-0/5" 9f

:ioo

GUx\, ROD, AND SADDLE.

PEUSONAL EXPERIENCES.

BY UBIQOE.

[y^k^ ju^-^

£J

NEW YORK:

EXCELSIOR PUBLISHING HOUSE,

29 AND 31 Beekman Street,

Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1869,

By W. a. town send & ADAMS,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of llie Uuited'States for tho
Southern District of New York,

ADYERTISEMENT

The fondness the English gentry have for man-
ly sports is proverbial, and this national taste has
the Ijest possible means of encouragement, in the
adventurous life necessarily pursued by officers of
an army which has its outposts in every part of the
globe.

The author of this little volume in the course of
his military service had, consequently, the oppor-
tunity and exceeding pleasure of indulging in
almost every variety of manly sport, the pursuit of
which characterizes the accomplished gentleman.

His intellectual tastes led him in early life to
the studies of natural history, and his field enjoy-
ments opened wide the arcana of nature — so that
he combined within himself the double satisfaction
of the true sportsman and the intelligent disciple
of nature.

After many years of absence he returned to
London, and in the leisure courted after long ac-

4 ADVERTISEMENT.

live service, lie prepared for the press the series of
sketches which we present to our readers. They
were received with great favor on their appearance
by the best English and Continental anthorities,
and in compliance with a very decidedly expressed
desire were gathered into a volume

Knowing how constantly increasing is the num-
ber of " Sportsmen IS'aturalists " in the country,
this volume is offered as affording refreshing read-
ing and pleasing contrast to the constantly pre-
sented sensational literature that now prevails —
the publishers believing that there are chaniis thrill-
ing and healthful in the wild and manly sports
associated with the Gux, Rod, and Saddle.

The most popular and the most usefid of living
English naturalists was attracted by these sketches,
and upon learning that it was proposed to issue a
transatlantic edition, he expressed his approval in
the following note:

*' I much approve of Mr. Gilmore's book, and slioiild
be glad to hear that it is published in America."

FxiANK BUCKLAXD.

New York, JIarch, 18G9.

PREFACE.

Havixg had the honor of holding Commissions
under Her Most Gracious Majesty's Flag in two
Regiments of the Line, as well as appointments in
the Military Train, and in the Commissariat Depart-
ment, I have, in the course of my professional duties,
visited many parts of the world. A natural turn for
ohservation of the habits of wild animals, and a dis-
like of a wanton destruction of life, has led me to
make the best use of my opportunities, whether in
the dense forests of Asia, the prairies of N'orth
America, the rivers of Japan, the highlands of Mo-
rocco, or the vast expanse of the mid-ocean.

6 PREFACE.

On ray return to England, I became a contributor
to the " jS'aturalist" and "Fishery" cohimns of "Land
and Water." Permission has been kindly granted to
me by the proprietors of that journal to republish
my articles. I have, therefore, collected them into
one volume, and trust that the now largely increas-
ing class of " Sportsmen Naturalists" will derive
benefit and amusement from my stories and adven-
tures with " Gun, Rod, and Saddle."

CONTENTS

PAOB

"Wolf Ooijesixg 11

Shaeks Jdmpixg at Food 18

Seal Peeserve 21

Oyster Culture 23

American Partridge {Ortex Virginiensis) 27

Aquatic Hare 3=2

Salmon in Japan {Salmo Salar) 33

"Wild-fowl Shooting in America 41

8 CONTENTS.

PACK

SnooTixa in Barbaey 45

The Stkiped Bass 48

SnooTiXG IN CiiixA 53

DuoK Shooting in America 61

Ruffed Grouse {Tetrao Umhellus) 66

Gun for General Foreign Shooting .-. T4

Chinese Oysters 76

CuTTLE-FlSH T9

The Snipe of America {Scolopax Wilsonii) 82

A Big Buce: 89

Black Bass 96

Hints to Young Anglers 103

The American Thorough-bred , 104

Uow to Capture Gray Mullet 115

The Pinnated Grouse {Tetrao Gupido) 118

Fishing at Gibraltar 125

CONTENTS. 9

PAGE

SpoETixa Eemixiscexses 129

FlSrilXG OFF THE CaPE OF GooD HoPE 134

A Beap. Adventure 138

FisnixG IX Maixe — CriAU or Trout 142

AxiMAL Life 155

Straxge Fishes 160

BucK-SnoT 164

The A:srERicAN Trottixg- Horse 167

HixTS ox Siiootixg 187

A Chixese Mode of Fisiiixg 194

American Ruffed Grouse axd Partridge 196

The Power of a Shark's Jaw 201

Black Bass axd Muskalloxge Fishing 205

Liftixg the Traps 213

Strange Fish 220

Buffalo Plalns 222

10 CONTENTS.

PAGB

RENcorxTER WITH A Beae 225

Ideas ox Fly-Fishing 232

Steoxg SnooTiXG 252

Ideas ox Dog-Breakixg 254

Wilderness Life 269

GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

WOLF OOUESI]SrG.

Few of us have not experienced the excitement
of a gallop over a good grass country, with the
spotted beauties leading the way, getting over the
ground at racing pace, while your mount is nearly
hauling you out of the saddle with enthusiasm and
inclination to make himself on still more familiar
terms with the pack. By Jove, how reckless such
excitement makes you feel! Fear is banished for
the time being — all sense of danger is dispelled to
the winds, and sooner than be thrown out, you
would ride at a canal, or charge any height of
timber. You may be old — yet for the time feel
young: you may be blase — you feel as buoyant as
when you made your debut. But it is far from
the grass counties, across three thousand miles of
water and fifteen hundred of land — far beyond the

12 GU:^, ROD, AND SADDLE.

giaut Mississippi, to the illimitable prairies of the
Far West I wish you to travel, in thought, at
least. Imagine an unbounded expanse of undulat-
ing land, covered with grass; here and there a
S2')arse scattering of brush, with, perhaps, one or
two lines of timber that mark the margin of some
tributaries of some mighty river, and you have
the landscape without entering into detail. What
a place for a gallop ! what a place for a buftalo
run, or any other kind of run that will give your
mettlesome nag an opportunity of showing his
pluck and endurance. But take care, don't ride
with a slack rein, keep your eyes open; all may
look plain sailing from the distance, but on closer
inspection you may come upon a densely populated
dog-town, or collection of cayotte earths, each hole
of which is big enough to use a Newfoundland in
for a fox-terrier.

Two varieties of wolves are found numerous
all over this elysium ; game is abundant, and the
marauder is always on its track looking out for
the feeble or unfortunate. Skulking scoundrels are
these members of the canine fraternity, and cunning
withal; keen and successful hunters if necessary,
but addicted to idleness; for if they can obtain

WOLF COURSINa. 13

their dinner at otliers' expense, they are always
ready to sacrifice their principle, and sponge npon
the first acquaintance. If you go out for pleasure,
or with the desire of replenishing your larder, you
are certain to be attended ; you can not get away
from camp without their watchful eyes detecting
you. As you rise one knoll you may observe the
escort topping the last, and intently keeping all
your movements under their observation. Full well
do they know that if buffalo or deer fall before your
rifle, on tlie refuse that you reject, tliey will find
a bounteous repast ; or if your hands and eyes for-
get their cunning, and a wourided unfortunate goes
off, then the chances are that the whole carcass will
fall to their share, and a gorgeous feast on tidbits
ensue, for master Lupus has wonderful scenting
powers, and, Vv'ith the trail spiced with blood, he
grudges no amount of exertion.

Again, tlie wolf is always in disgrace ; he steals
your game if deserted for a few hours to procure
assistance to transport it to camp ; he eats your
lariat ropes, untying your animals, nibbles the flaps
of your saddles, and keeps up an uneartlily serenade
through those hours that the tired sportsman is
most disposed to rest in. Is it any wonder that

14 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

he is unpopular, that lie has no friends, and that he
is considered a vermin of the first magnitude ? The
American wolf, although divided into many families,
those we have to do with are the large gray species,
and the cayote or prairie variety, the former of
whom is a large, ill-looking savage, the latter less
repulsive, seldom over twenty-three inches at tlie
shoulder, vrith more of the dog in his physiognomy,
and a good deal of the fox in his nature. In all
shooting excursions you will have idle days, a lay
off for the more seiious duties of the morrow, when
guns are cleaned,, bullets cast, powder flasks re-
plenished, and wet Or dirty clothes dried or washed.
The forenoon having sufficed to perform these labors,
a run witli a wolf will be found not a bad appetizer
for your evening meal, or remover of your little
gtilTnesses and ailments, in the same way as a little
exercise is necessary to the hunter the day after a
long or hard run. To enjoy this pleasure to perfec-
tion you must be provided with dogs, and there are
none so suitable as the strongest stamp of grey-
liounds ; more powerful ones that are addicted to
grappling with the foe will get fearfully mauled, for
the jaws of a wolf are almost as powerful as a
hyena's, and consequently your limitedi establish-

WOLF COUESIXG. 15

inent would be half the time on the sick list ; with
the greyhound it is different. As soon as you get a
view, at him they go, and although the game is
swift, still his adversaries are not long in ranging
alongside, when a snap in the hams or loins imme-
diately brings him to bay. Determined and numer-
ous are his efforts to catch the nimble antagonists,
who take precious good care to keep beyond reach.
After a few moments of such skirmishino- the closer
approach of the sportsman admonishes the wolf to
be moving, and off he goes, best foot foremost ; but
his persecutors are in attendance. A hundred or two
yards may be traversed, and again he is brought
up standing from a similar cause ; thus the game is
played till the wolf is exhausted, and the sportsman
gets sufficiently close to end the episode by a well-
directed pistol-bullet through the grizzly marauder's
cranium.

Spearing the wolf on horseback is also capital
sport ; but it takes a great deal out of your nag,
for the scoundrel, while fresh, will double almost as
sharj^ly as a hare, and from his wonderful lasting
powers takes you over an immense distance, he
invariably choosing the rougliest ground. In this
mode, also, you must constantly be on the qui vive,

16 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

for if opportunity offers he will make either your
liorse or yourself acquainted with his grinders, and
a sna]) from him will be a memento. In the neigh-
borhood of Fort RiJoy an accident of this kind
almost occurred to me. A large gray wolf jumped
up before me, and as my horse was fresh, and the
afternoon cool, I made up my mind for a run.
Drawing my revolver, and taking my nag in hand,
we were soon skimming the prairie at a slashing
pace. After a mile of this work, I ranged along-
side, but on several occasions, when about to press
the trigger, the wolf wheeled sharply to the right or
left, once very nearly throwing my nag on his head.
More determined to draw blood from the trick prac-
tised on me, I was soon again at his tail ; but the foe
tried a new and quite unexpected ruse, viz., sud-
denly slackening his pace, and as I overshot him,
making a most wicked snap at my off foot, which
fortunately was protected by a heavy cowhide boot ;
but the indentation showed that a lighter foot cover*
ing would have caused me to regret my prowess.

If ever you visit the "Western Prairies you will not
regret the trouble of taking with you some good
strong greyhounds; the rough Scotch dog I should
prefer, for you will not only find them great promoters

WOLF COUESIN-a. 17

of your sport, wolf-hunting, but useful auxiliaries in
pulling down wounded deer, as well as most watch-
ful and trustworthy camj^ guardians and compan-
ions.

IS GUN, EOD, AND SADDLE.

SHAEKS JUMPmG AT FOOD.

In " Land and Water," a correspondent who has
been yachting dnring the summer, mentions tlie
circumstance of a leg of mutton being lost which
was hung over the side, and two blue sharks after-
ward making their appearance ; doubtless they
were there before the meat disappeared, and had an
active part in its disappearance. When cruising in
the fore-and-aft schooner " Sunny South," on the Mos-
quito Coast, a few years since, the steward hung a
roast of beef from one of the stern windows, and to
his annoyance it was 7ion est in the morning. The
weather at the time was very calm, and it was con-
sequently supposed that some forecastle hands had
got down in the rudder chains and appropriated it,
although how it was to be cooked without discovery
was difficult to know. However, a second piece was
about being hung out, which doubtless was to be
well watched, when, as the piece of Ihie was about to
be made fast, a violent pull was felt, and on the

SHARKS JUMPING AT FOOD. 19

steward running out his head to find the thief, it
was found to be a shark instead of a man ; the fish
had sprung at least three feet from the water to
secure his prize. A friend of mine, while fishing
with a deep sea-line, was nearly losing his hand
through one of these blood-thirsty prowlers of the
deep. The fish had not been biting rapidly, and
careless from want of success, the hand in which he
held the line was outside the gunwale of the boat
and close to the surface ; fortunately, he happened
to cast his eye at the moment overboard, and just in
time, for a shark, seven or eight feet long, was close
to the surface, coming straight for it. On examining
the head of a shark, it will be seen that from the
position of the eyes, they can well see what is taking
place above them, and in all instances where I have
observed them take a bait, they always got under-
neath before seizing, turning on their side at the
moment of laying hold. I never previously, till
reading Mr. Buckland's remarks, saw it stated that
a shark scented his prey; nevertheless, I have long
thought so, and that their olfactory nerves are of the
greatest acuteness and use in directing them to
where it is to be found. On two occasions, once in
the Southern Indian Ocean, on another, off the north

20

coast of South America, near Los Rocas, although
110 sharks had been seen previously, they appeared
about the ship soon after some of the most venturous
had bathed. Again, I was on board a vessel be-
calmed, within sight ©f the volcanic rocks, St. Paul's
and New Amsterdam. The captain kindly lent his
gig to myself and companions to procure some speci-
mens of Cape pigeons. Cape hens, and albatross. A
great number of birds were killed, and whether it
w^as the scent of blood or not, I can not say, but a
white shark about ten feet long joined us, and
remained by us till our return to the ship. lie was
afterward caught by using a Cape hen for bait.
On examining the head of a shark, the snout will be
found to project a long way over the upper jaw, and
although there are no regular nostrils defined, such
as will be found in the salmon or trout, there are
a great number of minute orifices, doubtless intended
for smelling, and which duty I am iuclhied to believe
they most ably perform.

SEAL PKESEllVE. 21

SEAL PEESEEYE.

Novelties are universally run after, but wlio will
try to adopt the following ? True, it is not in the
power of many ; still some have the facilities. AYe
have deer parks, pheasant covers, grouse moors, and
rabbit warrens ; still we have no seal preserve. I
can fancy I see Mr. Frank Buckland looking agliast
at the proposal, and exclaiming emphatically,
" What ! Give a home and protection to the de-
stroyers of my darling children Salino salar ?
Such a proceeding would be worse tlian sacrilege,
and all the other abominable crimes known, taken col-
lectively and jumbled up into one heap." Within
easy ride of San Francisco, the capital of California,
is situated the Ocean House — a great resort, in warm
weather and holidays, of the i:-llte of this prosperous
Pacilic city, for here at all times a fresh breeze can
be inlialed, and, excepting during a calm, the grand-
est, largest waves seen, lashing with impetnons fury
the precipitous towering clitis of a wild, iruu-buund

22 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

coast. Close to the Ocean House are some rocks,
and on these at all hours can be beheld numbers of
seals. The Legislature of the State has, I believe,
passed an Act for their protection, and so well does
Master Phoc?e know his safety, that I doubt if he
would not dispute possession of his demesne with
any representative of genus homo that had the te-
merity to intrude. Tlie Californians are very proud
of these pets, and well may they be, for they form
a strange and most interesting picture, reclining in
all attitudes, young and old, big and little, free
from fear and happy in their security. Many of
them have been named from some fancied resem-
blance to persons. One, the king in stature, and
most savage and repulsive in physiognomy, bears
the sobriquet of Benjamin Butler, of Xew Orleans
notoriet3^ An old resident informed me that he
remembers this veteran seal for years, and tliat his
countenance was a good index of his temper. At
night, from the Ocean House, you can constantly
hear them bellowing, and old Butler^s voice, from its
depth and volume, is easily distinguished from tlie
others. I expect that San Francisco for many years
to come will be the only city that possesses a pre-
serve (A pet seals.

OYSTEE CULTOBB. 23

OYSTEE CULTUEE.

With much pleasure, both in thelJiiited States and
in England since my return, I have read a number
of most interesting communications from Mr, Frank
Buckland, H. B. M. Commissioner of Fisheries,
and others in reference to oyster culture. It has
long struck me that not nearly enough attention was
23aid by my fellow-countrymen to this unbounded
field of operations and wealth, and if they still con-
tinue to neglect their opportunities after the ability
and energy with which the columns of " Land and
Water " have pointed out the means of prosecuting
the good work, let the onus lay on their own shoulders,
for truly they deserve it. It is a well-known adage,
" that one man can take a horse to water, but an un-
limited number can not make him drink ;" the horse
might not be thirsty, and there are excuses for his
refusal. But dear Old England, with her immense
population, is always hungry, and has always mouths
to feed, and I feel certain that with the amount of

24 GUX, ROD, AND SADDLE.

admiraljle coast that our island-home has, this de-
scription of food, which is both wholesome and nutri-
tious, could with due attention become so cheap that
it would be within the reach of both rich and poor.
I do not for a moment profess to an excess of
knowledge ; but while sojourning in Xorth America,
where oyster culture has been studied and practically
tested for many years, the experience of some of the
most capable persons in various sections of that
country I learned, and they unanimously agreed with
what I have so lately seen stated in your columns,
that a warm summer is the great desideratum for a
productive deposit of spat. In fact, I can see no
other feasil)le reasons to be advanced by our trans-
atlantic cousins for their well-known success than
that the warm waters of the Gulf Stream run along
their coast, and that they have intense, almost trd^-
ical, heat in summer — such, in fact, as we have had
during the past season.

