup. On April 18th, Sir Thomas sent an uncon- ditional challenge without any stipulation as to the size of the defending yacht, but stated that the challenger would be a 75 footer. This challenge was eventually accepted for a series of races in September, 1914, and it was understood that the rule requir- ing a yacht "to rate at the highest limit of 4 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER her class in certain cases shall not apply to this match." During the negotiations Sir Thomas wrote: "I appreciate the grounds on which the N. Y. Y. C. desires to keep alive the right to defend with a yacht of greater length than the challenger, but am convin- ced that the right is so opposed to the best interests of this important international event that it will not be exercised." In September, 1913, a 75-foot "defender" was ordered by a N. Y. Y. C. syndicate. The designer and builder selected was Na- thaniel G. Herreshoff . Mr. Robert W. Emmons, 2nd, was ap- pointed manager with Mr. Charles Francis Adams at the wheel and Captain Chris. Christiansen as professional assistant. This vessel was named "Resolute." In October Mr. Alexander S. Cochran gave William Gardner an order to design a trial yacht of a like length. This vessel was built at Lawley's yard in Boston, was christened "Vanitie," and was sailed at firsrt RESOLUTE AND SHAMROCK IV 5 by Captain Dennis, who resigned after a few races and Captain Harry Haff took command. A third vessel, "Defiance" by name, was designed by George Owen for a Philadelphia syndicate, and was built in Maine. The underbody of Resolute was of man- ganese bronze. Above the waterline she was of light steel construction, single riveted. Her decks were of aluminum, and she had a thin bronze blade of a centre- board. She drew normally 13 feet 8/4 inches, and, with the board down, 22 feet. Vanitie was of much stronger construc- tion, being double riveted throughout, and was built of manganese bronze, and the first season was unpainted but polished. She also had a centre-board. Defiance was built of wood. It was soon apparent that Herreshoff had designed the smallest vessel and that the time she would be allowed depended upon her headsails, for Resolute had a for- ward and an after step for her mast. In 6 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER the former case she had a short bowsprit and carried a single headsail. In the lat- ter, a longer bowsprit and a double head- rig. She eventually adopted the latter rig. During the season of 1914 a number of trial races were sailed by these three vessels. Although Resolute won the majority of these races, it was often by a very small margin. Defiance did not win a race, and retired on July 23rd. On August 16th Shamrock IV, accom- panied by s.y. Erin, arrived in New York Harbor, and, owing to the War, was hauled out in South Brooklyn with her underbody hidden by canvas. Resolute and Vanitie were put in commis- sion in 1915. This caused adverse criticism in England, for it was thought there that, as the challenger had to remain idle owing to the war, the American vessels should do likewise. During the season of 1915 Vanitie was RESOLUTE AND SHAMROCK IV 7 sailed by Commodore C. Vanderbilt with Captain Christiansen in attendance. The two yachts sailed a number of trial races, and also joined the N. Y. Y. C- cruise. In the run from Xew London to New- port Vanitie distinguished herself, for carry- ing a club-topsail in a strong breeze she outsailed the fleet. Resolute was disabled, and many of the large schooners did not face Point Judith. During the racing of these two seasons Resolute had been well managed and very well sailed, but Vanitie, a beautiful vessel to look at, had suffered from changes of management as well as changes of skippers. It was believed by many yachtsmen that her true form had not been seen, and it was thought that she could be greatly im- proved. 8 sport on land and water Trial Races 1914 Jwne 2 Long Island Sound, m. s. Vanitie won by 13. 35 3 Long Island Sound, Resolute won by 2. 45 6 Long Island Sound, Vanitie won by 2. 40 10 Sandy Hook, Resolute won by 7. 29 11 Sandy Hook, Resolute won by 1. 16 12 San,dy Hook, Resolute won by 6. 00 23 Long Island Sound, Resolute won by 16. 20 25 Long Island Sound, Resolute won by 8. 03 26 Long Island Sound, Resolute won by 4. 14 July 8 Newport, Resolute won by 1. 19 10 Newport, Resolute won by 33. 07 KESOLUTE AND SHAMROCK IV 9 18 Newport, Resolute won by 0. 53 31 Long Island Sound, Resolute won by 23. 17 Aug. 1 Long Island Sound, Resolute won by 5. 35 4 Newport, Resolute won by 2. 21 5 Block Island Sound, Resolute won by 5. 19 Tkial Races 1915 m. s. July 3 Long Island Sound, Resolute won by 4. 48 5 Long Island Sound, Vanitie won by 3. 05 6 Long Island Sound, Resolute won by 2. 25 10 Long Island Sound, Resolute won by 4. 48 13 Sandy Hook, Resolute won by 5. 27 14 Sandy Hook, Resolute won by 0. 52 10 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER 15 Sandy Hook, Resolute won by 1. 30 27 Newport, Resolute won by 5. 04 Aug. 5 Newport, Resolute won by 1. 08 6 Buzzard's Bay, Vanitie won by 9. 31 7 Massachusetts Bay, Resolute won by 20. 28 10 Massachusetts Bay, Resolute won by 5. 16 There were also a number of races in which one or the other did not finish, also several races of Resolute vs. Defiance and Vanitie vs. Defiance. In October, 1919, Sir Thomas Lipton re- newed his challenge, which was accepted, and July 15, 1920, named as the date for the first race. Shamrock IV was taken to Jacob's yard at City Island for a thorough overhauling. Designed by Nicholson and built of three RESOLUTE AND SHx\MROCK IV 11 thicknesses of mahogany, she was of the lightest construction yet elastic and strong. Some alterations were also made to her hull. It was the first time that the critics could see her underbody, and they were not im- pressed by her beauty of line. Mr. Cochran presented Vanitie to the Cup Committee, and they placed her in the hands of Rear Commander George Nichols, who sailed her cleverly during the trial races of 1920. Vanitie's rail was cut away from about two-thirds way aft to lighten her and free her decks, and later on the rail was removed from stem to stern. Her centre-board was also altered so as to throw the weight more forward. The first trial race between Resolute and Vanitie was sailed in Long Island Sound on May 22. Resolute, when in the lead, car- ried away her mast. The yachts were then taken to Newport, where they sailed eleven races in which both yachts finished; 12 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER m. s. 1st Resolute won by 5. 39 2nd Vanitie 3. 16 Srd Resolute 33. 07 Mh Resolute 1. 00 5th Vanitie 0. 54 6th Resolute 0. 57 7th Vanitie 4. 02 Sth Resolute 3. 49 9th Resolute 0. 14 10th Resolute 1. 07 nth Vanitie 0. 42 Vanitie allowed Resolute 1 m. 8 sees. On June 26 the Committee selected Res- olute to defend the Cup, and Commodore Nichols was appointed navigating officer. The boat with the slightly better record had been chosen. The issue had always been in doubt until the yachts were over the finish line, and correction for time allowance had been made. Each leg of every course was considered by the Committee. The outcome showed RESOLUTE AND SHAMROCK IV 13 a slight advantage in favor of Resolute. The Committee had to consider that the management and sailing of Resolute had been nearly perfection, and that Mr. Adams had sailed the yacht during three seasons and knew her every whim. Shamrock IV had been easily outsaihng Shamrock III off Sandy Hook, the latter having arrived from England to act as a tuning-up trial vessel. Mr. William P. Burton, the amateur skipper of the challenger, was at a great dis- advantage, for he was sailing a yacht that he knew little about. Measurements of Cup Yachts Resolute Shamrock IV Sail area 8775 sq. ft. 10,459.4 sq. ft. Length over all 106.34 ft. 110.39 ft. Length water line 74.97 ft. 75 ft. 14 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER Quarter beam length penalty 1.23 ft. 3.97 ft. Racing length 76.20 ft. 78.97 ft. Displacement 3650 cubic ft. 3879 cubic ft. Draught penalty 0.58 ft. Rating measurement 83.5 ft. 84.4 ft. Shamrock IV allows Resolute 7 min. 1 sec. Resolute was painted white and Sham- rock IV light green. During the races the yachts experienced e%^ery kind of weather — dead calm, heavy wind, thunder squalls, rain, and fog. The first race was on July 15th. Res- olute, when nearly 4 mins. in the lead, and just before rounding the outer mark, parted her throat halliards, which spread the jaws of her gaff, and she retired from the race. This action on her part was commented upon, for being in the lead and having over RESOLUTE AND SHAMROCK IV 15 7 mins. allowance, it was thought by many that she should have endeavored to finish the race down wind. Her managers, however, were probably wise, for having discovered that they had the better vessel to windward, it was better to take no risks with damaged masthead tackle. It was said later that Shamrock IV had sprung her bowsprit. Twenty minutes after the start of this race, I felt convinced that barring accidents the Cup was safe, for Resolute not only outpointed her rival, but was also a trifle quicker in stays. The second start was unsuccessful, for, after sailing two sides of the triangle in baffling, light winds, the race was declared off. This race was resailed on June 20th. There was very little windward work as the wind shifted. Shamrock won by 2 min. 26 sees. Shamrock covered the course in 9 mins. 27 sees, better actual time. 16 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER Third Race, Mh Start, 15 miles to wind- ward and return. This race was a deadheat as far as actual time is concerned. Both the yachts sailed over the course in the identical time. Res- olute winning on her time allowance of 7 mins. 1 sec. This was a race that was full of interest. The two boats crossed the starting line on the starboard tack, Shamrock to wind- ward and 19 sees, in the lead. Shamrock came about immediately, and in a few min- utes Resolute followed. This put Burton well in the lead with a free wind, and left the course open to him to point further off the wind than Resolute in an effort to realize what it is believed to have been the designers' object when he planned the challenger, that is, to be able to sail much faster than usual by sailing a little off the wind, and so to sail around the defender. For nine and a half miles they both held this port tack. Shamrock sailing faster but Resolute pointing higher. RESOLUTE AND SHAMBOCK IV 17 When Shamrock came about, the yachts were about a mile apart. As the two yachts approached one another, although Sham- rock had the right of way, she could not force Resolute to come about, so tacked and stood in shore again slightly in the lead. As they approached the New Jersey coast Shamrock came about and Resolute fol- lowed. The yachts were now together with the defender on the weather side. Then followed a great fight for a free wind, both yachts feinting and tacking back and forth. In half an hour they tacked twenty times. Each time they tacked, Shamrock, picking up her speed more slowly than Resolute, lost time. When the two boats started for the turn- ing stake. Shamrock was 400 yards astern. Following the same course for seven and one half miles with identical sail, Shamrock had overhauled only about 30 yards of Res- olute's lead when thej^ rounded the stake. She was 2 mins. 6 sees, behind, and, being slow in changing sails, lost more time. 18 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER She footed faster down the wind owing to her greater sail area, and, finally blanket- ing and then passing Resolute, finished 19 sees, ahead, making the race a dead heat in actual time. The next time the yachts went to the start there was a 36 mile gale blowing from the southwest and the race was called off by mutual consent. This was greatly criticised by the arm- chair yachtsmen, who could not understand that the modern racing yachts, without rails or protection for the sailors, are not safe conveyances in a thrash to windward in a gale of wind and a rough sea. It was the danger to human life, not the question as to whether the yachts could withstand the punishment, that caused the race to be called off. Then followed two unfinished races, owing to lack of wind. The fourth race on July 23rd, over a tri- angular course, was won by Resolute by 9 mins. 58 sees, corrected time. Shamrock EESOLUTE AND SHAMROCK IV 19 having been reineasured with a shorter top- mast now allowed 6 mins. 40 sees. The fifth race, on July 27th, — 15 miles to windward and return, — was won by Reso- lute in 19 min. 45 sees,, and the thirteenth defense of the America's Cup became yacht- ing history. Great credit was due to Mr. Adams for the masterly way he had handled Resolute. Following in the footsteps of his forefathers, who had sailed the Ship of State through much rough water, he had added to the laurels of an illustrious name. 20 SPOET ON LAND AND WATER American Cup Races, 1920 Resolute versus Shamrock IV 1st Race July 15 30 miles to windward and return. Sham- rock IV won. Reso- lute disabled. 2nd '' " 20 Triangular course — Shamrock won by 2 mins. 26 sees. 3rd " " 21 30 miles to windward and return. Reso- lute won by 7 min. 1 sec. Uh " ** 23 Triangular course — Resolute won by 9 min. 58 sees. 5ih " " 27 30 miles to windward and return. Reso- lute won by 19 min. 45 sees. THE TARPON THE TARPON {Tarpon A tlanticus) THIS game fish has the local names of Tarpon, Tarpum, Grand Ecaille, Savalo, Sabalo, Savanilla, Savalle, Silver Fish, and Silver King. He belongs to the family of Elopidea, and is the largest of the herring tribe. His habitat at sea is in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean and of the Gulf Stream. He is found along the coasts of Brazil and Central America, as well as among the is- lands of the West Indies and also along the gulf coast of Mexico. In the summer time tarpon are numerous all around the Gulf of Mexico and on the east coast of Florida. A few fish have been known to appear in midsummer as far north as the New Eng- land coast. I have seen several in the New 23 24 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER York Aquarium that had been taken in nets in New York Bay. In the summer of 1919, I saw a fine specimen that was caught in a net in Narragansett Bay near Newport. Little is known of the habits of the tarpon when in the open sea. I never met them at sea but once, and that was in the month of February along the edge of the Gulf Stream off New River Inlet. On that occasion I sailed through a large school on the surface swimming south. Tarpon are often taken in the nets off Hillsboro Inlet, which is not far from where I met them. They arrive among the Keys of lower Florida in smaU schools of an average weight in February, and from then on their num- bers increase until midsimmaer. These schools of fish dwell in Bahia Hondo, Mat- ecumbe Sound and other channels for a few days before working their way into the Gulf of Mexico. If a Norther blows they go to sea, and return later. Other fish enter the rivers of the east coast of Florida. rf,? m m 4 f#-:., THE TARPON 25 The building of the East Coast Railway greatly disturbed their customs, for many of the fairways they were in the habit of journeying through were closed by trestles and viaducts. At that time schools of fish appeared in Biscayan Bay, and many were taken off the mouth of Arch Creek. These fish were evidently looking for a passage through to the west coast, having found their usual route further south barred by the railroad. On the west coast tarpon are to be found in Shark, Harney, Broad, Turner's and Losman's rivers, and among the Thousand Islands. In Surveyor's Creek, Estero, and the Caloosahatchee River, also in the Passes that divide the outer islands such as Captiva and Boca Grande, and up along the Gulf of Mexico. These fish are supposed to return south in early November, but many remain in the deep holes of the rivers during the winter and do not show unless the water is at least as warm as 68 degrees. 