Your accounts unanimously agree that your de-
posits of spat have been most abundant this year ;
but if the heat should be less the coming one, and
should the j^roduce only be one-half, I am still con-
vinced that the returns would be far more than
sufiicient to iudemnil'y the outlay; however, if a

OYSTER CULTURE. 25

difference of opinion should exist, the experiment is
worth trying, which, if successful, forget not to give
the praise to whom it is due. Of course a great
number of our fellow-countrymen know the United
States ; some of those may have taken interest in this
subject, and possibly are better informed than I am ;
still tliere must be a great mass that know nothing
about the American oyster; to those, then, I will
giv^e the benefit of my experience. From Massachu-
setts to Florida, with more or less abundance, oyster
fisheries have been established, not only for dredging,
but for cultivating. The result is, that this delicacy
can be obtained at moderate charges even in the in-
terior towns and cities, such as St, Louis and Chica-
go ; in fact, there is scarcely a respectable taMe cVhotQ
eastward of the Mississippi, on whose bill of fire they
are not to be found. In the Dominion, where the
winters are proverbially severe, they are equally
abundant ; Xew Brunswick, Kova Scotia, Prince
Edward Island, and the estuary of the St. Lawrence,
have long proved themselves prolific in this respect;
corroborative of the fact that if you can get heat,
such as Vve annually have, it does not matter how
severe the winter may prove, for the abundant repro-
duction of these bivalves.

26 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

It has struck me that the American oyster may be
of a different sj^ecies from the English ; tlie shape is
not the same, and the flavor (possibly many will
say this is prejudice) I think, if possible, finer. If
they are, could not the home-bred species be bene-
fited by introducing the stranger? Experiment
would soon elucidate this, for the American, if packed
with the hollow side of the shell down, in solid masses,
can be kept alive for months ; in fact I have been
shown them thus stowed away in cellars, when they
had been built in over ten weeks ; what, then, would
a voyage of ten days, under such circumstances, sig-
nify ? The motion of the vessel might shake out
some of their moisture (on which they subsist), but
certainly not all.

The pinna fisheries of the Mediterranean some
years ago used to be most abundant ; from want of
culture and the improvements in dredging machineiy,
it has lately sadly deteriorated, almost to nil. In
enlightened England don't let us follow the example
of the improvident natives of Southern Europe, who,
so long as they can obtain the dinner of the day, care
not and think not where to-morrow's is to come
from.

AMERICAN PARTEIDGE. 27

AMEEICAE" PAETEIDGE.

(ORTEX VIRGINIENSIS.)

If all our countrymen who have traveled abroad
or sojourned in foreign lands had done so with their
eyes shut, or if not keeping their orbits closed had
refused to give their countrymen the benefit of their
experience, a useless lot they would have been, and
England, as far as progression is concerned, would
have been far behind her present advanced position.
He who first introduced the idea of crossing our
native horse with the foreigner, did an immense
public service ; he who introduced the old Spanish
pointer, deserves the gratitude of every sportsman,
for doubtless our present beauties, with all their
speed and sagacity, have much of the blear-eyed,
bad-tempered, pottering old scoundrels' blood in
their veins ; and still further, to foreign climes we
t]-ace the pheasant, the turkey, and so many more
valuable animals, that to enumerate them would be

28

tedious. However, I believe that there are quad-
rupeds, birds, and fishes, still strangers to our land,
who but require to be known to be appreciated ; and
by placing the merits of any of them before the
public, some one may be found sufficiently patriotic
to make the attempt to naturalize them.

Without more preamble, and to come at once to
the point, let me say that in my humble opinion there
is no bird more Avorthy of attention, and more deserv-
ing of the honor of introduction to our preserves, than
the Virginian partridge, often misnamed in America
quail. His numerous good qualities, together with
his description, I will to the best of my knowledge
give, hoping it may be the means of yet seeing this
little beauty ornamenting our fields, and adding
brilliancy and variety to the game-bags of our nu-
merous enthusiastic sportsmen. The American par-
tridge A'aries in weight from eight to ten ounces,
is erect in his walk, very handsome in jilumage,
strong upon the wing, feeds principally upon grain,
grass-seed, and ants, frequents indifferently brush,
timber, or open country, is capable of standing great
cold, is not (piarrelsome with other game, is very
])rc>lific, frequently hatching two broods in a season
Moreover, an advantage which cannot be too highly

AMEEICAN PARTKIDGE. 29

estimated, is that it never gets so wild as to rise so
far from your dogs as to be out of gun-shot, a nui-
sance that all are so well aware of in our home-bred
bird toward the end of the season. In fact, who
that shoots regularly can not remember instances of
our partridge disappearing over the far side of a
field as soon as the sportsman had entered it ? Xow,
in years of experience in America, I never saw an
instance of this kind ; up to the commencement of
the close season they would remain almost as tame
as they were at the termination of the previous one.
A reason for this may be that they seldom pack ;
only once or twice have I seen more than the usual
nnjnber of a covey together, and then remarked that
the weather had been unusually severe and stormy.

A peculiarity, however, this bird possesses is that
in wet and slushy weather he will frequently, when
disturbed, take shelter on the limbs of trees, from
where, if flushed, they aflbrd the hardest possible
shots. This bird in the open is by no means easy to
hit, for his flight is very strong and swift, and fre-
quently irregular, but he does not go far, so that a
o-ood marker seldom has much trouble to refind him.
Some persons are under the impression that this
partridge is migratory ; however, this is a mistake,

30 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

for although they may wander from tlieir breeding
place, from constant attention, I am convinced that
the change of quarters is caused from scarcity of
food. On the edges of the dry prairies in south-
ern Illinois, in early autumn, this bird abounds ; in
winter they disappear into the neighboring thickets
and brush, for why ? the prairies are constantly
burned at the end of the season, and consequently
starvation or change of residence is their alterna-
tives. In one section of the country that I resided
in, a great portion of the prairie land was too wet to
burn, and many a heavy bag I obtained late in the
season, even when the roots of the grass were sub-
merged in ice. My dogs, which I invariably br<jjie
upon them, seldom made mistakes, and never do I
remember a covey departing (except the pointer or
setter had run into them coming down wind) with-
out getting at least a barrel into them. I believe
these birds are equally adapted for naturalization
into either England, Scotland, or Ireland, and with
other varieties of game they appear to agree well,
for I have on several occasions killed this partridge
with one barrel, and the ruffed grouse with the other
over the same point.

As a table delicacy I know no greater ; for weeks

AMERICAi^ PARTEIDGE. 31

I liave constantly had them at both breakfast and
dinner, still without becoming satiated, and there
are very few varieties of game could stand a more
severe test. Their note or call is remarkably melo-
dious, and in the spring or pairing time, when they
are numerous, you can hear their sweet voice all day
long, and in every direction. I have always regret-
ted that no one has thought of introducing this little
stranger, and nothing could afford me greater pleas-
ure than to be the medium, for I feel perfectly con-
fident that neither would ever have occasion for

52 GXW, EOD, AKD SADDLE.

AQUATIC HAEE.

In one of your late mimbers allusion is made to a
tailless hare. Of course, any new or but slightly
known animals, their habits and modes of life, are
subjects of great interest to both the naturalist and
the sportsman; permit me, therefore, to call your
attention to an aquatic member of the Lepus family,
with whom I became acquainted during my sojourn
in Xorth America. A little before sunset, on a fine
calm evening in March, I took ray stand upon a
bridge crossing a slough in the southern portion of
Illinois, with the hope of killing a few wild ducks.
The atmosphere w^as so clear and still that the birds
were very late in visiting their feeding grounds.
While impatiently trying to kill time, I saw some-
thing swimming in the water, and supposing it to be
a common American musk-rat, and being desirous
of a new tobacco pouch, I stealthily stole along the
margin of the water, well hid in the flags, to
endeavor to obtain a closer shot, for the musk-rat

AQUATIC HARE. 33

requires a tremendous deal of killing. However,
having knocked over ray game, in a few minutes my
retriever laid it at my feet ; but imagine my surprise
when, instead of a rat, I found it to be a hare. I
could scarcely believe my senses, but seeing is
believing. Of course, I thought that the poor
creature had been driven to water to avoid a foe ;
but before many days I shot several, and all in
similar situations. The habits of this new variety
I now made a study, and found that they were
a,mphibious, sleeping in form on the edge of the
morass during the heat of the day, and feeding,
before sunrise and after sunset, on the different
descriptions of water plants. AYhether this hare
was able to dive or not I did not ascertain, but that
he is a most expert swimmer there can be no doubt.
His size is the same as that of our common wild
rabbit, but from his build being thicker he may
possibly be heavier. His legs are short, feet large,
ears small, and head very full and round; color
dark-grayish brown, with scarcely any white upon
the scut, and the fur exceedingly soft and fine. I
frequently tested his qualities on the table, and can
speak in the highest approval of the delicacy and
delicious flavor of his flesh, which is much lighter in

2*

34 GUN, HOD, AND SADDLE.

shade tlian that of any other of the same family with
whom I am acquainted. The skin, whicli is very
thin, is easily removed from the carcase ; but great
care must be taken to prevent it getting torn. On
inquiring, I found that this hare was well known by
the squatters, and from them learned that it bred
only once a year, generally producing two at a
birth; and that the young at a very early age
follow their mother in her sundry aquatic excursions
in search of the delicate water plants that form their
staple food.

SALMON IN JAPAN. 35

SALMOIS" IN JAPAN.

(SALMO SALAR.)

No person, I am certain no gentleman, ever
disputes the nobility of the salmon ; he is an
universal favorite Avith all, whether they be disciples
of Isaac Walton or believers in Dr. Johnson's
interpretation of the word "fisherman," As this
noble fish is so universally popular, it may not be
without interest to many of the readers of " Gun,
Rod, and Saddle," to know that he is more univer-
sally scattered over this world than is generally
supposed, and that he is a highly appreciated article
of food, and of great commercial value, in countries
so far distant from our island home that we may
almost with safety call him a cosmopolitan of the
northern hemisphere.

That the salmon was found in abundance in all
rivers in America, from the Hudson Kiver, New
York, northward, all probably are aware j that he

36

is extremely numerous in those rivers that flow
nortli through tlie Hudson Bay territory, into the
ice-bound Arctic seas, less are cognizant; l)ut that
he perfectly swarms in the streams and estuaries of
the North Pacific Ocean, many, I am certain, are
ignorant. Yet he does swarm in those distant
waters, until lately only known to whalers and
fur traders, in such countless multitudes, that their
arrival is looked forward to from season to season
as the great event of the year — for with his coming,
privations from hunger tenninate, and an abundance
of nutritious food is not only temporarily secured,
but a hoard laid up sufticient to last through the
protracted term of a rigorous northern winter.

When traveling in Japan, what was my delight
to hear that salmon were numerous in these favored
islands! Naturally I looked forward with avidity
to the hope that I might be so situated as to obtain
a day's fishing on the margin of one of its distant
rivers; however, in this I was disappointed, but
nevertheless had the fortune to make acquaintance
with an intelligent Japanese merchant, who not only
showed me numerous specimens of the genuine
Salmo salar, but gave me abundant information
regarding their habits, and the method there pursued

SALMON IN JAPAN. 37

for their capture. From observation, inquiry, and
research, I am inclined to believe that the salmon,
whether in the Atlantic or Pacific, seldom approaches
nearer the Equator than the forty-first or forty-
second degree of north latitude. On the Atlantic
sea-board of the State of New York, the Hudson
River formerly was his southern limit ; bat alas, that
stream is now totally deserted by these valuable
visitors, the result of weirs, or the indiscriminate
pollution of the stream with the debris of saw-mills,
chemical filth from manufactories, &g. On the
eastern shores of the Pacific the same parallel will
be found the southern boundary of this fisli ; while
on the coast of Japan, Tartary, and Siberia, Iiis
haunts are marked by the same line of demarkation.
From the exclusive laws of the Japanese Govern-
ment, I was unable to travel farther to the north
than Yeddo, excej^t it Avere to visit the port of
Hakodadi, and consequently was prevented from
obtaining a personal knowledge of the homes and
resorts of the salmon ; for although they are brought
in immense numbers into the latter town for sale,
they are not captured in the immediate vicinity.
The Japanese salmon that I examined resembled
more those on the Tay, in Scotland, from their

oS GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

excessive depth and thickness in proportion to their
length. Their average weight appeared to be about
twelve or fourteen pounds, yet several I saw would
have turned the scales at thirty. The color of the
skin was in all less brilliant than in our home
acquaintances, possibly the result of transportation,
the method of curing, or the shade and consistency
of the water out of which they had been taken.
However, the flesh was undeniably excellent, and
brilliant in hue, and in no way inferior to those
from our most appreciated rivers.

From my informant I found that the habits of
their fish were identical with ours, and that so great
were their numbers that they formed the staple
article of food for the poorer residents of the
northern portion of the Japanese archipelago ; that
they were captured principally by stake nets, set
in the fluvial portion of the rivers; and that the
English method of taking them with a fly (which I
explained) was entirely unknown. . As I could not
have the honor of being the first of my country-
men to capture a Japanese salmon in the legitimate
sportsman's method, I may have had the honor of
tying the first artificial flies that ever were cast on a
Japanese river; for so interested Avas my listener —

SALMON IN JAPAN. 39

and the Japanese are wonderfully intelligent, totally
the reverse of the self-conceited, pig-headed China-
man— that I dressed a couple of what I considered
"the most killing specimens, and which he promised
to use, as instructed, on the first available oppor-
tunity.

An intelligent Russian officer whom I some
months afterward met at Tien-tsing, in Northern
China, and who had been for years stationed on
the Pacific, gave me the most glowing account of the
immense quantities of salmon that frequented the
Amoor River and its tributaries, and his information
perfectly tallied with that obtained from my Japanese
friend. Now the mouth of this river, and the north-
ern portion of the Japan group of islands, are in
about the same latitude, and are only separated by
about three or four hundred miles of sea, showing
that most perfect credence might be given to both
informants.

Fifty years ago, who would have thought of
Englishmen going to Norway to fish ? Possibly, as
the world grows older, with the rapid strides of
improvement in machinery and transportation, we
may hear of fishing parties being organized for
Japan and Siberia, and, in addition to the numerous

40 GUN, EOD, AND SADDLE.

splendid specimens of Salmo salar that now decorate
Mr. Buckland's museum, we will see numerous
beauties that once parted with their silver sides the
blue Avaters of the Pacific.

■WILD-FOWL SHOOTING 41

WILD-FOWL SHOOTING.

In my protracted rambles about the world, I
know no portion w^iere this sport can be moro
thoroughly enjoyed than in America. I have always
been passionately fond of wild-fowl shooting, and the
bags that I have made in the United States and
Canada have far exceeded those obtained elsewhere.
As wild fowl are nearly all migratory by inclination,
or are compelled to be so from the changes of the
seasons, it is of great importance that you should
visit the various haunts at the proper periods of the
year. However, the rule is, for successfully carrying
on war against the web-footed families, go north
in summer and south in winter. In June, July,
and August, the wild-rice fields of the numerous
labyrinth of lakes of Minnesota and the north-
west territory, perfectly swarm with wild fowl, while
in December and January they will be found equally
numerous on the large bayous and lagoons that
surround the mouth of the Mississippi. Of course,

42 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

in the intermediate portion of country between
Minnesota and the Gulf of Mexico, during the
seasons of migration, splendid days' shooting can
be obtained ; but the stay of the birds is so short
that it would not compensate for a special visit.
"Where thousands are to be seen to-day, not a dozen
will be met to-morrow ; but if you should happen in
the spring and autumn to be in either of the States
of Illinois, Iowa, or Indiana, when the frost and ice
are breaking np in spring, or when winter makes its
first appearance, you may with safety calculate on
having some of the finest sport. A year or two
since, when in Illinois in November, a sudden change
took place in the weather, and although the morning
was ushered in mild and warm, by noon it was
snowing, with a gale of wind blowing from the
north. From experience I knew that such a day
was not to be wasted over the fire. I got on
my shooting-ground with a very large supply of
ammunition, and in two or three hours had to cease,
as my stock was exhausted. My stand was in a
field of Indian corn that had been gathered into
shocks, from the back of one of which I took shelter
from the blast as well as concealment. Never shall
I forget the scene. The ducks came in thousands,

WILD-FOWL SHOOTING. 43

all flying before the wind, and if a dozen guns had
been there instead of one, abundant work would
have been found for all. On another occasion, in
the same locality, two friends of mine killed, in two
or three hours in the evening, and in an hour and a
half the succeeding morning, eighty-four wild geese
and thirty brace of mallard duck. In the spring of
1866, when in Iowa, the first day of thaw, I went for
a stroll, scarcely expecting to find game ; but wlien
I got on the prairie land, I was perfectly astonished
at the clouds of wild-foAvl arriving from the South,
some of the ponds being so densely covered with
duck that the surface could scarcely be seen. These
birds were all coming from the South, where they
had passed the winter. If any of my readers intend
to go in for work, and not object to roughing it,
I should most decidedly say that the wild-fowl
shooting is good enough to justify a Western visit;
but let him not be induced to keep in the vicinity
of settlements; but let him and his attendants
commence housekeeping on the margin of one of
the northern Minnesota lakes, if in summer (remem-
ber one that produces an abundance of wild rice) ;
but if the reverse season should be selected, the
southern tributaries of the Mississippi will afford

44: GUN,

him abundant sport, and any of the hospitable
Southern planters will deem it a favor if you Avill
do them the honor of making their home yours.

SHOOTING IN BARBARY. 45

SHOOTII^G IE" BAEBAEY.