26 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER Where these fish come from is not known, but they appear to arrive from the West Indies via the Gulf Stream. There is another migration up the west side of the Gulf that appears to come from the rivers of Mexico. They begin to arrive at Aransas Pass in March. It is not known where they spawn. Some people believe it happens at sea but, from what I have seen, I believe they spawn in brackish water at the headwaters of streams, or at the head of the tide, for it is there only that you find small fish. Fifteen miles up rivers in Cuba I have taken large tarpon that were evidently spent fish, not only from their appearance but be- cause they had little strength. It is pos- sible they also spawn on the flats and sand- bars inside the outer islands. Tarpon are very susceptible to the cold, and love warm water. When in the rivers and not looking for food they will lie on the bottom, coming up from time to time for a mouthful of air and then retiring to their THE TARPON 27 resting place, after which air-bubbles will arise to the surface. It is this action that makes the natives in- sist that these fish have lungs and use them for breathing. Then again they will lie on the bottom for hours as other fish do, with little or no motion of the fins. I once saw quite a school of large tarpon lying on the bottom in the Los Angeles River in the Isle of Pines. They took no notice of the launch, although we passed over them twice in seven feet of clear water. I once caught a bab^^ tarpon five inches long in a gill net in New Kiver. He was badly gilled, yet lived all day in a tub. He did not act as other fish do, but allowed me to stroke him gently and, tarpon-like, showed no fear. From time to time he would rise to the surface as the large fish do in the rivers, then go to the bottom of the tub again, and in a moment the bubbles would slowly issue from his mouth. The long lower jaw of the tarpon shows 28 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER that he is a bottom feeder, and lives on crabs ; yet he also feeds on school fish such as mul- let, needle fish, and the like. Although the tarpon's mouth is as hard as stone, there is a very sensitive cuticle that covers the roof of the mouth. When you see a tarpon in a river jump you may be sure that a crab has nipped this cuticle. When they jump in the sea it may be done to get rid of ramoras. I believe that the tarpon not only come to the rivers of Florida in the spring and early summer for the purpose of spawning, but that like the salmon they return to the same river as a rule, and that many fish remain in deep holes in the rivers throughout the winter. This belief is based on the fact that in the late 80's and early 90's there were many tarpon to be found in the Peace River. During the freeze in 1894 many himdreds of tarpon were killed by the cold in this stream. The banks were lined with dead fish of the largest kind. Since that time, THE TARPON 29 few tarpon are to be found in the Peace River. I was in Florida at the time of the "Big Freeze," hving in a houseboat on the St. Lucie River. The mercury went to 18 de- grees, and the river water steamed and smoked. It was not the cold that directly killed the fish, but the cold seemed to have consumed the oxygen in the water, for the fish died from asphyxiation. For two hundred miles both shores of the shallow Indian River were banked with dead fish, mostly so-called surface feeders such as snook, bluefish, and the like. The bottom fish did not seem to be affected. I saw many bluefish of five pounds flop- ping along on the surface, but no mullet. These wise fish went to sea in schools the day before the !N'orther arrived. We picked up nineteen green turtles that were benumbed by the cold and floating on the surface. These turtles were stacked on the lower deck of the houseboat and revived much to the consternation of the 30 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER crew, although they were compensated for their troubles the following day when they disposed of the turtles at Fort Pierce for $200. I have fished for tarpon in the St. Lucie River in midwinter. For days you would not see any fish but if you waited until after a few days of hot sun had warmed the water to 68 degrees they would begin to roll and show themselves and would then take live silver mullet bait. It took me some time to find out how to keep mullet alive, for if you put them into a well in a boat they bruise their noses against the sides of the well and die. I procured oat bags and laced barrel hoops around them on the outside. I then ran drawing strings around the mouths of the bags. After placing half a dozen live mullet, taken by cast-net, in each of several bags I practised with them to find out in what depth of water the mullet were most comfortable. I then tied the bags to the roots of trees along the bank of the stretch THE TARPON 81 of river I proposed to fish. In this manner I always had fresh, live bait at my con- venient disposal. I found the new moon was the best day of the month to fish. One winter, on the new moon in January, I took a 187-pound tarpon; and on the following new moon, in February, I landed a fish weighing 165 pounds. This fishing was done from a row boat; but in later years and since the advent of the Wilson spoon I have fished in a small launch. A live bait behind a launch soon dies and re- volves like a pin-wheel which destroys one's line, but the Wilson spoon skitters and does not revolve in the water. Tarpon are greatly attracted by this spoon, and it has been a blessing to me in Cuba where no mullet were to be had. I built two fishing yachts, the Savalo and the Kona, for tarpon fishing in Cuba, and fished there almost every winter from 1904 to 1920. I have cruised from Nipe Bay to the 32 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER westward around Cape San Antonio and as far as Cienfuegos on the south coast, and also to the Isle of Pines 60 miles south of Cuba. Tarpon are to be found in certain rivers in Cuba at all times of the year. I say certain rivers, for the tarpon is a clean fish and does not favor muddy water. The soil of Cuba is red and rich, so that the streams that drain the cultivated lands are mostly muddy; in such rivers no tarpon are to be found. There are large swamps in Cuba, and the rivers that drain these swamps run clear. It is in these rivers that the most fish are to be found. The Rio Negro and Jatibonico drain over one hundred square miles of swamp, and in these rivers the tarpon abound. The Damuji Hiver is also a river of fairly clear water, and at times there is good fish- ing there. These rivers are all on the south coast of THE TARPON 33 Cuba. On the north coast a small river with a long name, the Zaraguanacan, is often full of tarpon. The fish do not seem to go above the tide. The limit of the mangroves, which do not grow along the fresh water, seems to be the limit of the tarpon from what I have seen, yet Mr. Zane Grey says he found tarpon one hundred miles up the Panuco River in Mexico. The fish do not run as large as at some places in Florida, although I have taken fish of 130 pounds in weight and have lost heavier ones. The headwaters of the rivers abound in small fish. I have at times seen hundreds of tarpon that would weigh from 10 to 15 pounds and have taken them four inches long. On one occasion I found a narrow stretch of the Jatibonico Kiver simply alive with 15-pound tarpon. I landed U in an hour's fishing and must have "jumped" 25 more fish. At another time and in another river 34 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER I "jumped" 52 large tarpon in three days' fishing of the flood tides. My fishing journal tells me that I landed 254 tarpon in Cuba, which means that I must have hooked over 1,000 fish, for it is not possible to save more than one hooked tar- pon out of five fish hung on a Wilson spoon. The weight of the spoon helps the fish to free himself. I invariably turned the hooked fish loose unless they were damaged. They some- times bruise their gills in jumping and bleed profusely. In such cases the fish will not live if liberated. The natives of Cuba spear tarpon and I am sorry to say net the small ones. Both there and in Mexico the fish are eaten fresh as well as salted. My method of fishing in Cuba has been trolling a large sized Wilson spoon with sixty feet of line over the stern of a small launch. The launch travels at the rate of four miles an hour. If a fish is hooked in a wide part of the river I have the launch THE TARPON 35 circle the fish. It is easy to land a 100- pouiid tarpon in 8 minutes by this method if you understand fighting fish. If a fish is hooked in a narrow stream it is necessary to keep the boat away from the fish until he is well spent. In narrow streams you lose many fish for they jump into the overhanging branches of the man- grove trees which line the banks and tumble back into the water leaving your tackle en- tangled among the branches. The Cauto on the south coast is the only river in Cuba that is navigable. The other streams are often from eight to ten feet deep, excepting where they flow into the sea ; here you will find wide bars with but four feet of water. It is a delight to fish in these rivers in winter for there are no sharks to rob you of your fish nor any insects of any kind except- ing a few mosquitoes at sunset if your yacht happens to be five or, ten miles up a river and moored to the windward bank. The rivers are lined with mangroves and dotted 36 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER here and there along the banks with royal palms, the most beautiful of trees. Of this tree Davis wrote: "The royal palm is the characteristic feature of the land- scape in Cuba. It is the most beautiful of all palms and possibly the most beautiful of trees. The cocoanut palm, picturesque as it is, has a pathetic resemblance to a shabby feather duster and its trunk bends and twists as though it had not the strength to push its way through the air and to hold it- self erect. But the royal palm shoots up boldly from the earth with the grace and symmetry of a marble column." At sunset the small white cranes and egrets fly upstream to their roosts. They flit along close to the surface of the river and it is amusing to watch the tarpon rise at their shadows as they fly by. There is a pond of brackish water on Pine Island, Florida, which has no outlet to the sea and contains many quite small tarpon. The spawn must have been dropped by birds or carried to the pond on the backs of THE TABPON 37 alligators. Owing to the poor food these fish do not increase in size. I do not take any interest in fishing for tarpon with so-called light tackle. I believe a 15-thread line is quite light enough and that the * 'punishment should fit the crime.'* In other words the charm of heavy fishing is being "up against" a big fish and landing him as quickly and as humanely as possible. The chief pleasure is the give and take be- tween man and fish. The theory that fish are cold-blooded crea- tures and therefore do not suffer is all very well as a theory but I never want any fish to dangle at the end of my line and even- tually commit suicide. What anglers mean when they tell stories of fighting a salmon for an hour or longer is beyond me. Any salmon up to 45 pounds in weight ought to be killed in twenty min- utes even with light grilse tackle if the angler knows how to fish. Fishing with a 16-ounce grilse rod I once rose, hooked, landed and weighed in 50 min- 38 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER utes, five salmon that weighed 128 pounds. This was not done with, intent but in the regular course of fishing. What I do believe in is fishing for tarpon with a plain reel without any drag. The science of tarpon fishing was lost when the reel drag was invented. It came about in the following manner : The science of sea fishing was first de- veloped along the Atlantic seaboard in the early 60's and the Striped Bass {Roccus lineatus) was the interesting fish which started this development. The multiplying reels and Cuttyhunk twisted linen lines were invented for this purpose, it being discovered that these fish were too quick for the old single action reels and that the braided cotton lines were not strong enough to hold these active, agile fish. The method of fishing was casting a bait into the white tumbling surf from the rocks or from stands built for that purpose. The three jointed rods of ash or lance- THE TARPON 39 wood used at first were later abandoned for two-piece rods of Japan or Calcutta bam- boo, and these rods were later developed into the two-piece split bamboos with guides and tips of agate of the present day. The reels had no drag but were supplied with a musical click of small value. Later on in the 80's a light drag was placed on the left side of the reel for tarpon fishing, to prevent the line from over-running in case of carelessness. The first tarpon fishermen were old bass fishermen who had learned the trick of play- ing heavy fish with rod and reel and they all fished with the right thumb on the reel as it had been their custom so to fish when casting. A few of us took up tarpon fishing with- out ever having done much bass fishing and we fished with the left thumbs on the reels and pumped the fish with our right hands. This method had a great advantage for the right hand was always free, away from the reel handle and out of danger, yet always ready to reel in the slack. 40 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER The man who attempted to cheek a fish with his right thumb on the reel and then reel in the slack with his right hand was always in danger of the back lash of the reel handle. E. H. Vom Hofe, the celebrated tackle manufacturer, was one of the first and most successful tarpon fishermen, and, being an expert bass fisherman as well, always fished with his right thumb on the reel. We often discussed the two ways of fish- ing and I could not persuade him that my way was right and his way was wrong until one day as he was playing a heavy fish at Captiva Pass the reel handle broke his right thumb. The Rabbeth drag had already been in- vented but was taboo according to the Tuna Club Rules, so Vom Hofe sat up nights un- til he had perfected the reel drag as we know it to-day. He showed it to me and I had the first reel made with the new invention. He described it to me at the time as a "reel with THE TAEPON 41 which a man can fish who has no thumbs at all." (1902.) Later on the B -Ocean reel was adopted by Mr. Boschen, the greatest fisherman of all time, with a free running spool and sta- tionary handle for heavy sword-fishing, for this fish takes sudden dives of two hundred feet and more and if you cannot quickly free the line your rod is pulled out of your hands or broken. The tackle as it exists to-day is capable of holding and landing a 1,000-pound game fish and the reels will hold 1,200-feet of 24- thread line. The drag is necessary for swordfish, marlin, and giant tuna, for you cannot fight such heavy fish for four and more hours with thumb pressure only, but for tarpon and tuna up to 200 pounds in weight thumb pres- sure is quite sufficient and much more sports- manlike. I killed five tuna that weighed 491 pounds in six hours with a plain reel and have landed very many tarpon weighing from 187 42 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER pounds down without any reel drag, so I write of my own personal experience. With the invention of the reel drag the science of tarpon fishing received a coup de grace. It is no longer fishing but "coffee grinding" and the fish have no chance what- ever. I have seen men at Boca Grande block the line at the first jump of a tarpon, start the launch engine and tow the fish ashore with his mouth wide open. That is not fishing; it is murder! Tarpon can readily be killed on light tackle, only it takes more line and more time and the rod enjoys most of the fun. With light tackle you must follow the fish, with heavy tackle the fish comes to you. As hooked tarpon always float with the tide or current it is at times hard work, but when you hear of a fisherman who has been an hour or more killing a tarpon you may be quite certain he has been trying to pull the heavy fish against the tide. THE TARPON 43 The Light Tackle Club at Aransas Pass died a natural death, for many members have told me they gave up going there be- cause they wearied of light tackle yet did not like to go back to the only real sport, heavy tackle. Mr. L. G. Murphy holds the Aransas Pass record for light tackle, a tarpon 6 feet 9/4 inches long. At Catalina Island a marlin of 185 pounds and a tuna weighing 145/4 pounds have been landed with light tackle by Mr. Jump. This is done by setting the drag at the proper tension so that a long run of the fish will not break the line. The angler holds the handle of the reel which works but one way when the drag is on. The fish takes the line from the reel with the set drag and the fisherman reels in the slack when he can get it. It takes skill, time, and patience but to me it does not give the satisfaction of being "up against" a big fish. If the advocates of light tackle for tarpon would go back to the plain reel instead I 44 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER can promise them plenty of exercise and entertainment. I am greatly interested in all fish and have a real affection for the tarpon. He is a gentleman among fishes. He is not in the least afraid of man or boat and when once hooked does not attempt to run away or take advantage of his great strength. His one idea is to get rid of the hook which annoys him and he will jump clear of the surface many times and attempt to free himself. If these tactics fail he will then swim close up to the boat, raise himself out of the water and shake his head. It is then that he is usually lost. He is the grandest and most beautiful silver fish that swims and he has the best manners of any of the denizens of the deep, for he avoids all snags, stumps, or obstruc- tions in a river when hooked and never takes advantage of the fisherman but fights square. I have the greatest admiration for this Silver King of sea fishes. the tarpon 45 Methods of Tarpon Fishing The first tarpon were taken bottom fish- ing. It was the custom to anchor the boat at some chosen spot that was frequented by the fish and then to chum with pieces of cut mullet. Two hooks baited with the better part of a mullet on each hook were cast out. The angler watched one rod and his guide took charge of the other. I always took pains that my rod pointed towards the spot where my bait lay so that when the latter was picked up the line would run free from the reel. The fish was allowed to take fifty feet of line before strik- ing because a tarpon will pick up a bait and move off with it in his mouth before gorg- ing it. The theory that loose line must be coiled in the bottom of the boat was for novices that could not pick up a rod without check- ing the fish. Tarpon that have gorged the bait, unless 46 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER hooked in a vital spot, fight much harder than those that are hooked in the mouth. The drawback to bottom fishing was that the fish were all destroyed and could not be set free. The snoods were made of deerskin or cot- ton cord partly for the reason that wire is stiff and the fish would drop such a bait and also that if a shark picked up the bait he would bite through the snood and free him- self. I always used the snoods made of three strands of fine wire twisted. They were not so easily seen, were pliable arid took more fish, besides I enjoyed playing the mackerel shark for they are great jumpers and s-trong fighters. When the Van Vleck hook was invented the general method of fishing changed. It had been discovered that when trolling the greater part of the fish were hooked over the incisors which are very large in the tarpon and that the fish would jump and throw the hook. Mr. Van Vleck had hooks made with THE TAHPON 47 the belly nearer the point of the hook, which made it more difficult for the fish to get rid of the hook when jumping. I say this hook was invented, yet I have seen in the Naples Museum, the very same hook found in Pompeii (destroyed a. d. 79) and probably used for trolling for tun- ney-fish. We then either trolled for tarpon or an- chored in strong tideways in the Passes with a strip of mullet for bait and with one hun- dred feet of wet line. When a tarpon was hooked your guide would throw the buoyed anchor rope overboard and you would follow the fish. Having your anchor buoyed saved time and it also gave you a reserved position to return to. When Mr. Mygatt discovered Boca Grande as a fishing possibility (1898), owing to the great depth of water there drift fishing was adopted. The leader used is of heavy strong piano wire six feet in length and at the upper or rod end of the leader a sinker is fastened 48 SPOET ON LAND AND WATER to the swivel or ring with a light piece of string. The hook is baited with a live blue crab or a strip of mullet. The launch goes under power to the entrance to the Pass and drifts in with the tide. The fisherman keeps the hook off the bottom, in other words slowly trolls the bait close to the bottom where the tarpon lie. As the depth of water changes, the length of line is changed. If you hook a fish his first jump frees the sinker. The drawback to this fishing is that the sharks are numer- ous and steal the hooked fish. To my mind this is the most uninteresting form of tarpon fishing, for to hook a fish near the bottom in 60 feet of water does not give the same sensation as travelling along at four miles an hour and hooking near the surface, a fish that immediately leaps in the air. A tarpon will also jump twice as often in 8 feet of water. I have seen forty or more boats drifting fairly close together at Boca Grande on a moonlit night and consternation caused THE TAEPON 49 among them by the sudden jumping of two or three large hooked fish. It is a popular and lazy form of sport where fish are plentiful, and as the tarpon is an elusive fish and difficult to find, Boca Grande is much frequented for the fish are known to be there in numbers. To me the great charm of tarpon fishing is to hunt for the fish and find them, which you can do in rivers as they often swim along the surface, or if lying on the bottom come up from time to time for air. Fish hooked in the mouth can readily be set free. Your guide is provided with a large barbless release-hook which he inserts in the fish's jaw and then removes the fish- hook with his gloved hand. The season for tarpon fishing in Florida is from the month of May to October. At Aransas Pass, Texas, they fish in the Gulf outside the jetties with live or dead silver mullet. The drawbacks are the rough water and the numerous sharks. June and October are the best months. 50 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER When I was in Tampico, Mexico, the method of fishing was trolling a dead silver mullet behind a tow boat. We fished at the jetties seven miles below the town or ten miles up the Panuco River above Tampico. There is also a Laguna that contains small tarpon. Owing to the trade wind, after- noon fishing is difficult. The best months are February and March. In the Panama Zone, the fishing is done from the shore below the spillway of the Gatun Dam. The method of fishing is with the fly and the season is from May to November. If the Canal had no locks the tarpon would now be in the Pacific as well as in the Atlantic Ocean. Advice When going seafishing I always choose from the new to the full moon, for fish feed at night when there is a moon, and are there- fore less hungry than after dark nights. THE TARPON 51 This does not apply to Boca Grande where the moon is necessary for night fish- ing. The days of the changes of the moon, especially the first day of the new moon, are the best days during the month for tar- pon fishing. The probable reason for this is that the tides are high and strong at such times, which means more food or more in- clination to feed, for the new moon increases the activity of all fish. When on a fishing trip I never dry my lines. Salt water preserves linen lines and a wet line is stronger than a dry one. The lines must be thoroughly dried indoors at the end of a fishing trip. Never dry lines in the sun or wind for they are fatal. Lines used in fresh water must be dried daily. After a day's fishing unreel the hne and reel it on again with care. This is done to take the strain off the reel-drum and to pre- vent the reel from spreading. Split bamboo rods are the only rods that 52 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER are strong and durable enough for heavy fishing. For ease and comfort fish with a rod that is not over six inches longer than you are tall. Long rods are back breakers. When I first visited Catalina Island in 1900 I broke at the butt, a defective 6 ft. 9 in. rod, which, when repaired, was 6 ft. 5 in. long. With this rod I killed 13 tuna that weighed 1,411 pounds in fourteen days and discovered the advantage of a short rod. I now fish with split-bamboo rods in one piece, tip and butt all in one, 6 ft. 5 in. long. 'My success at Catahna in 1900 was the cause of the Tuna Club Rules. The Secre- tary of the Club informed me as I was leav- ing the island that they had desired that an experienced tarpon fisherman should try the tuna but that they were disappointed with my "great success!" The Tuna Club Rules followed. They were quite right to limit the size and strength of lines but an angler should be allowed to choose his own length of rod. It takes better hands to fish with a short stiff rod than THE TARPON 53 with a long pliable one and in heavy fishing comfort and ease is the desideratum. If the insects are bad use: 3C's Oils of Camphor, Cedar and Citronella in equal parts. For the bites of insects Pine Oil is the best palliative. If subject to sun- burn **Face Paint" is an absolutely sure preventative. It makes one look like a Red Indian but it is pleasant to use and no sun has the slightest effect on skin covered with this mixture. Prescription for Face Paint to Prevent Sunburn 3 oz. Yellow Ochre 2 oz. Burnt Sienna 4 oz. Mucilage of Quince or Flax Seed, or bandohne, Rosewater, to make one pint. Shake well before using. Put in a large-mouthed bottle and apply with absorbent cotton and when nearly dry, spread evenly over the face with the fingers. 54 sport on land and water Records As far as my personal knowledge is con- cerned the first tarpon was landed with rod and reel by Mr. W. H. Wood on March 25th, 1885, bottom fishing in Surveyors' Creek, Florida. Mr. Wood's great ambi- tion was to land a tarpon while fishing from the shore or beach. I know of over a dozen fish that have been taken that weighed 200 pounds or more. The first was landed by Mrs. Stagg and weighed, I believe, 205 pounds. Edward Vom Hofe's fish followed on April 30, 1898, 210 pounds at Captiva Pass, Florida. N. M. George took one of 213 pounds at Bahia Honda, Florida, on April 8th, 1901. Dr. Howe wrote me from Mexico that he had captured a 223-pound tarpon at Tam- pico. The largest tarpon I ever saw was caught THE TARPON 55 off Tea Table Key, Florida, on May 15th, 1904. I was told that it weighed 224 pounds. Charlie Thompson, a professional fisherman, was the lucky angler. W. A. McLaren holds the record for a fish taken in the Panuco River, Mexico, on March 27th, 1911. Length 7 ft. 8 ins.; girth 47 ins. Weight 232 pounds. Mrs. W. Ashby Jones caught a tarpon in the Caloosahatchee River, Florida, in 1916, that weighed 210 pounds. Mr. B. W. Crowninshield has a record of 25 tarpon taken between sunrise and sun- set at Boca Grande and I believe Mr. L. G. Murphy has a like record at Aransas Pass. The greatest fishing I ever heard of was done by Mr. and Mrs. Magill on a cruise along the west coast of Florida in 1915. They captured 176 tarpon that weighed 16,377 poimds. The heaviest fish weighed 196 J pounds, eleven weighed over 180 and forty over 150 pounds each. 56 SPOKT ON LAND AND WATER There were 785 tarpon weighed at Useppa Island in 1917 and but 23 of them weighed over 150 pounds. At Aransas Pass, Texas, the following fish were liberated after being measured: 1906. . .1,573 1907.. . 1,333 1908.. . . 700 Beginning of light tackle 1909.. . 720 ' 1910.. . 800 49% on light tackle 1911.. . 718 66% " " 1912.. . . 530 64% " " 1913.. . . 960 78% " " The falling off between 1907 and 1908 was partly owing to the introduction of light tackle but also to the extension of the jetties which made the channel dangerous and rough. In the 90's the tarpon that were weighed would average about 100 pounds but of late years the average has fallen to about 80 pounds. This would lead one to believe THE TARPON 57 that the number of heavy fish is decreasing. I beheve that the tarpon of over 150 pounds in weight are of great age and that they grow very slowly. I judge this from the fact that they are dainty feeders, for there is very little undigested food found in them when examined. Several thousand fish have been destroyed yearly for over twenty-five years and although it is now the custom to liberate most of the hooked fish many of these tired tarpon become the victims of piratical sharks and those that are taken in nets are usually destroyed by the fishermen owing to the damage they do to the nets. FISH FACTS AND FANCIES FISH FACTS AND FANCIES "THE chief motive and jumping power of a fish is in its tail, which, as it hits the water, straightens out the curving body and shoots it forward, allowing the pectoral and ventral fins to strike flat with their full power. The caudal, dorsal, and anal fins have steering functions to perform, while the pectoral and ventral pairs of fins are chiefly intended for balancing purposes." "Fish would be unable to navigate on an even keel without these horizonal fins, for the centre of gravity of most fish is toward the head or dorsal side." "To help matters, a fish is supplied with an air-sack, which renders it bulk for bulk about the same weight as the water it dis- places." Some fish like cold water and seldom leave it, while other fish, the tarpon for example, 61 62 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER are uncomfortable if the water, is below 68°. The salmon, after first leaving its birth- place, being a square -tailed fish and there- fore a bottom feeder, passes its Hfe, when not on spawning bent, in the deep sea. According to the scientists, the bulk of sea water is relatively cold, for heat rays are quite lost at about 250 fathoms, so that even in the tropics the upper stratum of warmish water is comparatively thin. The ooze dredged from the floor of the tropical ocean is said to be too cold to handle with comfort. This is caused by the northerly creep of the cold waters of the Antarctic. At the surface there is an automatic regulation. When the temperature rises there is increased evaporation which checks the rapidity of the rise ; and if the tempera- ture is lowered a blanket of water vapour forms which checks the rapidity of the fall. According to Sir John Murray, at the depth of 50 fathoms it is probable that the temperature of sea water does not change FISH FACTS AND FANCIES 63 2° F. at any one place throughout the year. In the great depths, the temperature of sea water is at freezing point (32° F.) at all times. It is supposed that salmon dwell in the depths, hut it is not known how deep the water is or, therefore, what temperature they are accustomed to. The few fish that have been taken on trawls south of Newfoundland, and also many miles off the coast in the Pacific, are supposed to have been journeying or stray fish. When the salmon arrive in the rivers of Eastern Canada in the late spring or early summer, the river water is from 38-48° F., but in early July I have tested the water temperature in the Grand Cascapedia River and found it to be as high as 70° F. (1921) . This great change of water temperature makes the fish listless, and it is not to be wondered at that under such circumstances the salmon can with difficulty be enticed to rise. 64 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER One of the peculiarities of the salmon is that it is one of the few fish that is not only comfortable in both salt and fresh water, but can also probably stand a water tem- perature that varies from the freezing point to 70° F. Most other sea fish that at times frequent rivers do not ascend above the head of the tide, but the salmon, sea trout, and shad go into fresh water, although the yearly visits of the latter are of short duration, for they return to the sea at once after spawning. Some of the Atlantic salmon remain in the Canadian rivers all winter and return to the sea in the spring as kelts, while ail Pacific salmon are supposed to perish in the rivers after spawning. Whether this is a wise provision of nature in order to prevent the salmon from increasing beyond their food