There are a great number of gentlemen in
England who can sj^are the time but not the money
to rent, at the present fabulous prices, shooting at
home. For the benefit of such I will state that capi-
tal shooting can be obtained at Tangiers, and that
the expense of going and returning, including a stay
of a month, need not exceed forty pounds. Gibral-
tar, your first stopping-place, can be reached by one
of the Peninsular and Oriental steamships from
Southampton, or by one of the numerous Mediterra-
nean steamships sailing from Liverpool. The pas-
sage mone}^ by the former, to go and return, would
be about twenty pounds, by the latter fifteen. From
Gibraltar, feluccas almost daily cross to Tangiers —
twice a week formerly, and probably still a steam-
boat with cattle does the same. The fare for this
portion of the journey should not exceed a couple of
dollars, and a good liotel will be found on arrival,
where I have resided, at the rate of one dollar per

46 GIJN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

diem. Safely established under the guardianship of
the hostess, you can obtain all desirable information,
and a guide if such you deem necessary. An hour's
ride from the town, going inland, will bring you
upon splendid ground, either scrubby brushwood,
covered slopes, or open grass and palmetto plains.
The game principally found is red-legged partridge,
"which, contrary to our home experience of the
same gentleman, here lays well to a dog. Hares are
also plentiful, snipe, plover, and the lesser bustard
not uncommon. Just beyond Cape Spartel there is
a small river on which I have killed a great number
of duck, and a mile or two farther on an immense
swamp, known by the name of " the Lagoona,"
where snipe and wild-fowl may be killed in abund-
ance, as well as woodcock and wild-boar. As tlie
gates of Tangier are always locked at sunset, you
have to hurry home at an inconveniently early hour,
but if you do not object to roughing it, and prefer a
long day and large bag to the luxury of a well-aired
bed and comfortable apartment, you can easily
arrange so as to sleep at one of the numerous Arab
villages or douars. Of course, to do this, you will
require an interpreter, who should also perform both
functions of cook and major-domo. But to one in-

SHOOTING IN BARBART. 47

convenience you will have to submit, viz., fleas.
They may not be the largest in the world, but for
numbers and bloodthirsty proclivities I will back
them against any others. The Moors are a fine,
manly, handsome race, and invariably sportsmen.
To a proficient with the gun they soon attach them-
selves. Sometimes I have been followed for hours
by some of them, and a clever double shot would
always elicit their admiration. However, there are
some ugly stories in circulation of shipwrecked sailors
and adventurous Europeans having received any
thing but a hearty welcome ; but this is directly in
contradiction to my experience, for day after day,
alone, I shot amongst them, and frequently slept in
their villages with no other attendant than a youth
from the hotel at Tangiers, and their conduct was
uniformly kind and courteous. The weather also is
delightful in autumn, and the country extremely
pretty, while all around the town are abundant ob-
jects worthy of a visit on your idle days. In fact,
I have little hesitation in predicting that the first
visit will most probably not be the last.

48

THE STEIPED BASS.

This iisli is knowni the entire length of the sea-
board of the United States, and is ahnost as popular
as tlie salmon. There are many reasons for this ; he
is game in the highest sense of the word, fighting
with the most determined obstinacy as long as his
strength will permit, frequents alike the ocean tide-
way or river, taking generally with avidity the
greatest varieties of natural and artificial baits, and
ultimately being fit food for the most fastidious
epicure. By naturalists he is placed among the
perch, and has been named Perka Lahrax, an indig-
nity which he is in no way deserving, for he is built
on the beautiful lines of the salmon, possibly with a
little more depth and beam, and his coloring has a
nearer approach to that of the lordly Salnio salai\ save
tbat horizontally along his sides are placed several
lines (generally seven) from the gills to the tail, and
from Avhich he doubtless derives his familiar name.
Early in April, if the weather be favorable, ihii? fish

THE STRIPED BASS. 49

makes liis appearance in the rivers en route to their
spawning beds (from this date he becomes the ob-
ject of attention to the pot-hunter, for I can not call
the man who tries to capture fish in that state by
the name of fisherman), where he remains for some
time, probably over a couple of months. This duty
performed, they return again to the coast, afibrding
sport for a short period, then disappear to return in
September and. October in immense numbers, glad-
dening with their advent the heart of every sports-
man.

Their size is so varied that they may be taken
from the vfeight of a few ounces up to sixty and
even more pounds, the heavier fish generally being
captured late in the season; and woe betide the
angler if unprepared he should strike his hook into
one of the leviathans, for all his fishing parapher-
nalia will certainly receive so severe a shock as to
render it for after use completely worthless, that is,
the portion that is left with him. After spawning
this fish does not lose its condition like the salmon,
therefore his capture immediately subsequent is not
nearly so reprehensible, the propagation of his
species not injuring him to a noticeable extent,

therefore, if he be fisJied for in the rivers after that
3

50

duty is performed, nothing is so attractive for his
capture as a gaudy sea-trout fly ; but the striped
bass is not dainty, and many pei'sons of experience
persistently use with the greatest success a piece
of white or scarlet rag tied over their hook instead
of the more complicated and expensive invention.
Fishing in the sea, however, the shrimp is the most
popular and gentlemanly bait, trolled along tlie
surface after the manner of the fly, at which the
fish break, similar to trout or salmon ; still there
are days Avhen you can not tlius allure them ; and
soft-shell crab, spearing (a small transparent fish
about the size of a minnow), or squid, have to be
resorted to ; even the spoon bait has been known to
be successful when all other attractions have failed.

Although this fish annually chooses a change from
salt to fresh water, still it is not necessary for his
existence, numbers having been experimented on by
detaining them for years in fresh, where instead of
losing flesh, they were pronounced to have improved
much both in size and condition. So exceedingly
popular is the striped bass in America, that those
watering-places in whose vicinity he is known to
abound, receive annually an immense influx of
visitors attracted chiefly by the prospect o^ enjoy-

THE STEirED BASS. 61

ing this fishing. Even a chib-house has been built,
and a very large association formed of the principal
gentlemen in and about New York, who spend a
great portion of their summer vacation at this
retreat, and as I have been informed by many of
the members (some of them salmon fishermen of
experience), that the sport they there have is only
second to what they could obtain on Labrador or
Canadian salmon-rivers.

I believe that this fish could be most easily intrO'
duced to our waters, and that he is well deserving
of the eflbrt, for he is very hardy, and I do not
think so likely to be affected by the pollution that so
many of our streams suffer from ; they also appear
to be immensely prolific," for trafiic, netting, drain-
age, &c., may Lave reduced their numbers, still
they are to be found in great abundance even in
such crowded water-thoroughfares as the Bay of
New York, Hudson and East rivers, that any person
duly initiated in the necessary mysteries can, at the
proper seasons, confidently expect a heavy basket as a
reward for his trouble, and that within sight of the
numerous spires, store-houses, and busy thorough-
fares of their handsome western metropolis.

Great and unprecedented trouble has been lately

62

taken successfully to introduce salmon and trout to
the southern lieinisphcre ; with how much less dif-
ficulty could this fish be transported here ; no
tropic to cross, only one fourth or fifth the distance
to traverse, and steamships to be found sailing
almost every day of the week. Certainly this
matter is worthy of consideration, for not only
would thousands find amusement and healtli in their
capture, but a wholesome and excellent article of
food be provided for our immense population.

SHOOTING IN CHINA. 63

' SHOOTING IN CHIKA.

" You may go to Hong Kong." This name is
frequently substituted for another place currently
supposed to be warmer, but at the same time in
close proximity, for the soldiers used to say, on
whose authority I know not, that there was only a
sheet of brown paper between the two. However
this may be, Hong Kong is a very warm residence
during the southern monsoon, for the high hills
that protect the back of the garrison at that season
shut out every breath of air. For all this I never
saw the thermometer over 98 deg. Fah. in the
shade, so that according to statements of some of
the late residents at Wimbledon, England in tropical
heat can successfully compete with the world. But
if the weather should be warm in this distant portion
of Her Majesty's dominions during one portion of
the year, the temperature is delightful when the
northern monsoon sets in, and out-door amusements
can by change be the more appreciated. The

54 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

characteristic features of this island are a succession
of mountain peaks, in parts very rocky and barren,
the balance of tlie hill-sides being covered witli
stunted brush. However, there are two valleys
tolerably well covered with timber, viz., the Happy
Valley and Taytan Valley ; in the former is the
race-course, where annually is lield a meeting, also
the grave-yard, where worn-out man is deposited.
A pretty spot is the Happy Valley. The name, T
think, not inappropriate, when we remember that
it is the j^lace of assembly, where crowds meet to
enjoy the equine contests, or where man is laid to
rest from all tlie troubles and annoyances of this
life when he has run his worldly course. Tlie
quantity of game to be found in the island is very
limited, and consists of a few hog-deer, a few
jjheasants, some partridge (much resembling the
black partridge of India), and at certain seasons
quail and snipe ; but the results are most uncertain,
and half-a-dozen birds, all told, will be deemed a
successful day's work. But if Ilong Kong does
not afford many inducements for tlie lover of tlie
double-barrel, the adjacent mainland, when you are
acquainted with the localities, does; and if the
reader will have patience, I will endeavor to give

SHOOTING IN CHINA. 55

a sketch of an expedition, and the ground visited.
Fancy yourself on a rattan-built wharf running into
the liarbor from the godowns at the back of the
Danish consulate, a handsome lorcha of about sixty
tons, tant-liauled up to her anchor, waiting impa-
tiently a hundred yards from the shore for the
moment of dej^arture, while two or three sampans
are incessantly plying back and forth, loaded with
guns, dogs, portmanteaus, and good things for the
inward man, ranging over the interval that exists
between ^:>«?6 de foie gras and Madame Cliquot.
At last the finishing load is delivered, time is up,
the blue-peter is hoisted at the fore, and at the
instructions of our kind-hearted host, we descend
into his gig, and are rapidly on board the larger
craft. The wind, which is fresh, just suits; a few
turns on the somewhat primitive capstan trips the
anchor, and shaking out the immense mainsail, her
head is pointed for the Cap-shee-moon Pass, the
great high-road of traffic between Hong Kong and
Canton.

As we leave the labyrinth of shipping and junks
cf every nationality and shape, and draw fixrther
clear of the land, our speed increases to eight knots.
The pass reached, two or three tacks have to be

56

made, when we stand direct for Castie Peak Bay,
our destination; and what a pretty spot it is,
sheltered from the cold winds : both grass and
shrubs grow in luxuriance down to the edge of
the water, while at the head of the bay is situated
one of those quaint joss-houses, of architecture pe-
culiarly Chinese, imbedded in a grove of banyans.
The country around is a succession of rolling hills,
gradually gaining height as they recede from the
bay till they reach an elevated rocky ridge of most
irregular outline, one portion resembling an old
castellated ruin, from which, doubtless, this placid
bay gains its name. When within a hundred yards
of shore, "let go the anchor" was given, and w^e
swung round and surveyed our shooting-ground
with satisfaction expressed on every countenance.
The day before our party started, information had
been brought by a cooly that the quail, in their
regular autumnal migratory flight, had arrived ; and
scarcely had w^e progressed inland a hundred paces
before the dogs were standing, and from that
moment, till dark, the time for loading was even
grudged; the quantity that we brouglit to bag I
forget, and consequently fear to make a statement ;
but this I know, it far exceeded our most sanixuino

SHOOTING IX CHINA. 57

expectations. The country around here appears at
no late date to have been cultivated ; but whether
the peaceful tillers of the soil had desisted on
account of the neighborhood having obtained a
very bad reputation for piracy I know not, but our
experience in England tells us how fond these little
migratory beauties are of haunts that the plow has
ceased to turn up. Next morning our range took us
farther inland, the quail still were abundant ; but as
we got to the upper ranges, wdiere a dwarf palmetto
flourishes, the Cliinese partridge was found. This
bird has a very strong resemblance to the black
partridge of India in plumage, but exceeds it in
size; never is found in coveys, and lies extremely
close to a dog. Time after time I have walked up
to a point, quartered my ground, or headed my dog ;
still no bird was visible ; believing it to be a false
alarm, I have been on the point of giving up the
search, when whirr, the wily bii-d would rise, and go
off like a thunderbolt. In all my experience, I
know no other whose flushing makes such a com-
motion, or whose flight is so rapid.

This bird is not very abundant, and is called by
the Chinese Cha-coo, doubtless from its note, which

much resembles these two syllables wdien whistled.
3*

58

Four or five brace of tliem in a mixed bag is
considered extra luck; still I have killed within
tlie space of two liundred yards three couple, each
bird flushing singly and apart. About midday we
reached a Chinese village, imbedded in trees, witli a
considerable cover lying backward from it. After
lunch Ave beat it, and three splendid pheasants were
our reward. The pheasant of southern China is
truly a regal bird in comparison with our home-bred
introduction. They weigh one-half more, and their
flight is so rapid, that if the sportsman, in a cross
shot, does not shoot well ahead, his game bag will
long be kept ignorant of tlieir weight and dimen-
sions. Two or three times during the day I was
frightfully fooled. The dogs were standing stiff as
a fence-rail, and, of course, something extra was
justly expected, when, what do you think ? a bird
that feeds on snakes and lizards, lumbering in
flight, and of gross plumage, was flushed. In the
south of China, this species is known as the crow
pheasant, his size and long tail having doubtlessly
gained the latter portion of the appellation ; but on
inspection, no one can help wondering at the indig-
nity the bird of Colchis has suffered in having such
a brute bear liis patronymic. For my own part, I

SHOOTIXG IN CHINA. 59

tliink this filthy-feeding bird is of the jay family.
During this day's work, several painted quails were
bagged — a truly beautiful little bird, smaller than
his namesake, but swift on the wing, and more
delicate, if possible, on the table. Still they are so
small, and the brilliant feathers so delicately pencil-
ed, that I never cease to consider their death as an
unnecessary slaughter.

Time flies on rapid wing ; I had only three days'
leave of absence, so that one day more was only
left; duck and snipe shooting I have always had
a passion for, so when we arose in the morning,
not much refreshed with sleep (for the cowardly
Chinese coolies kept constantly sounding the alarm
of Lally-lunes — anglice^ pirates — which kept turning
out the whole party, revolver in hand), we deter-
mined to devote our last day to this sport. A wide
expanse of distant marsh and paddy fields was our
beat, and well it was that such a decision was come
to, for we truly had some splendid shooting. Several
ducks, a host of bitterns of every size and color, and
innumerable snipes, composed our bag, the painted
variety of the latter being very numerous. Although
this is a handsome bird in appearance, he is sadly
behind the common snipe in sporting requisites,

60 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

being heavy and slow of flight, seldom wild, and
very inferior for the table. That night we beat
back to Hong Kong harbor, while the stentorian
lungs of one of the party, and the key-bngle notes
of another, aAVoke the slumbering echoes of the
neighboring hills, and astonished the celestial sea-
men, who passed on their various missions, with
what " all that bobbery could be."

Castle Peak, from wliat I have said, can easily be
found by any of the sportsmen at the distant garri-
son of Hong Kong; but there are numerous pther
shooting-grounds as good, and scarcely farther dis-
tant, viz., the Shangmoon Valley, at the top of
Pirates' Bay, the covers at the top of wliich always
harbor pheasants ; the far side of Meer's Bay, after
crossing the Kowloone Kidge, have aflbrded me
many days' excellent sport ; and the nearest end of
Llama Island to Victoria, about two or three hours'
sail from the Barracks, if occasionally A^isited, will
yield ample remuneration for a few hours' work.

DUCK. SnOOTINO IN AMERICA.

DUCK SHOOTIXCt 12>r AMEEIOA.

It may not be uninteresting to sportsmen to have
an account of what sport they may look forward to
if chance or intention shonkl place them on the
prairies of the Western Continent. It has long been
my belief that Xatnre had strongly before her the
wants of -the votaries of field sports when this favored
land was constructed, for the abundance of indige-
nous food, the variety of cover, the distribution of
water, and the salubrity of the climate are such, that
probably in no other portion of the globe similar
happy combinations can be found ; and, as a result,
the abundance of game foils not one iota behind
what might be expected. In vvild-fowl shooting
there are tw^o desiderata on wdiich success depends :
first, suitable weather ; secondly, the gunner being
clothed in suitable colors. Having both the above
advantages, please to imagine yourselves, on a cold,
blustering afternoon, a few ilakes of snow falling,
and a strong presentiment of a severe frost before

62 GtJX, ROD, AND SADDLE.

morning, situated among the witliered leaves of a
2>ersinimon bush, on tlie edge of an interminable
slough, in the center of one of tlie western prairies.
In every direction that you cast your eyes, ducks will
be seen, flock upon flock, while single birds, like an
army of skirmishers, dart here, there, and every-
where. Having arranged your shot, powder, caps,
and loading- stick, as most convenient — that is, pro-
vided you shoot with the muzzle-loader, and I am
still old-fashioned enough to believe it the hardest
hitter — foi every moment is of value, look out ; you
Avill not be kept long waiting ere such work com-
mences as you seldom or never previously enjoyed.
Your situation, half up to your knees in slush and
water, may not be conducive to health, but all the
inconvenience is more than overbalanced by the ex-
citement of the moment ; and what will not a man
endure, if possessed with true sporting proclivities, to
gratify his passion, and does he not consider himself
more than rewarded by the possession of a licavy
bag, alike evidence of his skill ^and hardihood.

On the afternoon of November , I started for

my blind ; the weather was such as clearly foretold
tlie sport to be anticipated. My hardy mustang
soon brought me to the scene of operations, and,

DUCK SUOOTENG IN AMERICA. 63

after attending to his creature comforts, 1 was sta-
tioned in my blind, a few corn-stalks and grass
having been added to the withered foliage of the
bush I had selected, the better to screen me ; further,
I had tied a bunch of prairie grass around my cap,
to assimilate it more to the color of the cheerless
landscape ; at my feet was an old and true friend, a
setter, whose perfections in the hunting-field, or
retrieving by water I never saw excelled. At first
the sport was but languid, only an occasional duck
passing within range, so that after an hour only four
or five mallards had been brought to bag, but as the
day advanced and the weather became more inclem-
ent, I had less leisure to ruminate and take note of the
passage of time. By four, p. m., the ball had opened
in earnest ; if I had had two guns and an attendant
to load, still they would not have been idle. First
come half a dozen mallards sweeping along in front
of the blast, the pace terrific ; about forty yards off
they pass to the left ; with intuitive knowledge the
gun comes to the shoulder and eye, and at the correct
moment the triggers are pressed; good two yards in
front have I to shoot, and my judgnient is correct,
for a bird topples over to each report, while the sur-
vivors rush upward with unaltered speed, take a

64 GUN", EOD, AND SADDLE.

sweei) round to find from whence comes the danger,
and, disliking the neighborhood, start for parts un-
known and less to be dreaded.