supply in the sea is a question, but it is more probable that as the snow melts in the mountains the waters fall and the fish are unable to return to the sea from the spawning beds. FISH FACTS AND FANCIES 65 It is not known how the salmon find their natal rivers when they return to fresh water on spawning bent, but we have proof that they do so, for every salmon river has its distinctive type of fish. At the breeding establishment at Stor- montfield on the Tay, large numbers of smolts, which had been marked by the re- moval of the adipose fin, were taken as grilse on their return from the sea. We seldom take salmon under 17 pounds in weight in the Grand Cascapedia, but last season there was a run of 8 and 9 pound fish of a type quite different from the native salmon. These were evidently fish from a smaller stream that had been prevented from enter- ing their natal river owing to a log- jam or other obstruction. The last two seasons had been years of low water conditions, and in some rivers a two years accumulation of logs was floated down on the high water in 1922. The salmon in the Upsalquitch, which is 66 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER an affluent of the Ristagouche River, aver- age from 7 to 8 pounds, whereas the Rista- gouche fish are double that in weight, aver- aging 18 pounds. The former river was stocked for a number of years with the fry of the main stream, in an attempt to increase the size of the Upsalquitch sahnon, but it made no difference in the weight of the latter nor was there any evidence that the fish ever returned. Salmon prefer rapidly running rivers be- cause the waters that tumble down rapids and over rocks and stones contain more oxygen than do the waters of leisurely nm- ning streams. In the days when the river Loire in France was frequented by salmon, it was noticed that the fish entered the left branches of the river, the waters of which hurry down through the valleys from the central plateau, but none were found in the streams that flow slowly into the Loire from the plain on the right bank. GRAND CASCAPEDIA SALMON 421/2-30-30 pounds FISH FACTS AND FANCIES 67 It was evidently the quality of the water that they sought, water that was replete with oxygen. Professor Jordan says that * 'salmon are 'geared' to the river to which they are native," and that fry should not be liberated except in streams to which they are geared. It may be possible that they are geared to the amount of oxygen in the water that is grateful to them, as well as to the short or to the long and weary journey to the head-waters of their native river. THE SENSES OF FISH THE SENSES OF FISH IT is not surprising that the Germans are not known as a race of anglers, for the somnolent carp is their national fish, and the salmon of the Rhine are not supposed to rise to a fly. They do, however, enjoy trout fishing in the streams of the Black Forest and at other places, and a few good books have been written by Dr. Heintz ^ and others on the gentle art in fresh water. What interests me most is that several German scientists have studied fish in a most intimate and thorough manner. They have examined thousands of Rhine salmon and they are the chief authority for the belief that salmon do not feed in fresh water. Fish are monocular and see a different picture with each eye. The outer surface of a fish's eye is flat to prevent injury in 1 Der Angelsport im Silsswasser, by Karl Heintz. 71 72 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER the water and to avoid unnecessary friction in swimming. The most interesting diflPerence between the human eye and the eye of a fish is that the normal eye of a human being when in repose is set at farsight and must be f ocussed in order to see an object that is near by. Fish, on the contrary, are normally near- sighted, and their normal vision is set in repose at about 3 feet. In order to see at a distance the eye mechanism must be employed, and it is believed that they then cannot see more than 30 feet under the best conditions of strong light and clear water. If the water is at all cloudy their vision is affected as the human sight is by a heavy fog. Beams of light are broken as they enter the water so that a fish does not see objects above the surface of the water where they are but higher up. For example, a man walking along the bank of a stream appears to the fish to be walking in the air. All objects above the surface of the water THE SENSES OF FISH 73 appear to the fish to be swimming in the air. A fish lying on the bottom of a stream has double the horizon that the human eye controls when looking down into the water. A fish, therefore, can see the angler long before it can be seen by the angler, and has time to scurry away. Professor Hess has made some interest- ing studies of the effect of different colored light-beams on the eyesight of fish, and has come to the conclusion that most fish are totally color-blind. He claims that fish see colors as a totally color-blind person does. Red to them looks black, white is the lightest shade, green is light grey, yellow and blue are dark grey. If this is a fact, the multicolored salmon and trout flies, so interesting to look at and toy with, would be just as effective if tied with black, white, and grey feathers only. Although fish have no outer or middle ear, they have an inner ear, or so-called 74} SPORT ON LAND AND WATER labyrinth. Three canals run in circles from this labyrinth. It contains the hearing stones (Asterisciis) , and, with the canals, is full of fluid. The circles have to do with the stability of the fish, for if they are severed the fish wobble about in the water. Fish do not hear as we know hearing, but are sensitive to strong sound waves on the water, and especially to those made under water. For example, you may strike two stones together in the air without moving a fish but if you repeat the action below the sur- face you will frighten all the fish within a wide radius. Dr. Kreidel made the following experi- ment at Kloster Kremsmiinster, where the fish in a pond had for many years been daily assembled to be fed by the ringing of a bell. Kreidel had the bell rung from a distance by electricity without any move- ment of the bell itself, and not a fish ap- THE SENSES OF FISH 75 proached. He then removed the clapper and had the guardian toll the bell. Although there was no sound the fish ap- peared in scores, attracted by the moving bell and by the guardian. This seems to prove that fish "hear" strong waves of sound that jar the waters but do not hear different tones. They "hear" all movements on the bank of a stream, all the jarring sounds or noises in a boat or canoe, but do not hear the human voice. Some fish have the so-called "power" of changing their color to suit their environ- ment and for other reasons. This power is known as the chromatic function, and is sup- posed to be as automatic as is a maiden's blush. It is influenced through the eyes by the sympathetic nerves, and is usually used for self-protection. If you place a light-colored flounder on a dark bottom it will gradually adapt its .7^ SPORT ON LAND AND WATER color to its surroundings, and even become mottled if the bottom is covered with light- colored stones. A totally blind salmon becomes black in color and one that is blind in one eye be- comes black on the opposite side of the blind eye. The latter happens because the nerves of the eyes cross one another. The blind eyes, having lost their sympathetic power, are no longer charmed by the light and the color of the fish suffers. The dark-colored back of a salmon is to protect it from its enemies in the air, while its silver sides and underbody prevent its enemies in the sea from readily seeing it against the brilliantly reflected light from above. A fresh run channel-bass is quite light in color but soon becomes a dark bronze in brackish water, while the blue-green back of a tarpon becomes almost black, and it then is known as a black fish and one that will not take a bait. THE SENSES OF FISH 77 Some fish become much more briUiant in color at spawning time, which is for the purpose of attracting the opposite sex. After spawning the sahnon lose their bright coats and become, through weakness and lack of nourishment, dark and slimy kelts. If they remain in the river all winter they do not regain their beauty until just before they return to the sea in the Spring. Some fish have a stronger sense of smell than others. It is most strongly developed in sharks, although they are not true fishes. They forage by night, have very small eyes, and rely greatly on their powers of scent, but most fish hunt their food by sight. I have a great belief in the strong scent- ing powers of salmon which I have tested by occasional "doped" fly fishing. One day last season, when the water was rising and the river was very dirty, I took in five hours five salmon that averaged 29 pounds, with a doped fly. Another day, with salmon all about, I 78 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER could not rise a fish. In the afternoon I doped a fly and took three good fish, all of which were foul hooked in the "nose"! This does not prove anything beyond the fact that the fish did not object to the scent, for you cannot be certain that it attracts them unless you can plainly see the fish you are angling for. If a salmon rises short, and you scent the fly, and the fish does not return, it may mean that it has changed its position and moved up stream as they often do, or if after scenting the fly you hook a fish, it is never certain that it is the identical fish that rose before. If you can plainly see the salmon, as sometimes happens, and having exhausted every effort to move it you then try the dope with success, it should mean that it is the scent that was the added attraction. A fellow angler has written to me on this subject: *'I thought you might like to hear my THE SENSES OF FISH 79 experience with the 'magic oil' ^ you were kind enough to tell me about last Spring. I used it during the first part of the season with very good success. After the water became very low and clear it did not seem to work, nor did any of our other salmon flies do much. I had one or two very curious experiences with this oil. One day I was casting into a pool and saw a fine fish. I cast over him several times but he took no notice of the fly. I then poured a few drops of the oil on to my fly. Some of these fell into the water and passed directly over where the fish lay. He came up im- mediately to the top just as if he wanted to smell of the oil and the next time the fly went over him he took it. This happened to me three or four times with fish that I was unable to get up without the oil. I believe that when the water conditions are good the oil is helpful and brings up fish that might otherwise stay down. "I entirely agree with you in regard to 1 Oil of Rhodium. 80 SPORT ON LAND AND WATEE the usefulness of magic oil in high and cloudy water. One experience of mine I forgot to mention in my last letter. We had a big rain early in June and the water was milk white. It did not seem worth while going down to fish, but as I had noth- ing to do I thought I would try it and put on some of the magic oil to see if the smell would attract them, even if they could not see the fly much. At my first cast I hooked and killed a nice fish and afterwards lost two others. As I was fishing with a moder- ate sized fly, I think it very doubtful whether the fish would have seen the fly at all. I did not see them until they had taken the fly. In low and very clear water, especially when the temperature of the water is high, I doubt if anything but a dry fly will get the fish up. At such times the ordinary salmon flies do not appear to be attractive, and I have even seen fish leave a pool to get awajr from them." Scent is much more quickly diffused in GRAND CASCAPEDIA SALMON 4^3-pound THE SENSES OF FISH 81 the air than in the water, yet it is readily carried by running water. When casting, the salmon fly describes almost a half circle, so that the scent of a doped fly covers a wide area of the pool, yet when fishing with a scented fly for a fish that can readily be seen it is wise to "'troutfish" by casting directly above the fish. Fish are apparently intended to smell, for many fish have in place of the usual pair of nostrils two pairs of external openings, one placed above the other. Water is drawn into these small pockets, which are lined with delicate membranes and brought into contact with the nerves of smell. Their method of smelhng differs from that of air-breathing animals who, owing to the air-tube system of smelling, have the power to sniff in pleasant odors or snuff out those that are unpleasant. By drawing air in through the nostrils 82 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER they can increase the pleasant sensation or by expelling the air avoid bad odors. Some fish have no nostril pockets, the nerves being directed into external proc- esses. The salmon has a lateral line which ex- tends from the tail to the head and ends in small dots or pores. This line consists of fine tubes that are full of fluid, and are connected through minute holes in the scales by fine nerves with the so-called side-nerves of the fish. With this mechanism a fish is enabled to judge the water pressure and know the direction and the strength of the current, and also when it is approaching an obstruc- tion in the river. It also enables the fish in the dark to find the branches of the river or the brooks it may be looking for. SALMON FISHING SALMON FISHING THE reason we know so little about salmon is because, even in a river, it is so seldom that we can see their movements. When angling for trout you can more or less rely upon their appetite, and often may fish for them when they are feeding, but as it is supposed that salmon do not need food when in a river you have to depend upon their whims and fancies. The fact seems to be that they are most likely to take when the river begins to rise, and the lucky moments are shortened or lengthened by the rapidity of the rise. The quicker the rise, the shorter those lucky moments are. The most propitious time to take salmon is when the river has cleared after a rise and begins to fall; for the rise of water having enticed the fish to move up stream, those 85 86 SPORT ON LAND AND WATEE that take are most probably newcomers in the pool which have not settled down at their new station. There is nothing more tiresome than the monotony of casting the full length of a long pool, or the full length of a long day, without rising a fish. It becomes mechan- ical boredom as all expectation departs, but the single rise of a fish renews one's anticipa- tion and banishes all sense of weary toil. If a fish is hooked there is a feeling of satisfaction and pleasure that cannot be described, for the supreme moment in salmon fishing is the hooking of a fish. Until I had taken a few salmon I could not understand the story of the Scotch noble- man, who after hooking a salmon always handed the rod to his gillie with the request that he should kill the fish, and after this had been accomplished resumed fishing. The hooked salmon is a poor general, for he usually does most things that are to his disadvantage. A hooked tarpon always takes advantage of the current or tide, but SALMON FISHING 87 the salmon, unless foul-hooked, usually goes up stream, in which case he must fight the force of the stream as well as the restraint of the rod. That a salmon should desire to go towards the spawning beds is a pleasant thought, but why should the fisherman be invited to go there also? When you take into consideration that a forty-pound salmon can be easily killed in a rapid running river in twenty minutes with light grilse tackle that pulls but a few pounds, and consider what a 10-pound bone- fish might do under the same conditions, you wonder at the lack of determination of the salmon. The reason for this seems impossible to fathom, for the 40-pound Pacific salmon I have taken in salt water at Campbell River, V. I. are very hard fighting fish that would utterly destroy my Cascapedia tackle. The current in Discovery Strait is heavy and strong, and I have seen anglers fishing with stout salmon rods travel two miles on 88 SPOET ON LAND AND WATER the tide with the tips of their rods in the water most of the time before they could stop the strong fish, and seldom avoid losing all their line or breaking their tackle in the attempt. This would lead one to believe that it must be the change from salt to fresh water, or else the change of water temperature, that affects the energy and fighting powers of the fresh-run Atlantic sahnon, or perhaps although not "too proud," they may be too fat to fight. A 20-pound salmon is usually a better fighter than the heavier fish, for they do not fight according to their weight. The live- liest fish and the one that gave me the best sport weighed but 10 pounds. I am aware that all this is piscatorial sacrilege, and that the salmon to most anglers is the gamest of game fishes, but, as they generally graduate into salmon fisher- men from troutfishing, the larger fish nat- urally impress them greatly. My opinion is, after all, the opinion of SALMON FISHING 89 but one fisherman and he a sea-fisherman who, having fished the seven seas and ex- perienced the thrills of battle with most of the giants of the deep, as old age approaches has taken up the more gentle art of salmon fishing. Salmon fishing is the best sport that can be enjoyed in fresh water, and the life on a Canadian river is a continual joy. The fascinating play of light on the run- ning waters, the music of which is so pleas- ant to the ear, the contrast of the fresh light- green foliage of the deciduous trees and the dark shadowy branches of the hemlocks, the bright blue of the Northern sky, and the life-giving purity of the air, become deeply engraven on the angler's memory, and once enjoyed are never forgotten. 