As I hastily sent liome my Avads over my shot,
keeping an eye all the time to windward, what is
that ever-changing cloud I see, reminding one of
the reflected light that glances off the backs of a
flight of gray plovers ? By Jove, they are blue-
winged teal ! On, on they come, occasionally rising
or swooping downward as fancy directs. In a
moment they will be here — for your life don't move ;
even depress your eyes so that the rim of your hat
will prevent the leaders seeing them. At last they
are within range, and each barrel's* course is marked
by a lane of birds, whom the shot has caused to
alter their forward movement. As night approaches,
the pintail and butter ducks put in an appearance,
and without cessation your gun plays its part, the
pile of game at your feet is becoming enormous, and
Beau is never idle for a moment. As darkness
increases, you think of going home, still linger for
one or two more shots. 'Now you can only see the
birds on the wing that are between your sight and
some clear spot in the sky, but around you on the
water are thousands. As every arrival is greeted

DUCK SHOOTING IN AMERICA. 65

with a loud quack, qnack, frequently so close at
hand that you start, almost believing that one of
your victims has come to life. But hark ! what is
that honk ! honk ! Geese ! I can't go till I dust
some of their jackets. As none of all the web-
footed tribe are so wary, extra precaution is
necessary. At length you see a massive dark line
against the sole clear jiortion of northern sky
remaining. Would that heavier shot were in my
gun. Onward they come, slowly and cautiously;
waiting till they are nearly perpendicular, I play
my part, and the heavy splash on one side and
thud on the other clearly states that two are down,
one in the water and the other on shore. Witli
such a finale you cease, nor is it too soon, for I
really believe that if you were to remain after dark-
ness you might receive an injury, as the birds, no
longer dreading a foe, rush about in the most reck-
less way, that I have felt quite a relief at getting
out of the marsh without a mallard going at express
speed coming in contact with my cranium. On the
night in question twenty-eight brace of ducks, two
geese, and three brant was the bag — good sport, as
all must agree, for three or four hours' shooting.

C6 GUN, EOD, AND SADDLE.

EUrrED GEOUSE.

(tetrao umbellus.)

In "Land and Water" of May 30th, I have
advocated the mtrodiietion into England of the
American partridge {Ortex Virginiensis)^ having
perfect confidence in their being most snitable birds
for naturalization, knowing them to be almost per-
fection in sjjorting qualities, and very superior as
additions to the larder ; b.ut with all my partiality
for that little beauty, I w^ill presume upon your
space and good-nature by mentioning the claims of
one of the grouse family, that equally deserves
honorable notice and the attention of those persons
Avho may be desirous of having a greater variety
of featliered game than at piH?sent is to be found.
The ruffed grouse [Ittrao WH.bellus) must not, how-
ever, be confused with the pinnated grouse [Tetrao
cupido)^ for although both have a great simihxrity
in appearance and size, their modes of life and

BUFFED GROUSE. 67

choice of quarters are totally dissimilar, the former
Leinoj found amonor timber or brush, or in its
immediate vicinity, while the latter chooses the
open grass-covered prairies, perching upon trees
only when the winter is very severe and the ground
covered wdth snow, and. then making use of such
trees as are always to be found standing alone,
and sparsely sprinkled along the margin of these
immense western savannas. Both these varieties
are splendid birds, but the characteristics of the
ruifed grouse make him much better adapted for
a residence here, and so strongly am I disposed in
their favor, that I believe if once introduced they
would as soon as known outrival the pheasant in
popularity, being much hardier, swifter on the wing,
lying better to dogs, disinclined to run before
flushing, requiring the quickest and straightest aim
to bring them to bag, nor are they much inferior to
the oriental favorite in beauty of plumage.

The ruffed grouse a little exceeds the red grouse
in size, behig almost eighteen inches in length, is
very handsome and upright in form, of a beautiful
rich chestnut-brown color, variegated with gray and
dark spots, and pencilings on the back, breast, and
neck. The .tail is gray, with a black bar across it

68 GUN, EOD, AND SADDLE.

near its termination, and is generally carried open
like a fan. On the top of the head there is a slight
crest, and down each side of the neck are curious
fan-shaped tufts of glossy, black, yelvet-looking
feathers. In April these birds pair, but I should
imagine from the seasons- in the northern portion
of the United States and Canada being more back-
ward than ours, if they were introduced here they
would do so a month earlier. They lay from ten to
sixteen eggs, their nest, which is a very primitive
one, being generally secreted in brush or under the
shelter of a fallen log. They are most affectionate
parents, and use the same artifices as the Avild duck
to draw away the intruders from the vicinity of their
youthful progeny. This grouse has two distinct
calls, one a soft, mellow, prolonged note, gene^^lly
used in gathering after the covey has been broken
up ; the other an extraordinary drumming sound
made by the cocks in pairing season, and capable of
being heard in still weather a great distance. The
latter noise is caused by the rapid vibration of the
wings when the male is perched on a fallen tree
or stump. Indiscriminately they live on a great
variety of food — ants, grubs, alder-berries, wild
cherries, and grain being their favorite 4iet. Early

RUFFED GROUSE. 69

in autumn, when tlie weather is fine, particularly in
the morning and evening, they will be found in the
open cultivation, more especially if there be rough
ground with brush in the vicinity ; but as severe
weather approaches the woods will become their
constant resort. In shooting the ruflTed grouse,
great difficulty is always experienced in marking
tliem. The flight, as I have previously said, is
wonderfully rapid, and they have a method of
doubling back in the reverse direction in which
they started; however, as they do not generally
go far (about three or four hundred yards), v>'ith
patience, and a selection of the nearest irregular
ground which has young timber upon it, or the
densest brush that is in the vicinity, a second
opportunity will probably be again found of bring-
inn- more of the familv to baj^. All over the United
States and Canada they are to be found, being
generally known by the misnomers of partridge and
pheasant. "Where the country is wide and sparsely
settled, they are sometimes stupidly tame, almost
permitting themselves to be knocked down with a
stick. Frequently, w^hen trout-fishing in the wilds
of the State of Maine, I have come suddenly upon
tliem, when they would rise into the nearest tree,

70 gu:j7, rod, and saddle.

and remain with nnconccrn watching you, when,
from evident curiosity, they would stretch their
necks, and get into all kinds of grotesque attitudes,
and so little would they then regard the report of
a gun, that I have known pot-hunters kill quite a
number of the same family by always shooting the
lowest birds first. But when the ruffed grouse
becomes flimiliar with man, he is perfectly cognizant
of the danger of being in his proximity, for although
they lie close enough to shoot at, their color harmon-
izes so well with that of the ground that it is next to im-
possible to see tliem before they are on the wing, when
such is their impetuosity that the timid, nervous, pot-
tering shot, or the poacher with all his devices, would
find it next to impossible to kill a single specimen.

In the undergrowth which springs up in that por-
tion of the country where the timber has been de-
stroyed by fire, in the States of Maine, Xew Hamp-
shire, and Vermont, I found them very abundant, it
being almost impossible to wander half a mile from
camp or settlement without flushing a covey. Xow
the winters here are particularly long and rigorous,
far exceeding in severity those of Scotland ; still, the
bird's natural hardiness prevents his sufiering. In
the Alleghunies and all the southern )-an<jjes of hilU

EUFFED GEOTTSE. 71

of the United States he is also abundant, where, if
the winters are less severe, the heat in summer is
sometimes excessive, proving that the ruffed grouse
is capable of enduring great varieties of climate.
The palate of the most fastidious epicure can not fail
to be gratified with his appearance on the table, the
flesh being extremely delicate, Avith a strong flavor
of our red grouse. I have eaten them cooked in
every conceivable manner, and whether it be simply
roasted over a camp fire or forming a portion of an
omnium-gatherum stew, they will be found alike
acceptable. Although scarcity of food may compel
this grouse to change his beat, still they are not mi-
gratory, as stated by some naturalists. This suppo-
sition has arisen from their being found in great
numbers during summer and autumn on the scrub
barren land, which they leave as soon as the more
severe weather commences, for the shelter of the
dense timber. A family of these birds I was ac-
quainted with for a year. On their range there was
an abundance of food and water, and during that
period I could always find them, their liome being a
little hilly island in the prairie covered with timber
and brush, and detached from any irregular land by
several miles of grass.

72 GUN, EOD5 AND Sx\DDLE.

Some authorities have placed woodcock shooting
first in the list, and called it the fox-hunting of those
pleasures in which the dog and gun form the chief
accessories. As far as present British field-sports
are concerned, I believe they are correct, but should
the ruffed grouse be introduced, and they once ex-
perienced the suddenness of their rise, the velocity
and irregularity of their flight, the uncertainty of
their movements, and the beauty and size of this
game when bagged, they would assuredly insert a
saving clause, or change their opinions in toto. Much
as I have said in favor of the American partridge,
with equal fervor I can advance the claims of the
ruffed grouse ; still, they both are very different, but
the nearest explanation I can at present think of, is
that the former is essentially adapted to the require-
ment of the veteran sportsman, while the pursuit of
the latter will tax all the strength of limb and im-
petuous ardor of our -younger enthusiasts; the one
is game that will afford the most delightful pastime,
similar to hare-hunting with beagles, while tlie other
will demand in its successful pursuit all the energy
of tlie highly bi-ed, dashing, courageous fox-hound.
I doubt not many, I believe all, of the warm admirers
of yhooting, will agree with me, that there is a supe*

RUFFED GKOITSE. 73

rior pleasure in making a mixed bag, now a mallard,
next a woodcock, perchance thirdly, a partridge, and
so forth — loading your discharged barrel, scarcely
knowing at what description of game it will be used.
Yes, truly, constant novelty and change is a great
additional attraction even in field sports, and with
our demesnes, parks, and forests, inhabited by a
goodly number of both these varieties, the ruffed
grouse and American partridge, in addition to their
present tenants, the cravings of the most insatiable
ought to be satisfied ; and at a very trifling exj^ense
and trouble these introductions could be accom-
plished.

74 GUN, KOD, AND SADDLE.

GUN FOE GENEEAL EOEEIGN
SHOOTING.

There is no gun so generally useful for all descrip-
tions of shooting on the American Continent, in my
humble opinion, as one of the following dimensions :
viz., twenty-six inches long in the barrel, ten bore,
and weighing about eight pounds. These dimen-
sions are those of my constant and w^ell-tried old
companion, and I have never met with a gun that
could perform better. A gun-maker in New York,
who has deservedly a good reputation, told me that
the best-shooting guns he had ever made Avere of
these dimensions. If any intend ordering a gun for
American shooting, I should further recommend that
it be perfectly plain, and free from all engraving.
As to choice between muzzle and breech loadei-s, I
should advise the former, as cartridges are trouble-
some and bulky to carry, and if the stock should run
short, a considerable loss of time w^ould occur (if you
were on the confines of civilization) before a Iresli

GUK FOR GENERAL FOREIGN SHOOTING. T5

sujjply could be obtained, but there is no place, from
a trading-post to a hamlet, where the ordinary loose
ammunition can not be obtained. Further, I am of
OjDinion that the muzzle-loader lias greater force, kill-
ing farther and hitting harder than the breech-
loader.

7fi GUN, BOD, AND SADDLE.

CHINESE OYSTEES.

In my ^yanderi^g•s fibout the Chinese coast in
scorch of game, I frequently came across immense
banks of oysters, apparently no person's property ;
ai:d this is the more remarkable when we remember
that there is probably no people on the face of the
globe who have the same skill in rendering all
descriptions of animal matter fit for table purposes.
About thirty miles from Victoria, the capital of
Hong Kong, on the route to the entrance of the
Canton River, is situated the entrance to a bay,
Avhich from the distance it runs inland is designated
Deep Bay; the northern shore is- one continuous
mud-bank, on the upper portion of which are to
be found actually acres of oysters. My acquaint-
ance with this fact is not likely to be forgotten. A
friend and I had been shooting wild fowl; a cripple
had given us a long chase toward sliore, and after
we had succeeded in capturing the bird, we found
our return cut olf, as the tide had receded, and the

CHINESE OYSTERS. Y7

sharp edges of the oyster shells becotiie so close to
the bottom of the boat, that if ^ye had persevered.
in forcmg her out, we should soon have cut a hole
in her bottom. To get out and wade was im-
possible, as shoe leather would never have stood
the ordeal, therefore there was no alternative left
but to remain till the rising tide would float us out ;
any thing but a pleasant resource, when time was
valuable and shooting at a premium. Slightly to
console our wounded feelings, we attacked the
oysters, which were excellent, and certainly de-
molished an immense quantity. Another time, in
a pheasant-shooting trip to Meer's Bay, one of the
minor inlets, where our lorcha was anchored, had
its margin densely covered with oysters, and the
natives did not make the slightest objection to our
using as many as required. From this circum-
stance it may be presumed that they knew no
marketable value for them, for if a Chinaman can
have the slightest grounds for fabricating an excuse
for squeezing an Englishman, he is certain to do it.
The only oysters that I have known exposed for
sale in Hong Kong, and those only in A^ery small
quantities, when they are always purchased by the
Europeans, are from Amoy, and they are really

78 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

excellent, for from appearance and flavor tliey can
favorably compare with those of Colchester. For
some years the resident merchants of Hong Kong
have been aware of the fact, and like Shanghai
mutton and game, the representatives of head-
quarters at the port of Amoy annually send pro-
pitiatory offerings of their delicate shell-fish to their
superiors. Some time since I was informed that
a considerable shipment of oysters was about to
take place, with the intention of making an effort
to furnish Australia and Xew Zealand, with this
luxury. Xow instead of taking them from here, if
the coast of China was selected, the probabilities of
success in my opinion would be much greater, for
the transportation distance can scarcely be over
one-fourth of the voyage to Europe, and moreover,
in favorable seasons any thing but a stormy passage
might be anticipated, a circumstance not without
considerable importance, for it is well known tliat
the oyster can support itself a long time out of
water on its own juice. If this hint should be
adopted, then I have neitlier wasted the ink and
paper willi wliicli tliis is indited, nor my time in
giving my readers the information that oysters are
to be obtained in the Celestial Empire.

ctrrrLE-FisH. 79

CUTTLE-FISH.

There are very few inhabitants of the ocean which
have so extensive a range of residence as the cuttle-
fish. In the Atlantic or Pacific he is equally at
home, and in the western end of the Mediterranean
he abounds. Wondrous stories are told of his
savage proclivities, and in a shop in China I saw a
picture in which one of this family was represented
embracing a junk (which, judging from the size of
the figures on board, must have been two or three
hundred tons), and quietly helping himself to
mariners, as appetite dictated. Why the Celestials
did not get under the hatches I was unable to
comprehend. That some of this species grow to
an immense size, there is no doubt, as the whale
is often found to contain dismembered arms and
other parts of this their favorite food, wliich must
originally have been component parts of monsters
of gigantic proportions. To their belligerent dispo-
sition I can attest, for well I remember seeing one

80 GUN, EOD, AND SADDLE.

about five feet across, attempting to seize a retriever
"who Avas paddling in the shalloAV water at the head
of Rosia Bay, Gibraltar. During my residence in
that garrison, there resided a seiiorita who, from
her graceful carriage and pretty feet, never failed to
attract attention ; but she ahvays wore her mantilla
so disposed that her face could not be seen.
Curiosity induced me to inquire the reason from
one of her acquaintances, when I was informed that
while bathing she had been seized by a cuttle-fish
across the face, and that ever since an unsightly
mark, where the blood had been drawn to the
surface, remained. The cuttle-fish, although most
repulsive to look at, is much prized on the coast of
Spain as an article of food ; they are frequently
taken on the hook, but more generally caught
among the rocks in shallow water with a gaff. A
number of such in a boat doubtless would be con-
sidered unpleasant companions, for out of the water
they can move with facility ; however, this is not
so, for the fisherman immediately on bringing him to
the surface, with his hands turns the globe which
forms the body inside out, thereby destroying all the
power of suction. Tliis is easily done, for tliere
is an orifice on one side which the fingers can bo

CUTTLE-FISH. 81

forced into, and unless the fish should be of unusual
size, no difficulty is experienced in placing him hors
de combat. I have often eaten them; their flesh
when properly cooked being excellent. The best
mode of preparing them according to my taste, is
the following : first cleanse thoroughly by scalding,
then rub body and legs with garlic, afterward cut
the whole into small pieces, which fry in olive oil, one
or two fresh plucked Chili peppers being introduced
for seasoning.

82 GUN, ROD, AKD SADDLE.

THE SXIPE OF AMEEIOA.

(SCOLOPAX WILSOXII.)

I NEVER met a good shot who was not partial
to snipe shooting; whether I am a good shot or
no, matters not; but of all pleasm'es, there are few I
so tlioroughly enjoy as a day among the long bills.
In the different portions of the globe that fate
or luck has knocked me about, I have always been
able to find snipe ; so I am inclined to believe that
there is no family more generally and universally
distributed. But the prairies of Western America
far outdo all others in the abundance of this descrip-
tion of feathered game. Scolopax Wllso7iil is truly
a splendid bird, so nearly similar to our own home
beauty that the skillful naturalist is alone able to
distinguish the one from the otiier; in "habits, flight,
and even call, they are essentially alike. How my
heart warmed the first day I shot them, for the
familiar cry that each bird uttered as he flushed,

THE SNIPE OF AMEKICA. 83

ti'finsported me back to days long gone by, to the
society of old companions long under the sod, and a
happy circle of relations, to whom it was ever my
delight to exhibit the proofs of my skill.

The Wilson snii>e — for by this name he is famil-
iarly known all over the American continent —
spends the winter moi\ths in the Southern States,
principally in those that border the Gulf of Mexico ;
but as spiing advances, they follow up northward
the line of demarkation between frost and thaw,
ultimately arriving in that boundless expanse which
stretches northward from the Great Lakes to the
Arctic Ocean. Up in this remote haunt is their
principal breeding-ground, although occasionally a
nest may be found much farther to the south ; but
in all instances of such that I have been able to find,
I have been induced to believe that either the male
or female bird had met with an accident, preventing
the following of the migration of his or her com-
panions. What a beautiful lesson all may learn
from this; how it should speak home to the human
heart this attachment of the mate, who, sooner than
desert a companion, forsakes for the time being his
wdiole race, save one, and foregoes even following
the journey dictated by nature.

8i

In southern Illinois, where I had the greatest
amount of experience in killing this game, the
advance heralds of migration generally arrived
ahout the 10th of March. Much, of course, depended
whether the winter was late or otherwise ; but if a
thaw had taken place, and a moist southerly wind
had been blowing over night, the ground that
yesterday you had tramped over in pursuit of wild
duck without seeing a single snipe, on the morrow
would harbor thousands. Their journey being a
continuation of short flights, they are seldom out of
condition on arrival ; and as they do not take up a
permanent residence, little compunction is felt in
shooting them. Out of the large number that I
have brought to bag, I do not remember a single
instance of an eg^i;, or other indication that pairing
had taken place. The prairies of this State (Illinois)
are generally burned late in the fall, or early in
spring, to improve the succeeding year's grazing,
leaving the surface of the soil entirely denuded of
grass, except where moisture lias prevented the
burn taking effect. Over this, especially in the
vicinity of sloughs, dwarf persimmon bushes abound,
and there the snipe much frequent. A dog is not
necessary here, for the game is so abundant, unless,

THE SNIPE OF AMERICA. 85

perhaps, a good retriever, wlio must be under sucli
control as never to attempt to leave heel, except when
ordered by his master to recover a cripple. A fur-
tlier attraction to this sport, beyond the numbers
that can be killed, is tliat few days pass on which
numbers of teal, pin-tailed duck, or mallard do not
assist to swell the size of your game-bag. From
the advent of the first flight till the middle of May,
additional arrivals take place, but after that date all
disappear till the fall of the leaf, and gusty change-
able weather fortells the near approach of winter.
But the autumnal flight is never numerically equal
to that of spring ; still, if twenty brace will satisfy
the sportsman, he can have that reward for his
labor, provided he be a fair shot.

In America are to be found many excellent shots.
By them the arrival of the snipe is looked forward
to with much pleasure ; but to tlie pot-hunter, the
fellow who will shoot pinnated grouse on the ground,
the duck upon the water, or crawl all day through
brush to have a standing chance at a wild turkey,
this branch of shooting presents little attraction.
How satisfactory it is that there is at least one game-
bird who can laugh with derision at such pursuers.
At fi,rst. when the snipe makes its appearance,

86

especially if the weather be wet and bhistering,
they are inclined to be wild ; but much depends
upon the amount of cover, and consequently slielter,
afforded by the locality, but when the genial sun of
spring shines Avith invigorating warmth, they will
frequently lie so close that many will flush almost at
your feet. When wild, their flights are long and
rapid ; when not so, they droop their wings, and
frequently alight before a hundred yards have been
traversed. However, this does not apply to the
whole day, for toward sunset, possibly from having
by that time digested their last night's meal, for
they feed principally by night, they invariably
become wild, and more diflicult of access. To be
successful in making a heavy bag of snipe, tlicrc
is a rule which may be benelicial to the tyro to
remember, viz., always to hunt down wind, or as
much so as possible, provided always dogs are not
used. The stronger tlie breeze, the more necessity
for doing so; the reason being, that invariably snipe
fly against the wind, and being flushed by your
advancing on them from windward, the birds will
wheel round to the right or left, and present an eas^y
cross-shot, in their determination to pursue the
desired direction.

THE SNIPE OF AMERICA. 87

The migration of this snipe, as well as of the
American woodcock, is peculiar; all appear to act
independently of the other. Dozens may be seen to
pass or light near you in the space of a few minutes,
yet each bird is alone. Many an evening, after sun-
set, have I watched their coming, yet never saw two
or more together. As a rule, these journeys by
both the above-mentioned take place before sunrise
and after sunset. This scattered mode of traveling,
and the hour at which it takes place, are doubtless
the reasons that none but close observers of nature
witness these flights. By the end of May the migra-
tion of this snipe has ceased, and their summer
quarters are reached, which are, as previously stated,
principally north of the Great Lakes and the St.
Lawrence ; although not a few spend the summer in
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Maine. Early in
June they commence laying their eggs, four in num-
ber, in a nest of the most primitive construction, it
being simply an indentation in some trifling excres-
cence of the surfice. The eggs, which are of a
yellowish-brown color, blotched with dark markings,
taper very much toward the small end; they are
always placed in the nest with the larger end
outward. As* soon as the young are hatched, they

88 GUN, ROD, AND SADDT.E.

leave the nest, and in six weeks afterward are
almost fall grown. At this age it is impossible
to tell the Wilson snipe from our home variety;
however, at any period the difference is very slight ;
and as they are quite as strong, swift, and erratic in
their flight, and, moreover, to be found in immense
quantities, ten or twelve dozen per day being no
unusual bag in March, those who can spare time and
money would, if fond of this description of shooting,
find ample recompense by a visit across the Atlantic.

A BIG BUCK. 89

A BIG BUCK.

In the autumn of 186-, when traveling across
the Grand Prairie, I got caught in the first snow-
storm of the season. The vicinity was but sparsely
settled, and from the thickness of the drift our
charioteer lost his way, and after getting mired
times Avithout number, and enduring one of the
most disagreeable nights out of doors it is possible
to imagine, we reached the village of Kent. Under
ordinary circumstances it would have presented no
great inducements, but the large wood fire that
blazed in the bar-room of the diminutive tavern,
after our protracted night of hardsliip, possessed
such attractions, that I determined to lie over for
a couple of days. The neighborhood was Avell
stocked Avith game I learned the following evening,
when I presented myself among the habitues^ who
commonly made this public-house their place of
rendezvous after the toils of the day. No small
portion of the conversation was in reference to a
buck, who for years had constantly been seen, yet

90 GUX, ROD, AND SADDLE.

none of the heretofore successful hunters had been
able to circumvent him. It was evident that this
animal was of no ordinary size, as he was dubbed
by all with the sobriquet of the big buck, and one
regular old leather-stocking, whose opinion was
always listened to with the reverence due to an
authority, ventured to assert that he believed the
bullet would never be molded that would tumble
him (the buck) in his tracks. This extraordinary
deer had almost escaped my memory, and I was
resting over my next morning's pipe, and l)eginning
to fear that my visit was longer than necessary, for
there was absolutely nothing to do but eat and
sleep, unless the prices of pork, corn, or wheat had
possessed an interest ; when a man from the tim-
ber land arrived with a load of wood, and held the
following conversation with the mixer of mint-juleps,
cocktails, etc. " Abe, have you e'er a shooting-iron
that you can loan this coon ?"

Abe having replied in the negative, and inquired
the reason, was told that the most alfiestest big
buck ha<l crossed tlie road about a inik^ off, and
gone into the Squire's corn.* Quietly going to my

* Kvery person in "Western America is either Squire or
Colonel.

A BIG BUCK. 91

bedroom, I unpacked my heaviest gun, a ten bore,
in wliom I have particular faitli, and having noted
the route that the teamster had come by, I followed
the back track of his sled, and true enough found
the prints of a very heavy buck. The day was still
young, myself in good Avalking-trim, and with an
internal determination not to be beaten, except
night overtook me, and very probably with the hope
to show the neio^hbors that a Britisher was sjood
for some purposes, I followed the track with un-
usually willing steps and light heart. To get into
the corn-field the buck had jumped the snake fence
and afterward doubled back, and as the wind did
not suit for me to enter at the same place, I made
a considerable detour. In my right barrel I had
sixteen buck-shot, about the size that would run one
hundred to the pound, and a bullet in the left. As
the corn had not yet been gathered, and the under-
growth of cuckle-burs and other weeds was tolerably
dense ; I had little doubt but that I would get
sufficiently close to make use of the former. An
old stager like my quarry, I knew from experience
would be desperately sharp, so with the utmost
caution I advanced up wind, eyes and ears straine<l
to the utmost tension. I had only got about a

92 GUN, KOD, AND SADDLE.

fourth of the field traversed, when I heard some
voices right to windward encouraging a dog to hold
a pig. The noise of the men, dog, and porker, I
concluded would start the game off in the reverse
direction, so hurriedly retracing my steps, I regained
the fence, got over it, and took my stand at an angle
that stretched close to a slough which was densely
covered with a growth of various aquatic weeds and
rushes. In about five minutes after gaining my
position, I was greeted by a sight of the beauty,
who hopped the fence where there was a broken
rail, and gaining the opening, for a moment halted,
then tossing up his head, oftered me a fair cross-
shot nearly eighty yards distant. Pitching my
gun well in front, I pulled the trigger, and well
I knew not fruitlessly, for he gave a short pro-
tracted jnmp, dropped his white tail close into his
hams, and with an increased pace disappeared in
the swamp.

Unless the wound was mortal, or so severe as to
seriously incommode him, I was certain he would not
be satisfied to remain in such close propinquity to
danger, so after reloading I made a detour to find
wliere he had left this cover to seek one more
retired. My conjecture was correct, for after travel-

A BIG BrCK. 93

ing nearly lialf-a-milc, I found the familiar tell-
tale track. The snow was in pretty good order,
both for tracking and walking, and I did not let tlic
grass grow under my feet. As yet I had seen no
signs of blood, which the more thoroughly impressed
me that my lead had made more than a skin Avound.
In about an hour's walking, I found myself on the
edge of another slough, which I was hesitating
whether to enter or go round, when I espied my
friend, some way beyond range, going over a neigh-
boring swell of the prairie. Of course I cut off
the angle and cast forward to where the view was
obtained, and as I rose the swell, in the distance
I saw my friend at a stand-still, evidently anxiously
scrutinizing my direction. My cap was of a very
light color, so I concluded he did not see me, and
my supposition was again correct, for after a few
minutes he relaxed his pace, and turning at right
angles, walked into a small expanse of dense rushes,
interspersed with an occasional stunted willow. In
deer shooting, if you suppose an animal severely
wounded, never hurry him; if he once lie down,
and you give him time to stiffen, you will not have
half the trouble in his ultimate capture that you
would have by constantly keeping him ou the

94 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

move. So I practiced in this instance; carefully for
ten or fifteen minutes I watched that he did not
leave the cover; then having concluded that he had
lain down, I quietly lit my pipe and dawdled away
an hour more. Deeming that I had granted suf-
ficient law, I renewed operations and pushed
forward ; the track was A^ery irregular in length
of pace from where he had reduced his gait to a
walk, and several times from want of lifting his
feet high enough, he had scuffed the surface of the
snow Avith his toes. An old deer-stalker will know
these symptoms, a young one may without harm
remember them. Having cautiously followed the
trail three parts of the way across the cover, and
almost commenced to think I would have done
better by waiting half-an-hour longer, the buck
jumped up within twenty yards, heading straight
from me, when I gave him the contents a second
time of the right-hand barrel in the back of his
head.

The distance was too great to remove him home
that day, so cutting a branch off a willow, I affixed
my handkerchief to it, and left this banner waving
to denote possession, also to furnish a hint to the
prairie wolves that they had better steer clear. That

A BIG BUCK. 95

night at the tavern bar in the most ostentations
manner, in presence, of the assembled crowd, I order-
ed a team to be got ready in the morning to bring
in the big buck ; old leather-stocking, sotto voce,
remarking, that I had not been reared on the light
soil to be able to come that game. Howev^er, next
morning, when I arrived Avith my trophy, tlie crowd
congratulated me, wliile leather-stocking remarked,
that he knew not what the world was coming to, by
G — d, when a Britisher with a bird gun could kill
the biggest buck in Illinois. In conclusion I would
say, that in skinning we found tliat at the first shot
one grain had gone through the lungs, while two
more had lodged farther back. The gross weight
of this deer was one hundred and eighty-four
pounds.

96 GUN, KOD, AND SADDLE.

BLACK BASS.

Ik advocating the introduction of birds, I feel I
have not yet performed my work ; bear with me
further, and grant me space to advocate another
introduction that, in my opinion, deserves the favoi*-
*able attention of ail lovers of the gentle art.
Although I love tlie dog and gun, still I am equally
devoted to the rod. As every season has its beau-
ties and its fascinations, so has every variety of field
sports. On a glorious September day, what can
exceed the pleasure of following a brace of well-
trained, well'bred, high-couraged dogs over the
golden stubbles ? On a mild spring day, with a soft
southwest breeze and dark clouds overhead, can any
thing be more delightful than following the tortuous
course of a trout brook, taking from pool or stream
the speckled beauties, or knee-deep in a rapid, bois-
terous river, first rising, now hooking, and perchance
killing the glorious salmon? The whirr of pheasant
or partridge is pleasant music ; the voice of hounds

BLAOK BASS. 97

is not less so ; but the screech of your reel, when
first you are fast to a heavy game-fish, is a song that
even Patti herself can not rival. For a fish to be
popular among fishermen, he must have three requi-
sites, viz., gameness when hooked, boldness in feed-
ing, and, when he has yielded his life, be a fit feast
for an epicure. All these requisites I claim for the
black bass : and, therefore, presume to lay his claims
for introduction before your numerous readers.
There is no section of the world so intersected by
rivers and lakes as the Xorth American continent,
and in nearly all these waters, from northern Canada
to the tributaries of the Mississippi, and the various
waters that flow into the Gulf of Mexico, the black
bass is to be found. It matters not whether it be
river or lake ; whether the water be clear or muddy,
stagnant or rapid ; in all he appears equally to
flourish. What splendid homes could we ofier him
here ! All our ornamental waters, though generally
unsuited to trout, would be retreats eminently fitted
to his nature ; and the fishermen, instead of captur-
ing such common pluckless fish as bream, tench,
carp, or even perch, would have an antagonist that
would test all his skill, the stoutness and endurance

of his tackle, with that untiring, unflinching resolu-
5

98

tion and headstrong energy which no other fresh-
water fish of tlie same size, I believe, possesses.

, The black bass is an extremely free feeder, and is
caught in all the various ways used to caj^ture trout.
He rises freely at the fly ; with minnow or worm,
craw-fish, spoon bait, or almost any artificial device,
he can be taken. On being hooked, generally the
first eflbrt he makes for freedom is to spring from
the water. Look out, Mr. Angler, dij) your rod in
courtesy to him, for if you neglect the requisite
salam, your acquaintance will probably terminate.
When this device has failed, with a purpose and
force alike surprising, he makes a rush for parts un-
known, and not until every effort, every trick is put
in practice, that is known to the fish family, can you
get the slightest chance to use your landing net. I
have frequently, after a long and fierce struggle,
been about to place the net under him, but the
movement was enough ; though aj^parently exhaust-

• ed, the fish took a new lease of life, and a further
trial of patience was demanded before I could call
the i)rize mine. In shape, the black bas^ nincli re-
sembles a Avell-fed trout ; but is deeper and tliicker
made, while the tail is remarkable for 'its breadth.
Their weight \ aries from one pound to five pounds;

BLACK BASS. 99

yet on the Xiagara River, near the vilLage of Chippe-
wa, I captured a splendid fellow, quite eight pounds ;
but I was then assured that I had reason to con-
gratulate myself, for fish of such a size were far from
common. The color, as in all varieties of fish, varies
much. In clear running water they are generally a
very dark green upon the back (much such a shade
as the darker hues in mackerel), gradually getting
lighter, almost to white, as you approach the abdo-
men ; but in those Southern waters, which are
strongly impregnated with alluvial deposit, and con-
sequently turbid, the back of these bass is less
brilliant in shade, while the stomach is not so clear a
white. A still further advantage that may recom-
mend them is, that they are in season when trout
should not be killed. In spring they spawn, the
exact time varying in different waters on account of
season and position as to latitude.

If I may judge from the quantity of spawn the
female contains, they must be immensely prolific ;
for although the individual ovum is small, the roe is
very large in proportion to the bulk of the fish.
From my own observation and inquiries, I believe
that the spawn is from sixteen to twenty days in
maturing, after being deposited, which would give

100 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

ample time for its transportation across the Atlantic.
I am furtlier of opinion that, indiscriminately, gravel
or soil bottom is selected on which to deposit the
eggs ; for many of the rivers and ponds in which I
have captured this bass flowed through, or were
situated in deep bottom-lands, where a stone, even
as large as a pebble, would be difficult to find. One
pond in southern Illinois I particularly remember ;
it covered a space of about thirty acres, with an
average depth of about three feet, except in the
southern extremity, where about eight feet of water
could be found. Tlie bottom was entirely composed
of mud ; yet tliis pond swarmed with black bass.
Lake Champlain, the St. Lawrence, and Lake
Ontario (all who have visited these regions will
remember) are remarkably clear, with gravelly or
rocky bottoms, and each is a favorite haunt of this
fisli. I mention this to prove the better how univer-
sal a favorite and extensive liis adoption might
become.

A friend, once a resident of tlie Isle of Skye, and
a well-known successful trout and salmon fisherman,
had a beautiful little lake, about ten acres in extent,
on his estate, not many miles from Toronto, which
he had ^Locked with black bass. In a lew years

BLACK BASS. 101

their numbers so much increased, that in an hour
or two, trolling of an evening, a dozen or more
could easily be taken. This lake had neither outlet
or inlet, but was supplied with water from springs in
the bottom.

I fear it will be almost deemed heresy to place
this fish on a par with the trout; at least, some
such idea I had when I first heard the two com-
pared ; but I am bold, and will go farther. I
consider he is the superior of the two, for he is
equally good as an article of food, and much
stronger and untiring in his efforts to escape when
hooked.