90 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER Club Waters Grand Cascapedia River 1922 Six Rods 413 Salmon = 8478 pounds. 2 " over 40 pounds. 55 " 30 pounds and over. 113 " 17 " " under. Heaviest fish, 42J pounds. Average,, 20J pounds. My Fishing 1922 75 Salmon =1553 pounds 49 " 20 pounds and over 10 " 30 Heaviest fish, 42J pounds. Average, 20.72 pounds. SALMON FISHING 91 Cascapedia Club Water Grand Cascapedia River 7 Rods Weight 1918 1919 1920 Fish 336 209 248 40 and over 8 1 3 39 2 3 38 2 37 3 1 2 36 4 35 4 2 34 6 4 3 33 13 3 8 32 10 8 8 31 4 7 16 30 16 10 16 29 9 10 10 28 14 9 7 . 27 24 11 11 26 4'2 18 8 25 40 22 9 24 34 11 10 23 15 14 22 22 19 14 23 21 12 20 20 20 8 8 10 19 5 10 11 1 8 and under 48 24 45 Total weight 7866 4927 6009 Average weight 23.4 23.5 23.9 ST. SIMON ST. SIMON IN July, 1883, owing to the death of Prince Batthyany, his horses were sent up to be sold at auction. Matthew Dawson bought the two-year- old St. Simon by Galopin~St. Angela for the Duke of Portland for sixteen hundred guineas, and although the colt's engage- ments were void owing to the death of the owner and breeder he was probably the cheapest horse ever sold. As a two-year-old he won the Halnaker and the Morton Stakes at Goodwood, the Devonshire Nursery at Derby, the Prince of Wales Stake at Doncaster, and a match against the Duke of Westminster's colt Duke of Richmond. The following year, 1884, he won the Epsom Cup and the Ascot Gold Cup, beat- ing Tristan twenty lengths. The latter 95 96 SPOET ON LAND AND WATER then won the Hardwick Stakes, which means that the dead-heat for the Derby that year would have been a dead-heat for second place if St, Simon had been eligible to start. He then won the Trial Match, beating Tristan again. It was never known how good a horse St. Simon really was, for he won his races with ease and was never beaten. He was retired to the stud at the end of his three-year-old form in full vigor of youth. He stood for one season at Heath House, Newmarket, at 50 guineas, and twenty Xnares were bred to him. He then was sent to Welbeck, and was in the stud from 1886-1907, and his stud fee was increased as his sons and daughters won brackets until it reached 500 guineas in 1899. During his life as a stallion he covered 740 mares, 578 of which were pronounced in foal. The greatest number of mares that he served in one season was 47. As his get appeared on the turf it seemed ST. SIMON 97 as if he were creating a special type of thoroughbreds, just as Stockwell had done thirty years earher. They were high-class, short-backed horses with a deal of daylight under them. His early colts were of this type, but many of his early fillies were remarkable for magnificent sloping quarters, and many of them were not in the least on the leg. St. Simon him- self stood 16 hands 1 inch. The get of St. Simon also inherited the extraordinary vitality of the Galopin strain. There could hardly have been a greater contrast than his sons Persimmon and St. Frusquin. The former was fully three inches taller and the latter a smaller horse all over. I saw Persimmon, carrying a 3 fb. penalty for having won the Derby, beaten at New- market in 1896 by St. Frusquin by a head in the Princess of Wales Stakes, and asked the handicapper who stood beside me, *' What weight would bring those two horses to- gether?" and he replied, "Three pounds!" 98 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER It is estimated that, making full allow- ance for the Duke of Portland's mares that were mated with him, St. Simon's earn- ings in the stud during his twenty-two years as a stallion amounted to $1,250,000. He was the premier stallion of England from 1891-96 and again in 1900 and 1901. It has been calculated that while he was in the stud his sons and daughters won $2,647,255. Up to 1891, with the exception of Flori- zel II, he sired great fillies only, but later on the colt type improved both in looks and performance. In 1896 his son St. Frusquin won the 2,000 Guineas, and Persimmon won the Derby and St. Leger. He sired the winners of two Two Thou- sand Guineas, St. Frusquin and Diamond Jubilee. Four winners of the One Thousand were daughters of his; SemoUna, La Fleche, Amiable, and Winifreda. ST. SIMON ST. SIMON 99 The Derby was won by Persimmon and Diamond Jubilee. The Oaks distinguished him five times with Memoir, La Fle.che, Mrs. Butterwick, Amiable, and La Roche. He was also the sire of four winners of the St. Leger — two fillies, Memoir and La Fleche, and two colts. Persimmon and Diamond Jubilee. This is a record that has no equal on the British turf. MAN O' WAR MAN O' WAR MAN O' WAR by Fair Play-Mahubah was foaled at the August Belmont stud farm in Kentucky in 1917, and was sold at Saratoga as a yearling to Mr. Samuel D. Riddle of Glen Riddle, Pa., for $5,000. Mr. Belmont sold all his yearlings that year at auction, and had greatly desired to retain this beautiful colt, but decided at the last moment that if he did so it might inter- fere with the sale. Man O' War is a chestnut with a star and slight stripe on his forehead. He is a level- built beautiful horse to look at, and as a three-year-old was a giant in strength and full of quality. Some good judges thought he was a trifle too long in the back and too wide across the chest, but my personal opinion was that 103 104 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER it would be difficult to improve his looks. If you study his pedigree you will find that he is a wellbred, but hardly a fashion- ably-bred horse. Merry Hampton is rather a blot in his pedigree; but in the fifth re- move you will find the stout blood of Galopin twice, first through Fair Play's granddam by Gaillard and again through Rock Sand's dam by St. Simon. Macgregor, who won the Two Thousand in 1870, and broke down just before the Derby, had a good reputation; and Under- hand was said to be a very good horse. Rocksand was a great money winner, win- ing $250,848 on the turf, but he was a good horse in a very poor year, which was well proven when he was badly beaten by Ard Patrick and Sceptre in the Eclipse Stakes in 1903. The direct male is better; and Man O' War gets his color through Spendthrift and Fair Play, very good horses and both chestnuts. Man O' War cannot be registered in the MAN O' WAR 105 English stud book owing to the mare Aero- lite. She was the dam of the three great American racehorses Spendthrift, Fellow- craft, and Rutherford; and she was also the sister of that good horse Idlewild. This is quite good enough for America, but there are several mares in the remote crosses of Aerolite's pedigree that cannot be traced in the book, for they end in the **woods." Aerolite was by Lexington-Florine by Glencoe. The best of American breeding. Descent of Man O' War in Direct Male Line Godolphin Arabian, 1724, bay. Cade, 1734, bay. Match'em, 1748, bay. Conductor, 1767, bay. Trumpator, 1782, black. Sorcerer, 1796, black. Comus, 1809, chestnut. Humphrey Clinker, 1822, bay. Melbourne, 1834, brown. 106 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER West Australian, 1850, bay. Australian, 1857, bay. Spendthrift, 1876, chestnut. Hastings, 1893, brown. Fair Play, 1905, chestnut. Man O' War, 1917, chestnut. Descent of Man O' War in Direct Maternal Line Mr. Layton's Violet Barb Mare. Daughter, by Dodsworth. Trumpet's Dam, by Place's White Turk. Daughter, by Brimmer. Brown Farewell, 1710, by Makeless. Sister to Guy, 1722, by Greyhound. Bay Bloody Buttocks, 1729, bay, by Bloody Buttocks. Spinster (Widdrington's), 1735 chest- nut, by Partner. Spinster (Leedes's), 1743, gray, by Crab. Daughter, 1751, by Janus. Daughter, 1758, by Skim. Expectation, 1779, gray, by Herod. MAN O' WAR 107 Anticipation, 1802, chestnut, by Dening- brough. IManiac, 1806, chestnut, by Shuttle. Harriet, 1816, chestnut, by Stripling. Daughter, 1835, bay, by St. Nicholas. The Slayer's Daughter, 1843, black, by Cain. Daughter, 1863, by Underhand. Mizpah, 1880, bay, by Macgregor. Merry Token, 1891, bay, by Merry Hampton Mahubah, 1910, bay, by Rock Sand. Man O' War, 1917, chestnut, by Fair Play. As a two-year-old, Man O' War started ten times and was defeated, owing to a poor ride, in one race, the Sanford Memorial at Saratoga. He was pocketed in this race, and was beaten half a length by Upset to whom he gave 15 pounds. He won the Keene Memorial, Youthful, Hudson, Tremont, United States Hotel, Grand Union, Hopeful, and Futurity 108 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER Stakes and $83,325 in money, and finished the season with a great reputation. As a three-year-old he won eleven races and $166,140, and was not beaten during the season. He was extended but once when giving John P. Grier 18 pounds in the Dwyer Stakes, but eventually won the race under a drive by two lengths. He won the Preakness, Withers, Belmont, Stuyvesant Handicap, Dwyer, Miller, Tra- vers, Realization, Jockey Club Stakes, Poto- mac Handicap, and the Kenilworth Cup in Canada. His total winnings in two years were: $249,625. He was trained by Mr. Feustel and ridden by Kummer, Loftus, and Shuttin- ger. He was hailed the champion race horse of all times, yet he had not met a really good horse in his two years racing career, for John P. Grier, though a fast horse, could not stay, and when he met Sir Barton the latter MAN O' WAR 109 was no longer the champion he had been in 1919. In the Potomac Handicap he gave Wild- air 30 pomids and a beating, which was probably his best performance, for the track was heavy and he carried 138 pounds. His reputation as a racehorse depends entirely on having beaten the watch which he did on several occasions. When he won the Withers on June 12th, he ran the mile in 1.35f with 118 pounds up. This was a record at the weight as well as a record for one mile in a race. In the Belmont, carrying 126 pounds, he ran the mile and three-eighths in 2. 14 J, the same time as was made by Sir Barton the previous year and at the same weight. When he beat Jolm P. Grier in the Dwyer Stakes he ran the first half in 46 a record, the three quarters in 1.09f, the mile in 1.36. These were also records at the weight, 126 pounds. In the Travers at Saratoga he ran the 110 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER mile in 1.35f, and the mile and a quarter in 2.01|. This was never beaten except by the disputed time of Whiskbroom of 2 minutes flat in 1913. He ran the Jockey Club Ij miles in 2.28f and the Realization If miles in 2.40f, and in the Stuyvesant Handicap gave Yellow Hand 32 pounds and a beat- ing. It was a great pity that he did not meet the reliable Exterminator in the Saratoga Cup, and that he was not raced in America as a four-year-old or sent to England to win the Ascot Cup, for turf history can now never explain how really great a horse he was. He had proved that he was a game horse and that he could carry weight, but competi- tion alone decides the worth and stamina of the racehorse, and he really was never asked the question. He goes down to history as a "riddle horse" in more than one sense. Those sportsmen who believe in the time MAN O' WAR 111 test will always contend that Man O' War was the best horse that ever ran. Those who do not believe in the watch will always consider Luke Blackburne, Hindoo, Han- over, Salvator, and Sysonby greater race- horses than Man O' War. THE KING AND QUEEN OF THE TROTTING TRACK THE KING AND QUEEN OF THE TROTTING TRACK Uhlan 1.58 Worlds Champion Trotter, 1912-1921 First Two-Minute Trotter in the Open BLACK gelding, foaled 1904; feather in forehead, left front coronet and both hind pasterns white; height, 15^ hands. Bred by Mr. Arthur H. Parker, Bedford, Mass.; passed, August, 1907, to Mr. Charles Sanders, Salem, Mass. ; from whom he was purchased by Mr. C. K. G. Billings, September, 1909. Sire, Bingen 2.06|, sire also of Lucile Bingen 2.03|, Admiral Dewey 2.04|, Sis Bing 2.06J, The Leading Lady, 3, 2.07, Bingen Silk, 3, 2.07J, J. Malcolm Forbes, 4, 2.08 and 250 other standard performers; 115 116 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER of the dams of Lee Axworthy 1.58| (champion trotting stallion), Straight Sail 2.04|, Hollyrood Bob, 3, 2.04|, Arion McKinney 2.05J, King Watts 2.05^, and over 120 other standard performers. Bingen, by May King 2.20, son of Elec- tioneer 125, son of Hambletonian 10; dam, Yomig Miss (dam of six standard per- formers), by Young Jim 2009, son of George Wilkes 2.22, son of Hambletonian 10 (Note: Bingen is the first and only horse to sire a two-minute trotter, Uhlan 1.58, and the dam of one, Lee Axworthy 1.58-1.) Dam, Blondella (dam also of Indian Hill 2.111^ on half-mile track, Lexington, amateur matinee record to wagon 2.15|, Uhleen, dam of Uhlan Brooke, 2.08|, all by Bingen; and of Blackwood 2.19^, by AlHewood 2.09J), by Sir Walter Jr., 2.181 son of Sir Walter 2.24^, son of Aberdeen 27, son of Hambletonian 10. Sir Walter, Jr.'s dam, Kate Clark, by Ameri- can Clay 34, son of Cassius M. Clay, Jr. 22, KING AND QUEEN OF THE TRACK 117 son of Cassius M. Clay 18, son of Henry Clay 8. Some Performances of Uhlan 1908 Readville, Mass., Aug. 25, 1908. The Blue Hill Stake, 2:30 trot; value $4,500. Uhlan, bl g, 4, by Bingen R. Procter 111 Three others also started. Time— 2.10J, 2.104, 2.11. Columbus, O., Sept. 21, 1908. 2.10 trot; purse $1,200. Uhlan, bl g, 4, by Bingen R. Procter 111 Thirteen others also started. Time— ill Mile 31| 1.02i 1.34-i 2.07i^ 314 1.03 1.35J 2.07i 32i 1.04 J 1.364 2.08i Columbus, O., Oct. 1, 1908. 2.09 trot; purse $1,200. Uhlan, bl g, 4, by Bingen R. Procter 5 11 Locust Jack, gr g, by Keller Thomas McHenry 12 2 Ten others also started. Time— 2.09J, 2.08|, 2.07J. 12.07^ a new world's record for four-year-old trotting geldings. 118 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER Lexington, Ky., Oct. 13, 1908. Walnut Hall Cup, 2.15 trot; value $3,000. Uhlan, bl g, 4, by Bingen . R. Procter 111 Eight others, including Spanish Queen, also started. Time— i i J Mile 34 1.07 1.38i 2.09J 32i 1.03J 1.34i 2.07i 32 1.04i 1.35 J 2.074 1909 North Randall, O., Aug. 10, 1909. 2.07 trot; purse $1,200. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen R. Procter 1 1 San Francisco, Sterling McKinney, Nahma, Lady Jones, Wilkes Heart and Spanish Queen also started. Time— i i i Mile 31J 1.03f 1.36 2.06^1 31f l.Olf 1.33i 2.03J Buffalo, N. Y., Aug. 19, 1909. 2.07 trot; purse $1,200. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen R. Procter 1 1 Five others also started. Time— 2.08f, 2.07^. North Randall, O., Aug. 25, 1909. Match, trot- ting; purse $ . Hamburg Belle, b m, by Axworthy. . . .Andrews 1 1 1 Previous world's record for five-year-old trotting geld- ing 2.05J, by Major Delmar. KING AND QUEEN OF THE TRACK 119 Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen Procter 2 dis Time— i i I Mile 31 1.01 1.31 2.0li 30J 59i 1.30 2.01} 1 Readville, Mass., Sept. 3, 1909. Match, trotting; purse $ . Uhlan, big, by Bingen R. Proctor 1 1 Hamburg Belle, b m, by Axworthy .. Andrews 2 2 Time— J i f Mile 3lf 1.02| 1.33^ 2.04| 31 l.Oli 1.32 2.03^ Columbus, O., Sept. 24, 1909. To beat his own world's record of 2.03^ for five-year-old trotting geldings. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen R. Procter won Time— i i f Mile 31 1.02 1.32 2.02i 1910 North Randall, O., July 9, 1910. To beat 2.10, trotting, to wagon. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen Mr. C. K. G. Billings won Time— i i i Mile 32 1.02 1.33 2.02| 1 Still, in 1921, the world's record for both one and two consecutive heats in a trotting race. 120 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER North Randall, O., Aug. 8, 1910. To beat 2.02f, trotting, to wagon. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen Mr. C. K. G. Billings won Time— i 4 i Mile 30i 59f 1.30J 2.01 North Randall, O., Aug. 12, 1910. To beat 2.01, trotting. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen Charles Tanner won Time— i i f Mile 29f 59 1.29f 1.58f^ Separately, each quarter: 1st qr. 2d qr. 3d qr. 4th qr. 29f 291 30f 29 Readville, Mass., Aug. 30, 1910. To beat 2.01, trotting, to wagon. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen Mr. C. K. G. Billings lost Time— i i f Mile 29| 1.00 1.30 J 2.02^ Hartford, Conn., Sept. 9, 1910. To beat 2.04|, trotting, to wagon. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen. . . .Mr. C. K. G. Billings won Time— 1 i f Mile 30f l.Oll 1.32J 2.0li 1 Previous world's record for trotting geldings, 1.59|, by Major Delmar. This mile in 1:58| was the first ever trotted "in the open," in two minutes or better. KING AND QUEEN OF THE TRACK 121 AUentown, Pa., Sept. 21, 1910. To beat world's trotting record over half-mile track, 2.06|. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen Charles Tanner won Time— i I J Mile 32 1.03J 1.35 2.05i North Randall, O., Aug. 7, 1911. To beat 2.01, trotting, to wagon. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen. . . .Mr. C. K. G. Billings won Time— i i i MUe 29 J 59f 1.30 2.00 Separately, each quarter: 1st qr. 2d qr. 3d qr. 4th qr. 29i 30i 30i 30 North Randall, O., Aug. 11, 1911. To beat 1.00, trotting, to wagon; half-mile dash. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen. . . .Mr. C. K. G. Billings won ime — i i f Half 14 28i 43 56i Separately, each quarter: 1st qr. 2d qr. 28i 271 Separately, each eighth: 1st 2d 3d 4th 14 14i 14i m Goshen, N. Y., Aug. 24, 1911. To beat his own world's half-mile track trotting record, 2.05|. 122 SPOET ON LAND AND WATER Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen. Charles Tanner won Time— ill MUe 31 1.01 1.32 2.02f Separately, each quarter: 1st qr. 2d qr. 3d qr. 4th qr. 31 30 31 30| White River Junction, Vt., Sept. 19, 1911. Ex- hibition, trotting, half-mile track. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen Charles Tanner won Time— i i J Mile 31^ l.Oli 1.32f 2.04^ Lexington, Ky., Oct. 4, 1911. To beat the track trotting record, 2.01 J. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen Charles Tanner won Time— J ^ I Mile 28J 57J 1.28i 1.59J Separately, each quarter: 1st qr. 2d qr. 3d qr. 4th qr. 28f 28^ 31 31i 1912 Moscow, Russia, June 14, 1912. Exhibition, trot- ting. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen Charles Tanner won Time— J i f Mile 30 1.00 1.30 2.04^ 1 Not an official performance, but four seconds faster than the Russian trotting record, 2.08. KING AND QUEEN OF THE TRACK 123 Lexington, Ky., Oct. 8, 1912. To beat the track record, trotting, his own 1.59J. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen Charles Tanner won Time— i i f Mile 30 59 1.28 1.58^ Separately, each quarter: 1st qr. 2d qr. 3d qr. 4th qr. 30 29 29 30 Lexington, Ky., Oct. 11,1912. To beat the world's record for trotting teams, 2.07f. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen, and Lewis Forrest, bl g, by General Forrest Charles Tanner won Time— ill Mile 31| l.OOf 1.31f 2.03i 1913 North Randall, O., July 7, 1913. To beat the track record, trotting, his own 1.5 8 J. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen Charles Tanner lost Time— J i f Mile 29J 59^ 1.29i 1.59i Grand Rapids, Mich., July 28, 1913. To beat the track trotting record, 2. 06 J. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen Charles Tanner won Time— i i i Mile 291 59j 1.311 i.59| 1 Previous world's trotting record, 1.58^, by Lou Dillon, in 1903. 124 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER Goshen, N. Y., Aug. 19, 1913. To beat his own world's half-mile track trotting record, 2.02|. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen Charles Tanner last Time— J i S Mile 30 J 59 J 1 1.324 2.03f Hamline, Minn., Sept. 5, 1913. To beat the state trotting record, 2.05^. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen Charles Tanner won Time— i J i Mile 30 59| 1.30-1 1.59f Galesburg, 111., Sept. 19, 1913. To beat the track trotting record, 2.03J, by Alix. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen Charles Tanner won Time— i i I Mile 30 1.00 1.30J 2.00i Lexington, Ky., Oct. 6, 1913. Quarter-mile dash, to establish a trotting record. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen Charles Tanner won Time— i i 13j 27 Separately, by eighths: 1st 2d 13J 13i Lexington, Ky., Oct. 9, 1913. To beat 2.03, the world's record for trotter with running mate. 1 The only half ever trotted in 1.00 or better on half- mile track. KING AND QUEEN OF THE TRACK 125 Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen, and Slats, b g, thorough- bred Charles Tanner won Time— } i I Mile 28J 57i 1.25i 1.54i Separately, each quarter: 1st qr. 2d qr. 3d qr. 4th qr. 28f 28^ 28 29i 1914 Saratoga, N. Y., Aug. 13, 1914. Exhibition, trot- ting, to saddle, grass course. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen Mr. C. K. G. Billings (192 lbs) won Time— 13. Lexington, Ky., Oct. 8, 1914. Exhibition, trot- ting, to saddle. Uhlan, bl g, by Bingen Mr. C. K. G. Billings (192 lbs) won Time— 13 J. Lou Dillon 1.58^ The First Two-Minute Trotter World's Champion Trotter, 1903-1912 Chestnut mare, star and snip, near hind ankle white; height, 15.0| hands. Foaled 1898. Bred by Mess Henry and Ira Pierce, Santa Rosa Stock Farm, Santa Rosa, Cal. 126 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER Purchased by Mr. C. K. G. Billings, May, 1903, at Cleveland, O. Sire, Sidney Dillon 23157, sire also of Helen Stiles 2.06|, Ruth Dillon 4, 2.06J, Dolly Dillon, 2.06f (to wagon), Stanley Dillon 2.07| and 100 others with standard records; and of the dams of Emma Har- vester, 4, 2.04:1, Expressive Lou, 3, 2.08J, Lou Bilhngs, 3, 2.08f, Dillon Axworthy, 3, 2.10^, etc., etc. Sidney Dillon by Sidney, 2.19|, son of Santa Claus, 2.174, by Strath- more 408, by Hambletonian 10; his dam, Venus, two mile record 5.04 (dam also of Adonis 2.11|, Cupid 2.18 and Lea 2.18|), by Captain Webster 10173, son of William- son's Belmont. Dam hou Milton (dam also of Cornelia 2.19|, Redwood 2.21^, Aileen 2.264 and Ethel Mack, 3, 2.29 J), by Milton Medium 2.254, son of Happy Medium 400, by Ham- bletonian 10. Milton Medium's dam Fan (dam also of Hattie 2.29f), by Sackett's Hambletonian 1727, son of Hambletonian 10. KING AND QUEEN OF THE TRACK 127 Some Performances of Lou Dillon 1903 Cleveland, O., June 16, 1903. To beat 2.14-, trot- ting, to wagon. Lou Dillon, ch m, by Sidney Dillon Mr. C. K. G. Billings won Time— i i I Mile 33 1.04| 1.35f 2.06-]-^ Cleveland, O., June 29, 1903. To beat 2.06J, trot- ting, to wagon. Lou Dillon, ch m, by Sidney Dillon Mr. C. K. G. Billings won Time— i i i Mile 31f 1.03i 1.34 2.04|i Cleveland, O., July 11, 1903. To beat the world's record for trotting mares, to sulky, 2.03f. Lou Dillon, ch m, by Sidney Dillon. .M. Sanders won Time— i i i Mile 31i l.Olf 1.32J 2.03^ Cleveland, O., July 31, 1903. To beat the world's record for trotting mares, to sulky, 2.03^. Lou Dillon, ch m, by Sidney Dillon. .M. Sanders won Time— i i f Mile 30i l.OOf 1.31| 2.02| Brighton Beach, C. I., Aug. 17, 1903. Exhibition. Lou Dillon, ch m, by Sidney Dillon. .M. Sanders won 1 Previous world's trotting record, 1.58^, by Lou Dillon, 2.07, by Lucille. 128 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER Time— i ^ J Mile 28|^ 59 1.30i 2.03f Readville, Mass., Aug. 24, 1903. To beat the world's record for trotting mares, to sulky, 2. 02 J. Lou Dillon, ch m, by Sidney Dillon. .M. Sanders won Time- i i I i f I f Mile 15j 30J 45J LOOf 1.15| 1.31 1.46 2.00 ^ Separately, each quarter; 1st qr. 2d qr. 3d qr. 4th qr. 301 301 301 29 Separately, each eighth: 1st 2d 3d 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 15i 15 15 15^ 15 15i 15 14 Cleveland, O., Sept. 1, 1903. To beat her own world's amateur trotting record to wagon, 2.04'f . Lou Dillon, ch m, by Sidney Dillon Mr. C. K. G. Billings won Time— i ^ f Mile 32 1.02i 1.33J 2.04J Cleveland, O., Sept. 12, 1903. To beat the record of Maud S., 2.08J, trotting, to high-wheel sulky. Lou Dillon, ch m, by Sidney Dillon. .M. Sanders won Time— i i i Mile 32j 1.04 1.35 2.053 iThe fastest first quarter ever trotted. 2 The world's first two-minute mile by a trotter; previoiis world's trotting record, 2.02i, by Cresceus. 3 The fastest mile ever trotted to high-wheel sulky, with- out pneumatic tires. KING AND QUEEN OF THE TRACK 129 Cleveland, O., Sept. 19, 1903. Exhibition, trot- ting, to wagon. Lou Dillon, eh m, by Sidney Dillon Mr. C. K. G. Billings won ^ Time— i i I Mile 33i 1.05J 1.36i 2.05i Lexington, Ky., Oct. 10, 1903. To heat 2.04^, her own world's amateur trotting record to wagon. Lou Dillon, ch m, by Sidney Dillon Mr. C. K. G. Billings won Time— i i I Mile 31 1.01 1.30J 2.0lf Memphis, Tenn., Oct. 20, 1903. Free-for-all trot, amateur drivers, to wagon, for Memphis Gold Cup.^ Lou Dillon, ch m, by Sidney Dillon Mr. C. K. G. Billings 1 1 Major Delmar, b g, by Delmar Mr. E. E. Smathers 2 2 Time— i i -I Mile 1st heat 30 1.00 1.32 2.04f 2d heat 32f 1.03 J 1.33 2.04f Memphis, Tenn., Oct. 24, 1903. To beat her own world's record of 2.00, trotting. Lou Dillon, ch m, by Sidney Dillon . . M. Sanders won iLast half in 59^ seconds; last quarter in 28| seconds. 2 World's race record for trotters to wagon, for both one and two consecutive heats, driven by either amateur or professional reinsraan. World's record for two con- secutive heats in a race to either wagon or sulky. 130 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER Time— i i f 4 f J i Mile 15j 30 44f 59j 1.14^ 1.284 ^-"^H l-^Sj Separately, each quarter: 1st qr. 2d qr. 3d qr. 4th qr. 30 294 29 30 Separately, each eighth: 1st 2d 3d 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 15j 14| 14| 14| 14| 14i 15 15 Memphis, Tenn., Oct. 28, 1903. To beat her own world's amateur trotting record, to wagon, 2.01 f. Lou Dillon, ch m, by Sidney Dillon Mr. C. K. G. Billings won Time— 4 i f 4 f f i Mile 15 294 44j 59j 1.14J 1.294 l-^^ 2.00 Separately, each quarter: 1st qr. 2d qr. 3d qr. 4th qr. 294 29J 30i ^04 Separately, each eighth: 1st 2d 3d 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 15 144 14j 15 154 14f 154 15 New York Speedway, N. Y. City, Nov. 11, 1903. Special exhibition, to wagon. Lou Dillon, ch m, by Sidney Dillon Mr. C. K. G. Billings won Time— i 4 1st heat 29 59 2d heat 25f ^ 584 1 First quarter of second heat the fastest ever trotted or paced, to any hitch. KING AND QUEEN OF THE TRACK 131 Produce op Lou Dillon 1907 — Lou Billings, 3, 2.08-J, b m, by John A. McKer- ron 2.04^. 1908 — Gretchen B % b m, by John A. McKerron 2.04i. 1910— Mack Dillon, 6, 2.21i, ch g, by John A. McKerron 2.04|. 1911 — Ben Billings, ^ pacer, 6, 2.05J, b g, by Bingen 2.06-1. 1913 — Expressive Lou, 3, 2.08 J, b m, by Atlantic Express 2.07f. 1914 — Virginia Lou, b f, by The Harvester 2.01. 1915 — Bay colt, died as a weanling, by The Har- vester 2.01. 1917 — Harvest Lou, 3, 2. 17 J, ch m, by The Harvester 2.01, 1919 — Harvest Dillon, b c, by The Harvester 2.01. 1920— Etawah Dillon, b c, by Etawah 2.03. 1 Gretchen B., Lou Dillon's foal of 1908, is the dam of Harvest Grant, 4, 2.10J, Harvest Sprite, 3, 2.19^ and Girl of the Fields, 2, 2.26J, trotting, 5, 2.08, pacing. 2 Ben Billings, Lou Dillon's foal of 1911, has a three- year-old trotting record of 2.17^, in addition to his six- year-old pacing record of 2.05^. THE INTERNATIONAL POLO CUP THE INTERNATIONAL POLO CUP THE World War was disastrous to Eng- lish polo, for it not only cost the lives of many of the important players of the game, but also destroyed most of the best English ponies. The game continued to be played in the United States in a half-hearted manner during the early years of the War, but ceased when America joined the belligerents and sent her polo players to the front. Playing was resumed soon after the armistice, for it had not been forgotten that the International Cup was in the custody of Great Britain. In 1920 a challenge was sent and accepted for a match of the best two out of three games to be played at Hurlingham during Jxme, 1921. The best American ponies were assembled 135 136 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER and sent to England in charge of Mr. H. V. Colt, who conditioned them with great skill. Messrs. Devereux Milburn, Louis E. Stoddard, J. Watson Webb, Thomas Hitch- cock Jr., C. C. Rumsey, and Earle Hopping left for England in the Spring, having been chosen as the best exponents of American polo. Milburn was appointed captain, and dif- ferent combinations of the six men were tried out before the final selection for the team was made. It was finally settled as follows: MEADOW BROOK 1. Louis E. Stoddard 2. Thomas Hitchcock, Jr. 3. J. Watson Webb Back, Devereux Milburn Number One and Back were old Inter- national Cup players, while Webb and Hitchcock, the latter being but twenty-one years old, had to face a new experience. THE INTERNATIONAL POLO CUP 137 Webb was a registered left-handed player. It was a wonderful combination of ex- perience and steadiness coupled with youth and dash. The English also took a long time to decide what players should form their team, and finally decided on: HURLINGHAM 1. Lieut. Colonel Tomkinson 2. Major Barrett 3. Lord Wodehouse Back, Major Lockett With the exception of Lord Wodehouse, who played back on one of the unsuccessful teams in 1909 at Hurlingham, it was the identical team that had won the Cup at Meadow Brook in 1914, but they were seven years older. Polo above all other games is one of quick thinking. Mind, eye, and muscles must work together and respond quickly. This 138 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER combination only happens in youth, for when a man passes thirty-five he slows up. The first game was played at Hurhng- ham on June 18, 1921. First Game First Period, — England attacked im- mediately, but America soon retaliated. From a free hit for a foul hook Webb scored for America. Stoddard, after a fine run scored shortly afterwards, then in a scrimmage Wodehouse saved. The Ameri- can ponies appeared to be faster and han- dier. Score: America 2, England 0. Second Period, — England pressed most of the time. Wodehouse hit out very well. A good attack by first Barrett and then Lockett ended in a pass which Tomkinson put through, giving England her first goal. America soon retaliated, a good long shot giving them their third goal. From the side Barrett made a good long shot, which was stopped by Milburn, and another shot at the goal also failed. Webb then made a good THE INTERNATIONAL POLO CUP 139 save. In running across the ground, Tom- kinson broke his stick. The period ter- minated by a cross given against Hitchcock, Tomkinson galloping right up to him. Score: America 3, England 1. Third Period. — A successful penalty shot by Barrett was followed by a brilliant American run terminating in a goal. A palpable cross by Webb in front of Lockett resulted in Barrett taking the shot, which went wide. After a hit out England got a good goal from a fine lofty shot. From some good midfield play England had an opening, but Barrett's pony was too slow in the No. 1 position, which he was momen- tarily in. From a slight mistake in mid- field the Americans got a good and easy goal with a near side shot. End of period, 5-3. A very level contest. Fourth Period, — England had much the better of this period. In the first attack Tomkinson's final shot just missed, and