By all means let us have black bass introduced.
I feel confident this fish requires but to be known to
be most highly appreciated.

102 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

HIS"TS TO YOUISrG AE"GLEES.

•I CAN not hope to teach the expert, but I doubt
not that there are many of the younger readers of
this little work who may be assisted in taking
a larger basket of fish than they otherwise would,
by a knowledge of the following artifices, which I
have often found most successful. In a clear, warm
day, at the termination of the green drake season,
when the trout can not be induced to rise at . the
artificial fly, I have frequently been most successful
by practicing the following ruse^ viz., having only a
trail fly on your casting-line (which should be very
long and light), make it slightly fast to a water-lily
or other leaf; having marked where a fish is feeding,
go up stream well above the place, and guide,
through means of your rod, tlie leaf, so that it will
pass close by the spot, taking the precaution of
using a long line, and to keep as much out of sight
as possible ; wlien the leaf has reached the trout's
haunt, by a slight strike disengage your fly from

HINTS TO YOUNG ANGLERS. 103

tlie leaf, so that it will drop in the water, and but
seldom will the fish hesitate to rise, and on such
occasions will yourself fail to strike successfully.
Kow for hint number two : when I have been unable
to get a strike minnow fishing, I have stimulated the
trout's appetite, by taking a worm and hooking it
transversely across the center, so that when your
minnow is put on, both sides of the worm hang on
eithcF side of his head. If fish reason, I suppose
they thus argue : That fellow is going off with a
prize ; if he was not in good health, he would
scarcely have such a voracious appetite. It's evident
Mister Fisherman has played no tricks on this chap.
So at him he goes, and tyro's basket becomes
heavier by another fish. Xot to keenness but to
accident I made this discovery. I had fished most
unsuccessfully for several hours, having changed
from worm to minnow and vice versa / in one of
these alterations, being careless from want of suc-
cess, some worm was left on the shank of the hook
after I reverted to the minnow: the hint was not
lost, and often afterward practiced.

104 GCN, KOD, AND SADDLE.

THE AMEEICA]::^ THOEOUGH-
BRED .

I TiiiXK that few will disagree with me that
horse-racing was established, not alone for the
amusement it affords, but for the encouragement of
breeding a superior stamp of animal, alike capable
of speed and endurance. Of late years the former
quality has been the desideratum, and to so great a
pitch has it come through light weights, short races,
&c., that the most useless, as far as utility purposes
may be considered, are patronized for sires. The
result is, what would have been deemed a race-horse
a quarter of a century ago, is now thouglit a hunter
at best, while what our fathers ^^ould have con-
demned as a weedy tucked-up brute, we, with our
advanced views of civilization, call a race-horse.
8peed for a short distance is what all harp after, and
if stamina with speed can not be obtained, tlio more
useful quality is neglected, or entirely sacriticed, for
a second less time in a mile race. Double the

THE AMERICAN TIIOEOrGH-BRED. 105

length of the race — make the course two miles
instead of one — and which woukl be first at the
winning-post ? — or, still better, make the race three
miles, and I much doubt if the weed would come
home at all, leave alone save his distance.

Much injury is doubtless done our horses by
running them long before they reach maturity. If
you take a growing boy and over-tax his strength,
what Avill be the result ? A wreck before he reaches
manhood. So it is with our thorough-bred colts and
fillies. They are forced forward like hot-house
plants, prematurely reach maturity of form, when
they are put to work trying even to aged animals,
their muscular development being still soft and
imset, and consequently unequal to the task, caus-
ing a broken-down cripple at the very time when,
if permitted to have followed Nature's dictates, the
2ioor creature would have rejoiced in all the per-
fections of beauty that charm the eye and tell of
speed and endurance. What an every-day occurrence
it is to hear of such and such a colt, immense
favorites with the public from their success as
two-year olds, being scratched? And why? In
some closely-contested struggle, when flesh and

blood was doing its utmost, under whip and spur,
5*

106

a yet further exertion Avas called for, and from the
effort a strain or injury was received wliich time
ultimately developed ; and thus the flower of the
stable, the hope of the owner, is thrown out of
work, ultimately to descend through the gradations
from •pampered pet to over- wrought cab-horse.
True, it is not unfreqnently the lot of man to
undergo the same vicissitudes of fortune ; but he
invariably lias some hand in altering his position.
But the poor horse eanis degradation through his
endeavor to serve a selfish master too avcII.

The Americans are justly considered close observ-
ers and an essentially practical people, possessed
with that energy which has long characterized this
their mother people. From being originally thrown
in a new land, wliere every effort and resource had
to be employed to raise them to the standard of
older countries, constant required attention to all
the details of life, through numerous generations,
has made them Avliat they are, inferior to none, and
far, far ahead of many European powers wlio can
date their existence back numerous centuries. At
an early age the inlierent love of Englislimen for
horse-racing showed itself in America; and as might
be expected, when the importation of thorough-bred

THE AMERICAN THOROUGF-BRED. 107

stock took place, such judgment was employed, that
the best animals that could be obtained in England
■were only introduced. Unfortunately, however,
ra-cing got into bad repute, from the number of
maavals siijets it attracted, and although the
Southern gentlemen did their utmost to cleanse
away the stain, the fanatical puritanical spirit of
many Northern States, tabooed the institution for
years ; thus it only had a partial existence, and
but few horses were imported, and those always
to the Soutli; but if the number was small, the
selections were the more carefully made. However,
again a revival took place, principally at first
through the instrumentality of the late Mr. Atchi-
son Alexander, of Woodford, Kentucky, and latterly
through the eiforts of Mr. Jerome, of New York ;
so that at the present date almost every State
boasts one or two race-courses, where as fine racing
can be enjoyed as at home. From an innate love
of the horse, I not only visited the majority of the
American races, but obtained the entree to many
of the training and breeding establishments ; thus
gaining opportunities of forming opinions, that
defective judgment alone would cause to be in-
correct. One only of these establishments will I

108 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

mention, because I was more conversant with it,
not because it was either the largest or most replete
with conveniences, — that of Mr. Sanford, in Xew
Jersey, about thirty miles from the metropolis.
This gentleman had a large number of all ages
at work, all his own, for he was not a public trainer,
but a person of affluence, loving the horse for his
beauty and use, and running them with the hope
that if they were entitled to the laurels they would
bear them. In close proximity to his stables was
his private training-ground, and the buildings were
replete with every convenience that ingenuity, art,
or money could supply. In looking over his pets,
numerous descendants of im}?. Hedgeford, Glencoe,
Knight of St. George, &c., were found, all good
ones, as some old memories will recall, and closely
allied to the American-bred cracks, Lexington,
Boston, Kentucky, and Asteroid. One thing that
can not fail to strike the English visitors, is the
much greater amount of stamina that all appear
to possess over our home-bred animal ; and I am
inclined to believe that this is not only show. I
am aware that an English nobleman, probably the
most successful of modern times on the turf,
thought the same, and in consequence introduced

THE AMERICAN THOEOUGn-BRED. 109

a stallion. However, the importation did not turn
out a success; but might he not liave been injured
in the voyage, or the purchaser been wrong in liis
selection ? To successfully clear a rasper, there is
nothing like going boldly at it ; so, without further
preamble, I believe that the introduction of a good
American stallion would be beneficial to those who
want to breed weight-carrying, fast, lasting horses.

Three or four miles is no unfrequent distance for
a race to be run across the Atlantic, and it has
always struck me how wonderfully game all ap-
peared to finish, something like the Irishman's car-
horse, a spurt always remaining to take your honor
to the hall-door.

The Americans run their youngsters in their two-
year-old form, but the weights up are very light, the
distances short, and the ordeal seldom required
oftener than three or four times in a season;
therefore the occasion of accident that our colts
of the same age sufter from is matenally reduced ;
in fact, if scratching in the United States was as
frequent as here, where the number of entries does
not exceed one-fourth of ours, they would have few
or no horses show at the post.

For three and four year olds, the old system of

110

heats is much in vogue ; no bad one, let me say,
for proving endurance ; and liere again I was much
pleased with the gameness with which the con-
testants always re-o i;sembled. At Seacaucus, near
Kew York, there is a bi-annual meeting ; the estab-
lishment is superintended by a most hospitable,
kind-hearted old Virginian, whose heart is in his
work. I attended one of the meetings here, in
which a son of Knight of St. George won a heat
race; it was so closely contested, and so gamely
finished, that it even now warms my blood while I
write of it. The winner was a dark bay, wonder-
fully compact in build, with a few gray hairs at the
setting on of the tail, so common a mark of many
of his family. What a charger, I thought to my-
self, he would make ; nor do I believe I was
far wrong. That day this horse proved himself a
good one at long distances, and in heats, but he has
also made his mile in one minute and forty-six
seconds — reliable time. Xow, this horse, Knight-
hood by name, if I remember correctly, liad nol
been galloped oft' his feet when a two-year old, or
he never could have undergone successfully the
trial he endured on the occasion mentioned. At
Paterson, Xew Jersey, I witnessed another closely

THE AMERICAN THOROUGH-BEED. Ill

contested heat mce ; the winner was a marc of Mr.
Sanford's, called Nanny Butler ; she was an nn-
conimonly well-put-together undersized nag, but
with the most unsightly height of withers ; five
heats had to be run before tlie race was decided.
The mare was ridden by a well-known veteran
jockey, black as my hat ; his reputation was great,
and that day proved not without reason ; still a
good jockey can't land a bad mount first, although
a good jockey can materially assist a good horse.
At the start, the odds were heavy against her, and
when she was declared winner, not the mare, .but
the rider, got the credit from the shrewd public.
\Yhy not have divided the praise ? But such is too
frequently the way of the world. Xovr, if Xanny
had been run to death — or I will say had done the
work of Achievement in her two-year old form — is
it reasonable to suppose that she would have gamely
and uninjured finished as winner the last and fifth
heat of a two-mile-heat race ?

I was in New York when the beautiful Jerome
Park race-course was to be opened. Kentucky was
then the acknowledged crack of Eastern stables,
but away south of the Ohio River was his half-
brother, both being sons of the famous Lexington.

112

Wonderful nunoi's liad reached the Atlantic sea-
board of what the Western rcj^resentative could do.
For a long time it was doubtful whether this great
gun would put in an appearance. So Kentucky
was backed at immense odds for the gf'reat event — •
the Inauguration Stakes. At length a telegraph ar-
rived, announcing the intention of Mr. Alexander to
forward his liorse Asteroid. Public opinion became
divided, but, as is generally the case, drifted back to
the home favorite. Asteroid arrived a few days be-
fore the meeting, but unfortunately broke down;
however, I availed myself of an opportunity to in-
spect him, and such a horse I have seldom looked
at — a hunter up to fourteen stone across any country
— yet there was not a single gross point about him.
To what his mishap could be attributed, few could
say ; but I learned that, for an American horse, he
had done an unusual amount of work in his younger
days.

Kentucky, the most successful, and possibly the
best horse that has been produced in America in
modern days, although differing in color, is very
much like ]31air Atholc in form, very showy and
cocky in his action, and of most desirable temper.
lie has, I believe, only once been beaten, and then

THE AMERICAN THOEOUGH-BEED. 113

by N'orfolk, a half-brother, who was shortly after-
w^ard transported to the Pacific slope ; however, this
defeat was to be attributed to (as I have been in-
formed by a most reliable person) being out of con-
dition. He is also a son of Lexington, and therefoi'e
claims relationship to Boston and Imp. Glencoe,
ancestors to whom he truly does no discredit. I
have seen Kentucky run several times, but always
w^as he so immensely superior to his antagonists, that
the race was quite one-sided. At Saratoga, I believe,
on one occasion, his jockey pricked him, but I much
doubt if such was necessary.

Lexington I have frequently mentioned ; I much
reoTct that I for^'et his o'enealoojical tree. As a sire
and race-horse, his superior in the Western hemisphere
was never produced. One performance was his run-
ning at the Great State Race onMetaire course, New
Orleans, a four-mile-heat race, in which one of the
heats w^as made in Y minutes 19f seconds — a perform-
an(*e his owner might well be proud of — for I can
iind no record of its being excelled ; and it must be
remembered that American time is always correctly
taken by reliable persons, and publislied at the end
of each heat or race. Lexington still lives, and is
the sire of numerous progeny, many of whom I know,

114 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

and all except one who shall be nameless, are not only
fast, but enduring horses.

In conclusion, whether the American thorough-bred
is as fast as ours would be difficult to decide ; but
that he is a most lasting, enduring, game horse, I can
assert, a proof that the Americans have nat forgotten,
in the universal mania of the age for fastness, the
desideratum endurance — the sine qud non for utility.

now TO CAPTUEE GEAT MULLET. 115

HOW TO CAPTUEE GEAT
AIULLET.

Often I have stood on the fluvial portion of a riv-
er and watched the gray mullet freely sporting on the
surface. Numerous were the eiforts T made to catch
these ^Yi\y gentry with hook and line ; but all over-
tures were rejected, and the fish preferred declining
the bait to leaving their element. The gray mullet
feeds principally on the surface, more particularly in
warm weather, and as they are remarkably shy and
gifted with but small mouths, with a preference to
sucking in the bait, to freely swallowing like trout or
others, the difficulties in the way of capturing them
are obvious, and hence I will explain a method some
might call poaching, but really no more so than
trimmer fishing ; in truth, it is much more excusable,
for by the latter you capture fish that freely take
the hook, while on the other hand you ensnare
rogues that all your skill and patience will fail
otherwise to bring to bag. Obtain a piece of flat

116 GUN, KOD, AND SADDLE.

cork about one inch in depth and the size of a
regular ship biscuit ; have a pouch made of coarse
gauze, in which a slice of bread, the size of the cork
can be j^laced, the gauze retaining the bread flat
against the cork. From the margin of the cork
suspend around the bread a dozen hooks, about the
size of those usually employed in trout bait fishing,
these hooks, to be tied on strons^ grut, six inches lono^,
and on the points of a few of them a small dice of
bread should be placed. Armed with half a dozen
of these infernal machines, and provided with a
landing net, go in your boat above where the mullet
are known to resort, drop your corks in the water,
about eight or ten yards apart, scattering some
crumbs among them, and let the tide or current float
them to the fish, keeping the boat a good way in the
rear. Don't be in a hurry, the fish will not keep
you long waiting ; each float will soon be surrounded,
and when the mullet find that they can not carry
away the bread wholesale, they will knock the floats
with their noses, slap them with their tails, and in a
few seconds you Avill have a prize on each trimmer,
liooked by back, tail, or side. If the captives run
large much sport will be enjoyed in retaking your
floats, for it is wonderful how Ion or a four or five

now TO CAPTURE GRAY MULLET. 117

pound fish will manage to avoid you. This method
I have practiced often, both in smooth and rongh
water, and never without meeting with the greatest
success, not only with the gray mullet but many
other species.

118 GUN, KOD, AND SADDLE.

THE PiN]:>TATED GROUSE.

(tetrao cupido.)

The first pheasant I killed in China I thought the
noblest game-bird that ever I had pnlled a trigger
npon, and truly he was a beauty ; the plumage was
in the most perfect state — the neck of the greenest
emerald, the riug of the purest white, the tail the
longest, and the different shades and tints of wings
and body the very brightest I had ever seen in one
of his species; moreover, he weighed nearly one-half
more than any of the same family 1 had killed at
liome, and to add additional appreciation, the shot
that brought him to the ground was a difficult one
and at long range. For years the pheasant of tlie
southern portion of China reigned paramount in my
opinion ; but a change has come over my ideas, and
now su])erlative before all others, I |)lace two varie-
ties of ^Vmerican game-birds. What days of pleasure
have I had in the })ursuit of piimated grouse; what
splendid bags have I made, and on such grou'nd

THE PTXXATED GROUSE. 119

as gave my darling companion setters the very best
opportunities of showing their sagacity and careful
education to the greatest advantage. In my previ-
ous notice of the ruffed grouse {I'efrao iimbelli(s)^ I
have stated that I do not believe this bird (the pin-
nat-ed grouse) so Avorthy of acclimatization as the
last mentioned ; and why ? he disregards distance
in his late autumnal flights ; and therefore where
shooting ranges are limited by bounds, unless the
proprietors on every side would mutually agree for
their introduction and protection, I fear that the
labors of one landowner in introducing and propa-
gating them would be fraught with dissatisfaction,
as his neighbors would enjoy almost as much as
himself the benefit of his expense and trouble. But
for all that, the pinnated grouse is most worthy of
our attention ; he is truly a most noble bird, and
affords the sportsman the best of sport, till the
cold winds preceding winter cause him to pack, in
the same manner as our red and black game, when
their wariness becomes so great that naught but
quick shooting and Ely's green cartridges arc likely
to help the laborer to produce a bag remunerative
for his toil. That this bird could be acclimated here
there is no doubt, for he is capable of withstanding

120 GUN) EOD, AND SADDLE.

great cliaiiges of temperature ; is not particular as
to choice of ground as long as it is o^^en ; and plenty
of grain and grass seed can be obtained. Although
liis range is now principally confined to the prairie
country of the United States, not being found in
great numbers till the edge of the Grand Prairie is
reached, still formerly he was found equally abund-
ant all over the open lands; still, however, Long
Island and the island of Martha's Vineyard possess
some remnants, who long since would liave disap-
peared but for the protection and care of the land-
owners in those places, who have endeavored to
prevent if possible the extinction of this valuable
bird upon their estates. I can not well imagine any
place so bleak in winter as the scrub uplands of
the tAv^o aforementioned islands, unless, perhaps. Mull
and Jura on the Scotch coast. The bird that could
with impunity withstand the rigors of the cold in the
foi-mer could doubtless with impunity do the same
in tlie latter. The pinnated grouse pairs in March,
and generally produces from twelve to fourteen
young at a brood ; the chicks very early take to
the wing, but their flight is weak and sliort until
they are more than half grown. During the infanc}'-
of the family, the courage and artifice of the parent

THE PINNATED GEO USE. 121

bird to intimidate or draw off intruders is worthy of
notice. At first she will fly toward you as if intent
on doing you battle, but when this course has foiled,
she will retire, droop her wings, struggle on the
ground, only just keeping beyond your grasp, always
moving in a direction contrary to where her brood
are hid, until parent instinct tells her that the chil-
dren are safe, when suddenly on strong wings she
will start for a distant flight. The facility with
which the young secrete themselves is most surpris-
ing. Frequently have I got unexpectedly into the
center of a family, when up they would rise like a
flight of bees and as rapidly drop again; certainly
you see the exact spot on which they have alighted
— that tuft of grass you believe most surely con-
tains one, but search as you will, turn over care-
fully every blade, look well about the roots — all is
useless, for no fledgeling will you And.