an- other English shot from a difficult angle also. A good near side backhander by 140 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER Wodehouse picked up by Tomkinson just missed. After consistent attack and spe- cially good play by Wodehouse England got another goal. From the throw-in Eng- land made a good attack, and just missed the goal from a backhander. Tomkinson got away alone, his final near shot missing by inches. Score, 5-4. Up to this point the English team had more than their share of the attack, but their shots at goal were generally failures. Fifth Period. — England's goal was in danger, but the centre of the ground was now rather bumpy, and everyone was mis- hitting. The pressure was relieved by good combination between Barrett and Tomkin- son. The ball broke when near the Ameri- can goal. A good combined American attack led off by Hitchcock resulted in a goal hit by Milburn. From the throw-in the Americans again attacked, and got a goal from the scrimmage. The Americans again seemed to have the faster ponies dur- THE INTERNATIONAL POLO CUP 141 ing this period, and also to be the more accurate hitters. Score, 7-4. Sixth Period, — Play took place on the boards, and England was a little sticky and mishit. America attacked and rushed the ball through. The Americans appeared better mounted, and after combined play scored again. England recovered, and made a good attack which went wide. They seemed to be outponied in this chukker. Score, 9-4. Seventh Period. — The Americans from the throw-in on the boards made a brilliant run and scored a goal, followed by another fine run on the boards, Barrett saving. The Americans were given a free shot which failed, but after the ball had been met they got a lucky goal. A beautiful run by Barrett just failed in the final shot. An- other very fine attack by Wodehouse .was saved. England pressed, but the Ameri- cans saved, the ball going out over the side. From the throw-in the Americans attacked, 142 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER and missed a chance — the first of the after- noon. England again put up a good attack, but the final shot by Barrett just failed. Final score, 11-4. The Americans played a very nice, clean, hard-hitting game, and their shooting at goal was deadly. They missed but one try during the afternoon, whereas the Eng- lish missed a great many goals, often by inches, but in this case an inch is as bad as a mile. It seemed to be the old matter of the superiority of the forward American polo seat with the eye on the ball that made this great difference. The English team played good polo imtil the fifth period, when the score stood 5-4 in favor of America. Then the Britishers seemed to lose their morale and did not keep their places, which allowed the dangerous Milburn to do as he liked both in attack and in defence, of which he took full advantage and scored a goal. Meadow Brook scored six goals in the last THE INTERNATIONAL POLO CUP 143 three periods, winning the game by 11 goals to 4 goals. Taken as a whole, there was not much difference in the quajity of the ponies, yet the American mounts seemed to last out their periods better than the English. This probably came from the fact that the Ameri- can ponies had all been conditioned under the experienced eye of one man. Second Game, June 22 America, 10 goals — England 6 goals. The Match First Game June 18, 1921, at Hurling- ham. AMERICA 1. Louis E. Stoddard 2. Thomas Hitchcock, Jr. 3. J. Watson Webb Back: Devereux Milburn ENGLAND 1. Lieut. Col. TomkinsK)n 2. Major Barrett 144 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER 3. Lord Wodehouse Bach: Major Lockett America 11 goals — England 4 goals. Second Game June 22, 1921 America 10 goals — England 6 goals. The challengers very early established a lead which England could never overtake though they played well. The matches now stand America 4 — England 3. THE POLO SEASON OF 1922 THE POLO SEASON OF 1922 THIS was the greatest polo season America had ever experienced, owing to the visit of the Argentine, Eastcott, and Irish teams. The Argentines: Captain Lacey and Major John Nelson, David Miles and John Miles, a hard-hitting, hard riding, and very- expert team, had won the championship of Chili in 1920, and later defeated all comers in their native land. In the winter of 1922 they shipped a large stud of ponies to England. The players followed in the spring, and succeeded in winning the three principal British tourna- ments, first the Champion Cup at Hurling- ham, followed by the Open Cup at Roe- hampton and the Whitney Cup at Rane- lagh. This attracted the attention of the American polo players, who invited the 147 148 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER Argentines to visit the United States on their way home. Four American polo combinations were formed with the International Four dis- tributed as fairly as possible among the four teams. The first tournament was held at the Rumson Country Club. Here Argentine, conceding five goals, was defeated by Orange County for the Herbert Memorial Cup by 13-10. The final was won by Mea- dow Brook captained by Milburn. In the Open Championship Argentine defeated the Shelburne House four, and then won the final from the so-called Meadow Brook team. The chief event at Philadelphia was a Handicap Tournament. After the other teams had been eliminated, the final game was to have been played between Meadow Brook and Eastcott, but owing to the sad death of Mr. C. C. Rumsey, Meadow Brook defaulted. These two teams met at Meadow Brook THE POLO SEASON OF 1922 149 in the semi-finals for the Monty Water- bury Cup with the understanding that the outcome of the match should decide the de- faulted game at Philadelphia. In this event Eastcott won, but in turn was defeated by Shelburne House for the Cup. The Argentines not having met the Meadow Brook International four, a match was decided on. Mr. Stoddard had unfortunately been in- jured in a practice game with the Flam- ingoes, so Mr. J. C. Cooley, the No. 1 of the latter four, a 5-goal man, took his place on the Meadow Brook team. The Meadow Brooks won the first game by 7-4. The second game was more interesting. At the beginning of the second period Argentine scored a goal, and did not score again until the seventh period. Meadow Brook had scored five goals in the mean- time. Argentine scored one goal in the seventh and two in the eighth. 150 sport on land and water Final Score 1st Game Meadow Brook 7 Argentine 4 2nd Game Meadow Brook 5 Argentine 4 This was a fine performance, for the best Argentine ponies having been saved for this event had enjoyed a long rest. These ponies were later sold at auction at record prices. FOXHOUNDS AND THEIR HANDLING IN THE FIELD BY Lord Henry Bentinck (1804-1870) with introduction by viscount chaplin INTRODUCTION By Viscount Chaplin THE history of the little treatise, by the late Lord Henry Bentinck, on handling a pack of hounds out hunting is not without its interest, and it has authority, I may add, of the highest order. It is the copy of a letter written to me by the late Lord Henry Bentinck himself, one day not very long after I had bought his pack of hounds, from Loch Ericht, his small shooting lodge in the famous deer forest of Ardverickay, only six miles from Dal- whinnie station, on the Highland line. It was written on a day when there was such a tremendous blizzard that even he, who was never known to miss a day in any week in the course of the stalking season, was un- able to go out. 153 154 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER So he occupied himself by writing to me, in a letter, the contents of the little pamphlet in question, and its republication, which has been the subject of our correspondence. To this I replied by saying that I thought it ought to be published, and I asked his leave to do it. But this he would not give me, saying he could write something much better than that, and would do so, some day. But I had it printed for private circula- tion, and I gave a copy to several of the older Masters, and among others one to Mr. George Lane Fox, of Bramham Moor celebrity, who the day after Lord Henry's death sent a copy to Bailys Magazine, who published it. And here a word about my own relations with the late Lord Henry may not be out of place. He was the fourth son of the fourth Duke of Portland, who died in 1854, being suc- ceeded by his second son, the Marquis of Titchfield (the eldest son having died in FOXHOUNDS 155 1821) ; the third being Lord George Ben- tinck, who in his earher days was the Napoleon of the Turf; and the fourth, Lord Henry, who in the hunting world was very much what his brother George had been upon the turf/ And, these three brothers it was, or rather the forces they were able to command, which enabled them to estab- lish Mr. Disraeli as Leader of the Con- servative Party, and finally to defeat, and oust, Sir Robert Peel from power, after their homeric conflicts in connection with the Repeal of the Corn Laws. For reasons I need not enter into now Lord Henry shortly afterwards abandoned politics altogether, and his favourite pur- suits were, for the remainder of his life, hunting in the winter, deer-stalking in the autumn, and playing whist in the summer, in which he was facile princeps — in fact, in those days he was said to be the finest player in Europe. 1 See Life of Disraeli, by Buckle, Vol. III., pp. 110-218, 129, 133. 156 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER My acquaintance with him was on this wise : I knew him, and well, from the time I was a boy. He had been Master of the Burton Country in Lincolnshire for many years — nearly thirty, I think — one of the three counties in England which were hunted six days a week at that time, and where his chief supporter was my uncle, Mr. Charles Chaplin, who gave him a subscrip- tion of 1200Z. a year, and whose tenants on an estate of between twenty and thirty thousand acres used to walk for him a very large number of puppies, than which noth- ing is more important for the successful breeding of a first-class pack of hounds. And I succeeded him within no long period after I became of age, my uncle having died while I was still at Christ Church, in the University of Oxford, when I continued the old subscription. It was shortly after that, however, that Lord Henry expressed his wish to give up the country, whereupon I bought his hounds for 3500Z. and took the FOXHOUNDS 157 Burton Country myself, of which he had been the Master for so many years. Lord Henry was a man of quite excep- tional ability, as I had every reason to be- lieve— not only from what I knew myself, but, some years afterwards, from no less an authority than that of Mr. Disraeli, and in the way I shall describe directly. And, from all the experience I have had since then, I have very little doubt that his was probably the best brain ever given to the breeding of hounds, and hunting; and he was also, I think, upon the whole, one of the best horsemen, and with the finest hands upon a horse that was difficult to ride I ever knew, with the possible exception of Lord Lonsdale. I may add that it was from Lord Henry I learned everything I ever knew about horses, hounds, deer-stalking and deer- forests, and sport of all kinds, and a great deal about politics, too. And it was by him practically, before he abandoned politics, as 158 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER is shown in one of Mr. Buckle's most admir- able volumes of the Life of Disraeli — it was by him and his exertions, freely admitted by Mr. Disraeli himself, that he was success- fully run into the leadership of the Party after Lord George Bentinck's death.^ Lord Henry Bentinck died at Tathwell, on the last day of 1870, in one of my houses in Lincolnshire, which I had lent him with ten thousand acres of shooting, and there he used to practise rifle-shooting in the sum- mer, with pea-rifles, at both rabbits and hares, which were rather plentiful on some parts of the estate at that time, in prepara- tion for the stalking season in the autumn, where he seldom missed a stag with a differ- ent weapon, killing, on an average about a hundred every year himself. And, when Parliament met, early in Feb- ruary afterwards, if I remember rightly, and I was shown into Mr. Disraeli's room, iSee Life of Disraeli, by Buckle, who showed himself in that work as another great English historian. Vol. III., pp. 116, 128-132, 133, 135. FOXHOUNDS 159 at his Party Dinner, to which he was kind enough to invite me when the Queen's Speech was read, he accosted me as follows : "Ah!" he said, "you and I have both lost a great friend since we parted." "Yes, sir," I replied; "I know that Lord Henry and yourself were great friends at one time, and he has often talked to me about you." "Yes," he said; "and I always wished it could have remained so." And then, after a pause, he added: "I have always said that, take him all round, I think upon the whole that Henry Bentinck was probably the ablest man I ever knew." And very soon afterwards dinner was announced, and we went into the dining-room. I make no comments on Lord Henry's description of GoodalVs Practice, in the handling of his hounds, excepting this: I agree with everything he says, but it is neces- sary to remember this — the Burton Country, where his chief experience lay, was a country of comparatively small and manageable 160 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER fields of horsemen ; very different from those you see in the Quorn, the Cottesmore, the Pytchley, and the chief fashionable grass countries, and sometimes the Belvoir, on the grass side of that country. But the principles which are inculcated, nevertheless, hold good ; and, once a pack of hounds have learned to know, and believe in, their hunts- man, they are never happy away from him, and there is nothing they won't do, and no effort they won't make, to get back to him. Tom Firr was a notable instance of this in the Quorn; but then he had the best Master in England (Lord Lonsdale) to help him, and no one could handle a big field better than he could, that I've ever seen; and the way in which he controlled a field of possibly five or six hundred horsemen on a Quorn Friday was a triumph of organization I have never seen surpassed. For instance, when drawing one of their crack coverts in that country, the field was kept away some distance from it, often nearly a whole field, until the fox had gone FOXHOUNDS 161 away, and the huntsman had got hold of his hounds sufficiently to get a start with him; and then, when the field got the order to go, my word! There was a charge of cavalry with a vengeance, to get up to them. Lord Annaly did the same thing in the Pytchley and had the same complete control of his field ; and in this way with the combina- tion of Lonsdale and Firr in the Quorn, and Annaly and Freeman in after years in the Pytchley, there could not have been a happier arrangement for successful sport out hunting, if there was any scent at all. They were two first-rate huntsmen also. The rarest and most difficult thing in the world to find in my experience is a really good huntsman. And here I can't omit some reference to Tom Smith, who was originally my second whipper-in — who was afterwards huntsman to the Bramham Moor hounds, and became so celebrated for many years in that country ; and though it never was my fortune to see him hunting hounds myself, I know it must 162 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER have been so — from so many sources, all of which came from men who were absolutely reliable. He comes, too, of a famous family of huntsmen of that name, three generations of whom, I think I am right in saying, had been huntsmen to the Brocklesby hounds — one of the oldest and best packs of hounds in the country at that time. I have often said it was easier to find a good Prime Minister than a real good hunts- man, and Heaven knows that either is dif- ficult enough; and I incline to think it is more so than ever now for Ministers to-day, whose difficulties are far greater than they ever were before my time. How many have there been since Lord Palmerston, the first that I remember? Curiously enough, the only two men prominent in public life that I knew person- ally and at all well, when I became a member of the House of Commons in 1868, were Lord Palmerston and the old Lord Derby; but