At the commencement of the pairing season, par-
ticularly if the weather is calm and cloudy, the male
birds will be heard calling all day ; their note re-
sembling the lowing of a cow, vrhich can be heard
distinctly for over a mile. At this time fierce-look-
ing encounters appear to take place, but I am inclined
to believe that their tights are all a sham, performed

122

to show themselves to the greatest advantage before
tlie admhing ladies who assemble around ; for I liave

. never been able to find a maimed hero, and seldom
more than a broken feather resulting from the con-
test. As tlie spring advances they restrict their call-
ing to evening and morning, and by the time the
brood is hatched, cease it altogether. The peculiar-
ity of the call of the males of this species is sucli,
that once heard, it is difficult to forget, particularly
when softened by distance; it is produceed by for-
cing the air out of two orange-colored receptacles
placed on eitlier side of the throat, and whicli, when
inflated, are as lai'ge in circumference as a man's fin-
ger, perfectly free from feathers upon their surface,
but hid when in a state of quiescence by fan-shaped
bunches of hackles that completely cover them."'

The pinnated grouse is about the size of our i)]ieas-
ant ; however, they ditfer considerably, those birds
that inhabit southern Illinois being at least one-fourth

1 larger than tliose obtained in Minnesota, AVisconsin,
and tlie northwest prairies. They are of a beautiful
mottled brown and fawn color, frecpiently witli wliite
finger-marks on the uj)per portion of the wings and

* Tho most killiug hackles for tying trout-ilios.

I

THE PINNATED GKOrSE. 123

back, are feathered down the legs to the feet, have
beautifully set-on small heads, with a slight crest, and
bright yellow iris. When standing, their attitude is
very erect, but graceful, while their flight is strong
and swift, more especially late in the season. On
being flushed, they invariably cackle, and the first
flight, except of young birds, is always long. In the
commencement of the season, and in fact as long as
the weather is bright and mild, they lie remarkably
well to dogs ; but as soon as severe and cold weath-
er sets in, they pack and become wild. However,
late in October, if you should lilt upon a warm, sum-
mer-like day, the birds will lie so remarkably close
between the hours of 10 a. ii. and 3 p.m., that mar-
velous bags can be made.

As a delicacy, this bird can favorably compare
with any of the grouse family, but is dissimilar in one
respect from all the others, for the sooner it is
cooked after being killed, the more delicate and
savory it will be found. /Even the skill of Delmo-
nico, in New York, the justly celebrated restaurant
proprietor, with all his knowledge of cuisine^ can not
impart the flavor that the same bird would have
had from the hands of the most ignorant cook, pro-
vided it was served a few hours after it was killed.

124 Gr^, KOD, AND SADDLE.

The pinnated grouse can easily be domesticated.
Mr. Audubon, the naturalist, for some time kept quite
a number in a walled garden, where they became
as tame as domestic fowls ; nor do I believe there
would be any difficulty in transporting them across
the Atlantic. To gentlemen stocking preserves, or
desirous of being able to show a great variety of
game upon their estate, I believe this magnihcent
member of the grouse genus well worthy of attentioji.

FISHING AT GIBRALTAE. 125

riSHIIS"G AT GIBEALTAE.

Dear old Gibraltar, much as thou art frequently
railed at, I believ^e the faults are more imaginary
than real. Englishmen are grumblers proverbially
and truly, more particularly the untraveled speci-
mens. Transport them once away from native soil,
and nothing that they see or make use of is equal
to what is to be had at home. I am almost inclined
to believe that there is a spirit of discontent in tlie
breed, for our cousins across the Atlantic, although
to a less degree, are strongly pregnated with the
same peculiarity. Why is it that you seldom find
one who is doing garrison duty at Gibraltar who does
not sigh for change ; true ! you, if a subaltern, have
more guards to keep, and in the cool season an
overplus of brigade days, still you have your hounds,
who, although they do not kill wlienever they meet,
afford plenty of fun ; you haA^e numerous pretty
rides open to you into Spain, and if a fisherman or
shot, sport can both be obtained in the bay and

126

over the straits in the vicinity of Tangiers quite as
good as you probably enjoyed at home, unless you
had the privilege of a well-stocked salmon river or
carefully preserved demesne. Although I am certain
this garrison is seldom witliout numerous followers
of old Izaak Walton, yet I dare bet that few have
essayed their art while there — why, I can not say —
for although I did constantly, I never met a compan-
ion, and more the pity; for fishing (that is, sea-fish-
ing) is here to be obtained of the greatest excellence.
The New Mole, where vessels obtain their requi-
site fuel, used to be a favorite haunt of mine, more
j^articularly on those serene, romantic nights peculiar
to the Mediterranean, when with my light fly-rod and
a small brilliant artificial minnow attached to very
light tackle, I used to capture dozens of a beautiful
little fish, of the mackerel family, there called horse-
mackerel ; true they were not large, seldom exceed-
ing nine or ten inches in length, but then they were
so game, giving as much sport as a half-pound trout,
before you could safely land them on terra firma ; and
when fisliing for these resplendent little beauties, you
would occasionally hook a monster, when your oidy
option was to give him the butt, place a check on your
line, and force the weak portion of your tackle to

FISniXG AT GIBKALTAR. 127

pfirt. So often did this occur to me, that I determined
to go armed for emergencies; and having obtained
a most powerful bamboo-rod and attached a sal-
mon reel, with a sardine for bait, I determined to try
tlie results, nor was I long kept in suspense ; the rush
came, line was given, but all of no avail, for the hoped-
for captive refused to be taken, and the loss of hooks
and leader followed. A dozen times I made the
essay, and a dozen times the results were similar.
What those leviathans were, I never knew with cer-
tainty, but I always strongly suspected the ravisher to
be no less than a dolphin [Delphinus Tursio). To
possess a big fellow I found was impossible, so I
stuck to the little mackerel, and revenged upon them
at breakfast the next morning, the depredations of
their seniors.

At Catalin Bay, where I had to serve the allotted
period of imprisonment, I found the fishing even bet-
ter than on the west side. When I was sent there,
I should have liked to question the colonel as to the
justice of his selection, but after all, the two months
flitted by, and even now I look back with pleasure to
the simple, small Genoese fishing-village. Perhaps
by chance there is a fisherman stationed there now ;
well, if so, I will put him up to the ropes. As you go

128

along southward from the viUagc to visit your guards,
there is a cave. Passing through it you find a port-
hole, looking perpendicularly down on the Mediterra-
nean. When there is an easterly wind blowing, the
surf breaks beneath in grandest splendor. From this
port-hole, with strong tackle and plenty of fresh sar-
dines for bait, you can take more fish in the course of
the day than will suffice for your whole detachment.
Off Catalin Bay there is a bank, four good miles
from land. ' Get the village fishermen to take you
to it, and if fortune smiles upon you with the favor
it did on me, you will cry before the night is over,
" Hold, enough." The fish principally taken were a
copper-colored bream,* about two or three pounds in
weight, and so numerous were they, that we never
thought of drawing up our lines till we had two or
more victims hooked; and how do you tliink we
knew this? Simply in this way, one fish on, you
only felt a direct tug, two or more a constant vibra-
tion, as if a party were squabbling over the line, and
each endeavoring to take possession of it.

* Called by the Spaniards "Bissengo."

SPORTING KEinNISCENCES. 129

SPOETIXG EEMIJflSCEXCES.

For some days I had had a terribly hard time of
it. Tlie ground had drunk its full — and to spare —
of snow-Y»'ater, game Avas scarce and wild, and the
scanty herbage that my horse and mule were able
to obtain since we entered the plains was barely
sufficient to keep them alive ; still, good seventy
miles more had to be traversed before I could reach
the friendly shelter of the belt of timber that sur-
rounded the Fork. If it had been autumn, I dare
not have chosen this route, for it is a debatable
ground of the Camanche and Arrapahoe, to whom a
solitary white man would be so tempting a morsel
that he could not fail to be caught, and we will not
say what done to ; the very conjecture is disagree-
able. The severity of the late weather, therefore,
was my safety; for red skins, no less tlian wliite
men, dislike unnecessary exposure. Still I was con-
vinced some stragglers must have lately visited the
neighborhood, for the occasional head of game I saw
was so wary that I concluded hunters had lately

130

disturbed them. One thing was very mnch in my
favor — I Avas in the lightest of marching order, no
l^ack of peltries or well-stocked kit had I, for a
few pounds of Lullcts, a pound of powder, and my
buffalo robe, were all my animals had for a load.
How independent a fellow feels when all his worldly
goods can be summed up in so few words. To keep
as much in the nags as possible, in case speed might
be required, on the look-out for any thing suspicious,
with cautious, slow steps, I pursued my route to the
eastward. Nothing occurred to increase my watch-
fulness ; in truth, I commenced to believe that I had
unnecessarily alarmed myself, when, crossing a small
water-course, on the edge of which was a sandy
margin, plainly I saw the prints where three
horses had lately passed. The forefeet of one of
them was shod — a good indication. Still they might
have lately been stolen from some distant white
settlement, so all my previous alarm and caution
were again reverted to. Half an hour afterward I
heard the rei)ort of a rifle ; but, as there was a roll
in the prairie between me and the direction the
sound came from, I could not see who had fired the
shot. In ignorance of what was to be seen beyond,
it would have been madiiess to have ridden to the

SPOETING KEi^nXISCENCES. 131

top of the bhiff; so, turning off to the right into
irregular, broken ground, the effects of the previous
year's heat, I hobbled my animals, and started
cautiously to stalk my way to some high ground,
from whence I might obtain a view of the surround-
ing country, taking care to keep myself between the
suspicious direction and my beasts. I had not
traversed over 150 yards, and was halting, the
better to notice the most available cover for future
progress, when first the head and shoulders, then
the entire figure, of a man loomed o'er the top of
the swell. Camanche or Arrapahoe I knew at once
he was not — perhaps Osage or Pottawatomie ; but
what the deuce would bring them so many hundred
miles from their own hunting lands ? However, as
every thing in the shape of red skins is to be dealt
cautiously with, I changed my caps and got into
most convenient and unconspicuous shooting atti-
tude, determined not to throw away a shot, or,
much less, give my supposed foe a chance of return-
ing the compliment. That he was alone, being
dismounted, I knew could not be the case ; and as
he was coming in the very direction of my fresh trail,
which, if he was permitted to cross, he could not fail
to discover, and, with the discovery, bring his whole

132 GUN-, ROD, AND SADDLE.

party in pursuit of mc, there was but one alternative
tlierefore for me to adopt. Last year, in this very
locality, tlie Indians had been unusually active ;
scarcely a gang of emigrants or traders avIio had
taken the southern route but had lost members of
their party ; in several instapces neither sex nor age
had been spared by these blood-thirsty marauders,
so vvdiat could I expect if alone I fell into the hands
of a party of braves on the war-path ? True, my
scalp — for it has long been ignorant of a scalp-lock —
would scarcely be worth lifting, but then I did not
want to knock under yet ; and if so I preferred mak-
ing a fight for it, as, I think, under the excitement,
the process of being wiped out is less painful.

By tliis time my stalwart apparition had approach-
ed within eighty yards; he was a noble-looking fig-
ure, without the slouch of the red man when hunting,
and his step was as free and independent as if he had
been shooting over a private manor. A big bug he
evidently was, conscious of his own divinity, still no
eagle's feather or characteristic mark of a chief dis-
tinguished him ; presently he halted, and threw his
large gun across his arm, wlien I saw at once that he
was a white man. Great was his surprise when lie
saw me leave my ambush ; quick as thought his rifle

SPORTING EEmxISCEXCKS. 133

was cocked and brought to the port, but I prevented
liim from further hostile demonstrations by a sah:ite
in mother tongue. Our meeting was strange, both
took a pretty good stare, and then mutually men-
tioned each other's name, for we had met before, and
Avhere ?— in no less distant a portion of the earth
than in the realms of the Tycoon. A restless spirit,
a crack shot, and passionately fond of field sports,
the world was his demesne — and where game was
abundant, there he would be found, Avhatever were
the dangers tliat surrounded it, laughing at hard-
ship and privation, the bitters that make the sweets
of life the more enjoyable by contrast.

Securing my animals, I accompanied him to the
party to which he had attached himself; they had
only lately left civilization, and through his interest
my equine companions got a feed of corn, to which
they had long been unaccustomed; the night passed
discussing old friends, a flask of brandy, and a pack-
age of kill-a-kinnick tobacco ; and when on the mor-
row I shook his sterling hand at parting, before re-
commencing my journey, he presented me with a
couple more feeds of grain, which, without doubt, ma-
terially assisted my four-footed fiiends in rapidly
traversinsT the balance of the debatable orround.

184

FISHING OFF THE CAPE
OF GOOD HOPE.

Who has tried the fishing in Simon's Bay, Cape of
Good Hope ? Well, I have, and had sucli a take of fish
as seldom do I remember falling to my lot. Those
who have not visited southern Africa will please to
learn that the coast is wild, irregular, and rocky ; pos-
sibly as uninviting as can be imagined ; and the waves
that roll in on this distant shore, are giants in stature.
Outside the anchorage of Simon's Bay is a light-ship;
it marks the end of a most dangerous reef, which has
pounded many a hole in stout-built vessels : but this
reef, though repellant to navigators, is most attrac-
tive to the inhabitants of the briny deep; and close
to the light-ship, on the edge of the reef, we dropped
anchor and commenced work.

The bait, which certainly deserves a descrijition,
for such curious-looking shell-fish I never ]>reviously
saw, Avas neither an oyster nor a mussel; it looked a
little like both, for it had a hard external shell, and

FISHING OFF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 135

numbers clung together in bunches ; but oh, reader,
Iiold your nostrils while they are opened, a description
of the perfume is almost impracticable. If you have
met a pretty little animal in the American forests,
called a skunk, got a good sniff of his otta not of roses,
you may imagine the other, being tolerably similar,
only that there was the additional flavor of decom-
posed fish. But if we disliked the perfume, and made
wry faces over it, the fish did not. They took it with
a bolt the moment it reached the bottom. The prizes
that we obtained were all rock fish, some of them of im-
mense size-, in two or three hours we must have had
several hundred- weight in our boat, but unfortunately
it commenced to blow, and we were compelled to up
anchor, and run for it. Weather on this coast is very
variable, not unlike what often will be experienced
in the west of Scotland.

From the ship some of the seamen took a splendid
fish, both for table and appearance. By the bum-
boat people it was denominated the Cape salmon.
As might be supposed, it had no relationship to the
salmon family, but belonged, I think, to tlie same ge-
nus as the striped bass of North America. Tlie two
are much alike, only the former is without the lateral
lines possessed by the latter. This fish is well known

136 GUN, EOD, AND SADDLE.

here, aiul I believe is esteemed tlieir best for the ciii-
sme. A wonderful place also is Agulhas Bank for fish,
but you must be becalmed to enjoy it, no pleasant
circumstance when you are either in a huny home
or the reverse. A calm away down in those ocean lat-
itudes does not bespeak a level deck, no, quite the
reverse, the ship heaves, pitches, and rolls Avith the
long swell. All motions are combined in her action,
and the yards, masts, etc., creak and groan in the
most discordant complaining manner. No, no, far
sooner would I hear the blast Avhistling through the
shrouds, ay, and so fiercely that the boatswain's
whistle only played second fiddle, than listen to the
complaining labors of a becalmed ship in the South-
ern Indian Ocean. But about Agulhas Bank. A
friend of mine, a really good and experienced fisher-
man, had the luck (if such it may be called) to
have a couple of days' fishing on this distant shoal.
Kow this person had fished on the Newfoundland
banks, and had wondrous tales to tell, but never aught
like this. His belief is that there is not a place in
the Avorld to c*qual it as a fishing-grouud. If this be
the case, is it not surprising that some tight little
schooners have not yet made it their haunt ? The
weather here cannot be more formidable or dangerous

FISETDTG OFF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 137

to shipping than the northeast coast of America,
while the traffic and consequent danger of collision is
infinitely less ; moreover, there are excellent markets
Avithin as accessible distances as the vessels have that
sail annually from British and French ports for the
great bank of Newfoundland or the Labrador coast.

138

A BEAE ADTEj^TUEE.