they were both of them members of the FOXHOUNDS 163 Jockey Club, and in that way I got to know them well. To go back to GoodalVs Practice from which I'm afraid I have rather strayed — I think that the good work done by Bailys Magazine for so many years should not be thrown away, and that this admirable little treatise called GoodalVs Practice should be preserved in the interest of Fox-hunting for the use of this and future generations. The language is so simple, and so much of it is ordinary common-sense, that any one can understand it. It would be invaluable for Hunt servants, both huntsmen and their whippers-in who serve under them in particular — ^many of whom are seldom taught enough by their superiors or masters. I think it is a better education in their case which is needed more than anything, and I will conclude with an instance of what I mean. I was rather late one morning in arriving at a gorse covert in the Belvoir Country; Coston covert, I think it was, into which the 164 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER hounds had just been put to draw. I had come from Barley Thorpe, and I saw at once it wasn't the huntsman who was in the covert with the hounds, and I was told it was the first whip, Freeman, who had never hunted them before, the huntsman being disabled by a fall the previous day. I knew him quite well, so I went into the covert to see if I could help him. "So you are handling the hounds, I under- stand," I said, "for the first time to-day?" "Ah, yes. Squire," he said, "and I can do nothing with them," he replied. "Well," I said, "I've been at it all my hfe, and perhaps I could tell you one or two things which might be useful." "I should be most grateful if you would," he said. He had been blowing his horn whenever the fox crossed a ride, with the same note that ought only to be used when he has gone away, or he has caught him. So I replied, "Put your horn into its case to begin with, and don't blow it again like FOXHOUNDS 165 you have been doing, or till your fox has gone away, or till you want to draw your hounds out of covert, which you should do with one or two long-drawn notes; or till you have caught your fox and got him lying dead before you. Then you may blow the note you've been using as long as you like. That is one thing. *'The next thing is this: when you've gone away with a fox, and come to a check, don't go to help your hounds till they ask you, and the way you will know they are asking you is this, and these hounds (who at that time were constantly interfered with) will ask you immediately because they are ac- customed to it. "You will see them standing with their heads up, waggling their tails, and doing nothing to feel for the scent or to help them- selves. When you see that, go straight into the middle of the pack, turn your horse, say 'cop-cop,' or anything you hke, trot off, and they will go with you like a flock of sheep. "Trot gently up to wherever you think 166 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER your fox is most likely to have gone, and if you are lucky enough to hit off his line, they will go all the easier with you the next time. "Now," I said, "that is enough for to-day, and I shall stay out to see how you get on." I stayed out till quite late in the evening. It was in the Spring. He was fortunate enough to hit off his fox the first time, and before the evening the hounds had taken to him complete^, and he could do anything he liked with them. 'He was so nice and modest-minded a fel- low that he came half a mile out of his way to meet me on his way home, and when we met he said, "I couldn't go home. Squire, without thanking you for what you told me this morning. The ambition of my life is to be a hmitsman. I am most anxious to learn, and you are the first person, gentle- man or huntsman, who has ever told me a single thing." "Well," I said, "you seem very apprecia- tive, and whenever you find j^ourself in a difficulty either as whipper-in or huntsman, FOXHOUNDS 167 if you will write and tell me what it is, I will tell you anything I can to help you." That is the difficulty, I fear, with too many of the younger ones in that profession, and nothing could help them more than what they would learn from Lord Henry Ben- tinck's plain and simple letter to me on GoodalVs Practice, I sent a copy of it to Freeman very shortly afterwards, and we corresponded frequently, and do still; and no one that I know has a better reputation as a huntsman to-day, or shows more sport than he does. Chaplin April, 1922 THE LATE LORD HENRY BENTINCK THE LATE LORD HENRY BENTINCK WILLIAM GOODALL's METHOD WITH HOUNDS 1. — IN handling his Hounds in the open, with a Fox before him, he never had them rated or driven to him by his whips; never hallooed them from a distance. When he wanted them he invariably went himself to fetch them, anxiously watching the moment that the Hounds had done trying for them- selves, and felt the want of him. He then galloped straight up to their heads, caught hold of them, and cast them into a body a hundred yards in his front, every Hound busy before him with his nose snuffing the ground, his hackles up, his stern curled over his back, each Hound relying on himself and believing in each other. When cast in this way, the Huntsman learns the exact 171 172 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER value of each Hound, while the young Hounds learn what old Hounds too believe in and fly to, and when the scent is taken up no Hound is disappointed. When the Huntsman trails his Hounds behind him, four-fifths of his best Hounds will be staring at his horse's tail, doing nothing. The Hounds came to have such confidence in Goodall, that with a burning scent, he would cast them in this way at a hand gallop, all the Hounds in his front making every inch of ground good ; while with a poor scent he would do it in a walk, regulating his pace by the quality of the scent; the worse the scent, the more time the Hounds want to puzzle it out. On this system the Hounds are got to the required spot in the very shortest time, with every Hound busily at work, and with his nose tied to the ground. On the opposite vulgar plan, the Hunts- man, galloping off to his Fox, hallooing his Hounds from a distance, his noise drives the Hounds in the first instance to flash wildly THE LATE LORD HENRY BENTINCK 173 in the opposite direction; four or five minutes are lost before the whip can come up and get to their heads ; then they are flogged up to their Huntsman, the Hounds driving along with their heads up, their eyes staring at their Huntsman's horse's tail, looking to their Huntsman for help, disgusted, and not relying upon themselves, especially the best and most sagacious Hounds. A few min- utes more are lost before the best Hounds will put their noses down and begin to feel for the scent, a second check becomes fatal, and the Fox is irretrievably lost. Often- enough, in being whipped up to their Hunts- man in this way, when crossing the line of the Fox with their heads up, they first catch his wind, and then, as a matter of course, they must take the scent heelways, the Fox, as a rule, running down the wind. This fatal piece of bungling, so injurious to Hounds — is always entirely owing to the Huntsman; it is neither the fault of the whips or the Hounds; it never can occur when the Huntsman moves his Hounds in 174 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER his front with their noses down. In these two different systems Hes the distinction be- tween being quick and a had hurry, 2. — When the Fox was gone, in place of galloping oif after his Fox without his Hounds, blowing them away down the wind from such a distance that half the Hounds would not hear him, and he would only get a few leading Hounds still further separated from the body, Goodall would take a sharp hold of his horse's head, quick as lightening turn back in the opposite direction, get up wind of the body of his Hounds, and blow- ing them away from the tail, bring up the two ends together, giving every Hound a fair chance to be away with the body. It is impossible to over-estimate the mis- chief done to a pack of Hounds by unfairly and habitually leaving a Hound behind out of its place : it is teaching them to be rogues. For this purpose, Goodall had one particular note of his horn 7iever used at any other time except when his Fox was gone, or his Fox was in his hand: the Hounds, learning THE LATE LORD HENRY BENTINCK 175 the note, would leave a Fox in covert to fly to it. Hounds are very sagacious animals; they cannot bear being left behind, nor do they like struggling through thick covert; but if that note is ever used at any other time the charm is gone; the Hounds v^ill not believe in it; you cannot lie to them with impunity. This was Goodall's great secret for getting his Hounds away all in a lump on the hack of his Fox, and hustling him before he had time to empty himself. This was his system for getting his Hounds through large woodlands: to come tumbling out together without splitting, and sticking to their run Fox. This is the explanation of the famous old Meynell saying, "In the second field they gathered themselves to- gether, in the third they commenced a ter- rible burst/" 3. — Goodall's chief aim was to get the hearts of his Hounds. He considered Hounds should be treated like women: that they would not bear to be bullied, to be de- ceived, or neglected with impunity. For 176 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER this end, he would not meddle with them in their casts until they had done trying for themselves, and felt the want of Mm: he paid them the compliment of going to fetch them; he never deceived or neglected them; he was continually cheering and making much of his Hounds; if he was compelled to dis- appoint them by roughly stopping them off a suckling vixen or dying Fox at dark, you would see him, as soon as he had got them stopped, jump off his horse, get into the middle of his pack, and spend ten minutes in making friends with them again. The result was that the Hounds were never happy without him, and when lost would drive up through any crowd of horsemen to get to him again, and it was very rare for a single Hound to be left out. It is impossible to over-rate the mischief done to a pack of Hounds by leaving them out; it teaches them every sort of vice, up- sets their condition, besides now exposing them to be destroyed on the railway line. There is no more certain test of the capacity THE LATE LOED HENRY BENTINCK 177 of a Huntsman than the manner in which his Hounds fly to him and work for him with a will, Goodall, Old Musters, and Foljambe were undoubtedly the three Master-minds of our day. Their general system of handling Hounds was much the same, though each had his peculiar excellence, and each has often said that if they lived to be a hundred they would learn something every year. All three agreed in this, that it was ruinous to a pack of Hounds to meddle with them be- fore they had done trying for themselves. The reasoning upon this most material point is very simple. If the Hoimds are habitually checked, and meddled with in their natural casts, they will learn to stand still at every difficulty, and wait for their Huntsman; every greasy wheat- field will bring them to a dead stop, and however hard the Huntsman may ride on their back, two or three minutes must be lost before he can help them out of their difficulty, whilst in woods he cannot ever know what they are 178 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER about. (For once the Huntsman can help them, nineteen times the Hounds must help themselves.) It was Old Musters' remark that for the first ten minutes the Hounds knew a good deal more than he did, but after they tried all they knew then he could form an opinion where the Fox was gone, but not before. Mr. Foljambe attached the greatest importance to getting his Hounds away to- gether. Before his Hounds were a field away from a wood you might hear him sing out, "Want a Hound," and his horn would be going at their tails until he got Mm, and when got, he would drop back and not care to go near them until they had been five or ten minutes at a check. But if a single Hound was wanting when a Fox was killed, however great the run, he would harp upon it for a month. Goodall combined, with his other ex- cellencies in the field, condition and kennel management quite the best. Mr. Foljambe was by far the best breeder of Hounds, and THE LATE LORD HENRY BENTINCK 179 had the keenest eye for a Hound's work — nothing escaped him. Mr. Musters was the best hand at fairly hunting a Fox to death, and could make a middling lot work like first-rate Hounds. Old Dick Burton was Lord Henry's first huntsman in the Burton Country, and showed great sport for many years. He was the best hand at breaking a pack of Hounds from hares, and teaching them to draw, upon which so much depends. He always drew his woods up the wind, throw- ing his Hounds in fifty or sixty yards from the wood, and allowing them to spread, so that every Hound should be busy, with his head down, looking for his Fox; and had them in his front, making noise enough to cheer them and enable them to know where he was; and in cub-hunting made the Hounds find their cub for themselves, and would not have him hallooed at first across the ride. (Nothing is truer than the old saying, ' 'A Fox nicely foumd is half killed/' ) He would trot through the hollow covert 180 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER with his Hounds behind him, and an oc- casional blow of his horn, to wake up any chance Fox, and get Hounds in the thick covert, where they could not use their eyes, as quick as possible, and then give them as much time as they liked. Nothing is worse than hurrying Hounds through strong covert, or forcing them to draw over again a covert when they are satisfied that there is not a Fox in it. The blackthorn and gorse coverts he would always draw down the windy keeping carefully behind his Hounds : by so doing, first, the Hounds have their heads down, and never chop a Fox — they do not see him. The Fox hears them, and the wildest Fox is off at once, and the cubs learn to steal away after the Hounds are gone. Second, it enabled him to get the body and tail Hounds out of the covert without hunt- ing the line of the Fox through the strong gorse; brought the two ends together all away on the hack of the old Fox — the true secret of getting a sharp hurst. No man could turn out a highly-mettled THE LATE LORD HENEY BENTINCK 181 pack of Hounds, and so young a lot steady from hares as old Dick Burton. In the year 1859, when the Hatton country was as full as Blankney with riot, we found in Hatton Wood, at a quarter before twelve, and in the month of February, ran from Fox to Fox until half -past three, when all the second horses being beat and a fog ris- ing up, I rode amongst the Hounds, coming away from Hatton Wood the last time to see what I had got. To my astonishment, I fomid my pack consisted of 11 couples of puppies and 5 J of old Hounds!! We had had an old dog kicked, and old "Darling" leading them, then five years old, and show- ing himself for the first time. Old Dick's principle was to break his puppies by themselves, showing them all the riot he could in the summer, and drilling them severely, but never allowing a whip to FLOG THEM after they had escaped to his heels, or to flog them when coming out of a wood and cutting them off. After being well drilled, he would then take them 182 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER amongst the cubs and smash up a Htter of cubs, blooding them up to their eyes to make them forget their punishment, and to care for nothing but a Fox. Hounds being un- steady for hares, when Foxes are plenti- ful, is entirely the fault of the han- dling. The highest praise that can be given to a Huntsman is for a fool to say: "We had a great run, and killed our Fox; as for the Huntsman, he might have been in BED." A Huntsman's first boast should be that all his Hounds required was to be taken to the covert-side and taken home again. His greatest disgrace is, first, to have his Hounds squandered all over the countr5^ and to leave them out; second, to be unable to get them out of a wood; third, not to know to a yard where he lost his Fox — if properly managed, the Hounds will always tell it to Mm. ...Xi^r'