Ix following a flight of ruffed grouse, Avliich bad
risen so fir beyond range as to have prevented my
getting a shot at them, I came across a perfect brake
of wild grape-vines loaded with fruit. I could not
witliStand the temptation of halting for a feed, for
they had been touched by frost, Avhicli changes them
from the most unpalatable to the most delightfully
flavored fruit. The day had been warm for the end
of autumn and I suppose the fatigue of my tramp,
together with the delightful shade afforded, induced
me to lie down, and, as might be expected under the
circumstances, I fell asleep. How long I might have
been in a state of oblivion I can not say, but I was
awoke by my companion, a mongrel English terriei",
barking vociferously at some intruder. After a
stretch, a yawn, and the usual awakening actions, I
turned in the direction of Prince to see what on earth
liad raised his ire and disturbed my siesta, when, judge
my astonishment, I beheld a large bear erect, pull-

A BEAK ADYENTUKE. 139

ing clown the vines not twenty yards off, ignorant of
my presence, but occasionally casting a furtive glance
back at his angry assailant, who took precious good
care to keep beyond arm's length. Men become cool
in such situations, either from association or the power
of controlling their feelings. My gun lay at my side
loaded with number six ; if Bruin found me out and
became aggressive, at close quarters, say eight or ten
yards, I was prepared to risk the issue ; if he would
only move off a little way, still keeping to windward
I thought I might improve my opportunity by substi-
tuting a brace of bullets. Under any circumstance
my gun would be required, so watching the first op-
portunity when the bear's back was turned, I brought
my double-barrel close by my side and cocked each lock.
Many may laugh when I say I did not feel nervous, but
I did not, and remained watcliing with special pleasure
the enjoyment that my foe appeared to take in crunch-
ing up whole bunches of the luscious fruit. As he
worked farther from me my dog became less demon-
strative, only occasionally giving way to a suppressed
growl, which his feelings were unable to control.

First one barrel was unloaded and the heavier mis-
sile substituted, then the next underwent the same
oj)eration, Bruin being now out of sight, still \^ ithiu

140 GrN, KOD, AND SADDLE.

hearing ; but the tables were turned ; if formerly I
was prepared to leave him alone, I now felt equal to
acting on the aggressive. Giving Prince a little en-
couragement, he again rushed to the attack, and it is
wonderful with how much more ardor, knowinoj that
his master's eye was on him. Soon I knew the dog
had nipped him, for I heard a rush, and dogs will re^
treat toward their masters, which brought Bruin full
in view. As the distance was greater than I liked, I
hesitated to fire, but the bear had seen me, and dis-
liking my appearance, turned to make off, but the
brave little cur was at his heels, and as I cheered him
to the attack, he never lost an opportunity of pinch-
ing Bruin's stern, who at length tree'd to avoid the per-
secuting little pest which hung on his rear, the most
desirable course for me he could have adopted. By
the time I reached the spot the enemy had gained the
lirst fork, not twenty feet overhead, and is it to be
wondered at, that at such a short range, with not a
twig to intervene, and with a clear view of his shoul-
cler, one barrel brought him to the ground with no
more life in his carcass than tlie usual death-strug-
gle ? My trophy was not large but well fed, and his
hams afforded me for many a subsequent morning a
bonne hoiiche wortliy of a hunter.

k

A BEAR ADVENTURE. 141

But poor little Prince got into trouble before lie
reached home. As I struck the margin of a river
which lay in my route, I observed a large bald-headed
eagle sailing about. Keeping under the shelter of
some brusli I waited for a chance. My right-hand bar-
rel I had reloaded with heavy shot, and, as the bird
passed about seventy yards off, I gave him a 2:)ortion
of its contents, which was responded to by his imme-
diately reaching the ground Avith a broken wing.
Prince, plucky with the issue of his late engagement,
made a dash at the bird, but caught a Tartar, for he
was seized by both talons, and, but that I came to the
rescue, would have been rendered useless for any oth-
er purpose than baiting a wolf trap. As it was, after
I had killed the bird I had some difficulty in loos-
ening his claws, and I doubt if my faithful little
mongrel had lived to the age of Methuselah, he ever
would have been induced to tackle another eairle.

142 GUN, ROD, AJ^D SADDLE.

riSIIlJ^G 11^ MAI^TE-CIIAE
OE TEOUT.

Maixe, one of the oldest States of tlie many tliat
compose the Union, is, strange to say, less densely
settled, less cultivated, and probably less known,
than many of those that can date their existence no
further back than ten or twelve years. The causes
to which this is attributable are three, viz., the severity
of the winters, the indifference of the soil, and the
rugged mountainous rocky surface of the landscape.
But where man is scarce, there look for tlie wild den-
izens of the forest. Here the moose, caribou, and
bear are still to be found, the homes of the beaver,
otter, fislier, and mhdv remain undisturbed, and even
tlie dreaded panther, painter, or more correctly,
puma, is not. rare. Neither are fish wanting; the
country is a perfect labyrinth of lakes and rivers,
which swarm with various species of the salmon
genus: but sad to say, the grand, the great, tSalmoib

FISHING m MAINE. 143

salar, the beloved of the angler, the hoiuie houche of
the epicure, has almost disappeared, for unfortu-
nately, on all the outlets of the rivers, there are
towns, and the inhabitants have lon^ since verified
the proverb of the goose and the golden e^^. AYhat
Englishmen have done at home, so have their cousins
done across the Atlantic. Englishmen and Americans,
as merchants and traders, have been credited with
acumen and foresight ; such credit they may have
justly earned abroad ; but their policy in reference
to their home fisheries has been totally the reverse.
Let us hope that they will at length see the error of
their ways, and unanimously adopt the means that
scientific men have pointed out, for remedying and
counteracting their past transgressions.

But let not the enthusiast run away with the idea
that in Maine there are no drawbacks to pleasure,
that sport is found without an alloy, for the pests of
every new land here swarm, black-flies, mosquitoes,
and sand-flies ; but fortunately their reign of terror
does not exist over six weeks. The flrst (the black-
fly), wliich is about the size of a small house-fly, and
not dissimilar in appearance, is a perfect cannibal, re-
fusing to be driven away, willingly immolating him-
self in his thirst for blood, and drawing blood when-

144 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

ever he can obtain a footing, up your trousers, down
your sliirt sleeves or collar, everywhere he will get
at his victim. Kill them by thousands, the pha-
lanxes apparently undiminished will return to the
attack; and even domestic animals do not escape. The
unfortunate cow that had been driven up to supply
us with milk, I have seen changed from a strawberry
to a black, by the myriads of these vampires that
clun^: to her : and, but that we lit a laro-e smudo;e*
for her to stand over, I believe the poor old creature
would have died under the incessant torture and irri-
tation. But if the poor cow suffered, so did we, and
it was only by constantly lubricating the exposed
parts of our persons with oil of tar, or oil of penny-
royal, that we were enabled to stand the ordeal.
Fortunately, the black fly is hungry during day-
light only ; like a respectable citizen, he early goes
to rest, and equally early recommences business.

Next come the mosquitoes ; I have found the same
gentry troublesome in the Mediterranean, bad on the
Malay Peninsula, w^oree in the paddy fields of China,
but all these lack the 'cuteness and insolence of their

* Decayed damp wood, which burns slowly and emits a great
quantity of smoke.

FISHING IN MAINE. 145

Yankee cousins. If your hand is bare for a moment
a dozen will be on it ; when up to your knees in a
pool, and fast in a big fish, both hands consequently
employed, your face and the back of your neck
will be2:in to itch — to burn — as if scalding^ water
had been poured over them. ISior were the sand-flies
deserving of better character, for though so small that
you can scarcely perceive them, their powers of an-
noyance are tremendous.* Thank Providence that
none of tliese wretches are made as big as the ferce na-
tio'ce, or else genus homo must soon become extinct. I
will here tell a little circumstance that befell the wri-
ter: he and two acquaintances were fishing under a
fiill ; fish were abundant, but space, on account of the
trees, too limited for so many rods, so down the stream
he started, and forgot, in his desire to beat the others
in results, the odious preparation of oil of tar. After
half an hour's scrambling through brush and climbing
over rocks, he at length reached such a lovely pool.
The first cast showed it to be alive with fish, and they
in the proper way of thinking. Soon the gravel mar-
gin had over a dozen beauties glittering in all their
glorious coloring, but the sun was near the horizon,

* Called bj the ludians ^'^o-zeo urns," from their minuteness.

7*

146 GUN, KOD, AND SADDLE.

and the attendant warned the angler that time was up.
On joining his friends, long and vociferous were their
peals of laughter whenever they looked at him.
"What the deuce was up ? On arrival at the shanty-
all was explained. The black flies had attacked him
when so immersed in his sport, that they had been
unnoticed, or brushed off, making his countenance the
most extraordinary-looking mess of blood and bruised
flies imaginable; but if he did not then feel the pain,
you may bet he did that night when warm in bed.

Knowing that such torments exist,why did the wri-
ter go there? is naturally asked, and as simply an-
swered, for before he started he was assured that not
even. a mosquito was to be found in Maine. After-
ward it was discovered that the visit of his infoi-mant
had been paid to this Ultima Thule late in autumn.
A dozen times conclusions were come to of sloping
(not for Texas) in the morning ; but the attractions
were so great that the entire summer, even on to the
end of October, was got through, the last two or three
months so delightfully, that the self-sacritlce endured
in June and July was more than compensated for; and
never can be forgotten the beautiful weather, glorious
sport, and free independent life enjoyed. The State
of Maine being of considerably larger pruporliuns

FISHING IN MAINE. 147

than England and Scotland together, it is desirable
that the particular locality should be mentioned.
Seventy miles from the thriving sea-port of Portland,
along the Grand Trunk line of railroad will be found
on the map the picturesque, clean, flourishing village
of Bethel ; twenty-seven miles north from it Lake Um-
bagog. Here you have the last settlement, and by
follow^ing up the Androscoggin River, wdiich enters
the top of the last-mentioned lake, you get into a per-
fect labyrinth of lakes and j^onds, united together by
brawling streams, only navigable by the lumber-
man's flat or Indian's birch-bark. On all sides precip-
itous mountains rise, covered with pine-trees where
there is a possibility of their clinging, or immense
bowlders, to all appearance ready to roll from their
resting-place into the waters beneath. x\nd here in
this vast solitude, free from cares, we made our home,
fishing or hunting by day, and sleeping such sleep
upon piles of hemlock as seldom is enjoyed on feather
beds (that is at the end of the fly season) ; for though
the beai-s might growl around, the gray wolf give us
a proof of his vocal powers, or the weird note of the
loon come shrilly 'over the waters, still all formed but
a lullaby to make us rest the better.

lu fishino' the rivers of all the wild lands of the

148 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

extreme nortliern portion of the United States andtlie
Dominion for trout or salmon, little or no sport will
be experienced by the angler until the snow-water
has run off; in fact I do not believe the latter fish
will enter a river that has not got rid of that addi-
tion. We got to our fishing-ground just at the de-
sired time ; a guide we consulted said we were too
soon. It being better to be early than late, avc
pushed at once for our first halting-place, and the
result was that we hit things so nicely that we struck
the opening day. For about two or three weeks
the take was very great, and the variety of coloring
among our j^rizes something wonderful. A collect-
ing naturalist, a pupil of tlie celebrated professor of
natural history at Harvard College, Cambridge, Mas-
sachusetts, joined our party a few days after our
arrival, and all these various colored fish were desig-
nated by him as Sahno fontinalis. To so great an
authority I did not presume to differ, still when lie
informed me that the Salmo fontinalis of American
waters was identical with our home brook-trout I
thought that the lively, game little beauty of our
mountain streams had wonderfully changed in color
and appearance from his trans-Atlantic brother, or
vice verad. As the weather bei2-an to j;-et warmer

FISHIXG IN MAINE. 149

the more brilliant-colored specimens became scarcer,
and ultimately ceased to betaken in the river. This
circumstance induced me further to think that there
was some difference either in habits or choice of
haunts which their more plain clothed relatives did
not affect, and that at least there were different varie-
ties, if not species, among the inhabitants of this
stream; and the more I think the subject over now
the more thoroughly do I feel convinced that
the name of Salino fontinalis has been frequently
applied to what is, in reality, our red-bellied char.
Memory is often not to be depended upon, but with
the assistance of a few notes (the lapse of time not
being more than three years), I will endeavor to tell
the differences that I most particulai'ly observed. In
outline of shape what I suppose to be the red-bellied
char much resembled a well-fed trout, except that
the first dorsal fin is nearer the head, the caudal fin
lias a wider spread at its termination, and the junc-
tion of their caudal fin with the body is more tapered
away. In coloring the back was of a deep mackerel
gi-een, interwoven with irregular darker waving
lines, while the belly was as brilliant as burnished
copper. Above, where the green of the back and
red of the stomach ran into each other, there were

150 GUN. EOD, AND SADDLE.

tliree lateral lines of large brilliant red sj^ots, inter-
sj)ersed with minor straw-colored ones, and in some
si^ecimens the anal and pectoral fins had the first two
or three spines black. Altogether in shape and
coloring a more game-looking, beautiful fish can not
be imagined ; moreove)-, their table qualities sur-
passed in delicacy of flavor any fish I have ever eaten,
for the bright red flesh had a delicate nutty flavor
indescribable, and, I fear, scarcely imaginable. Our
guide, who was also cook and master of camp, used
to fry in cream the smaller ones, and I doubt if ever
prince or epicure had a dish placed before him more
worthy of his palate.

But having given what I know to be, more particu-
larly to the naturalist, a far from perfect description of
this handsome fish's peculiarities, its habits, as dif-
fering from the trout I have known, may have inter-
est. With the artificial fly they w^ere not so readily
taken as with minnow or w^orm. When hooked I
never knew them to spring from the water, and the
quiet reacli of the pool was invariably a more cer-
tain find than tlie brawling neck. After sunset I
never could succeed in capturing them, and the best
liours in the day were from sunrise till it commenced
to get warm, and the two hours precedhig sunset.

FTSIITXG IN MAINE. 151

After these iisli had disappeared from the river, I dis-
covered tliat they coukl. be taken in the deep waters
in the lakes, either with minnow or natural fly, the
bait being sunk close to the bottom ; and the places
where I was generally most successful in this fish-
ing was where, our guide affirmed, were situated the
springs that partially fed these lakes ; his reason for
this statement being that this portion of the lake al-
ways remained open in winter, while the balance
every year froze up.

Again, after these fish had deserted the river I
had some admirable sport with them by going to tlie
top of the lake and coming down on the annual lum-
ber raft. I was put up to this by the guide, he for
years had followed lumbering, and the rafts as they
floated down, he assured me, were always followed
by swarms of trout. His information was correct as
to the numbers of fish, but instead of the trout of
the river, I found my beautiful-brilliant colored
friend. This habit is peculiar, to say the least of it,
and untrout-like, and I could only account for it in
two ways, viz., either the shade afforded by these
immense logs formed the attraction, or the con-
stant immersion of the timber in the water caused
the insect denizens of the bark to be drowned out of

152 GUN, HOD, AND SADDLE.

their retreats, and dropping olF in tlie water furnished
these iish with a favorite food.

Summer drifted past, and with it disappeared the
incessant persecuting flies. Autumn, with all that
brilliant coloring so remarkable in America, made
its appearance, and the oppressive heat gave way
to the most desirable temperature. An English au-
tumn to me is always sad, an American autumn is
quite the reverse ; the hues and colors of the for-
mer are somber, in those of the latter brilliancy
unsurpassable predominates. An American autumn
once seen makes as lasting an impression on the
memory of matureage, as the gorgeous fairy scene
of the pantomime when first beheld upon that
of youth. For some time none of the bright-hued
fish had been taken, and I much feared that my
acquaintance with them for that year had ter-
minated ; but not so, a few sharj) nights of frost
took place, and going one morning to obtain suf-
ficient fish for breakfast, in the run that formed the
exit of the river from the lake, I with pleasure, in
succession, captured several of the beauties. From
that day forward they became more numerous, and
the last morning's fishing which I here enjoyed, with
the snow flying so thick that I could scarcely see my

I

FISHING IK MAINE. 153

flies, I killed not only the greatest number, but the
heaviest of the brilliant representatives I had captured
during the season. AYitli regret, having no desire to
pass almost an arctic Avinter, I turned my back upon
the three lonely, lovely lakes, with the following un-
pronounceable Indian names, Molleychunkeymunk,
Mooseluckmaguntic, and Moligewalk, to seek the
boundless prairies of the far West, and to substitute
for constant companion, my double barrel, in place
of my well-tried tapering fliy-rod.

In my experience as a fisherman in Scotland and
Ireland, I never knew of our river trout being cap-
tured in the sea. In Long Island, what is there
called the brook trout {Salnio fontlnalls) is well
known periodically, when practicable, to visit salt
water; in fact they are constantly taken with the fly
in the tidal portion of those streams. The char of
Norway and Sweden does the same, and I can only
say that both these fish are wondrously alike. On
the other hand, the brilliant-colored inhabitants of
the interior lakes of Maine, that I have mentioned,
can not do so, for if they survived the descent of the
Burling falls, their ascent would be impossible.
Although the arctic char goes to the sea, the more
resplendent colored relation remains, I think, con-

154:

stantly in his fresh-water retreats^iV? est^ supposing
this is a char. To me it would be particularly in-
teresting to know if my surmises as to the proper
species of this beautiful fisli are correct ; and doubt-
less there are numbers of English fishermen whose
verdict, even from my imperfect description, would
set at rest a point important both to naturalist
and sportsman. "^

* Since the above was written specimens have been forwardea
to Mr. Frank Buckland from America, and the surmises of the
author are found to be correct.

ANIMAL LIFE. 155

ASriMAL LIFE.

'* There is a pleasure in the pathless wood,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore. "

UxDOUBTEDLY evGiy One who loves nature has
felt the truth of the above assertions, but is not this
pleasure, this rapture increased by the addition of
animal life, whether it be the occasional glimpse of
the timid hare, the momentary glance of the graceful
playfnl squirrel, the sea-birds dipping o'er the count-
less waves, or the fish-hawk hunting for his prey?
Yes, there is society, where man does not intrude,
and that society tlie most enchanting, that of the
beautiful wild animals, rejoicing in their freedom,
happy in their liberty, knowing no fear, dreading no
intrusion. For hours in the far western forests of
America I have stood, scarcely daring to breathe for
fear I should disturb some family party, ay, although
I knew full well that but for a successful shot, sup-
perless I should have to sleep ; yet who that could
for a moment think, would wantonly destroy a mem-

156

ber of the little coterie ; disturb their innocent gam-
bols, their jDlayfiil, graceful tricks. Were they but
for a moment aware of man's dreaded presence, all
would precipitantly make a hurried and fearful re-
treat. The true lover of nature loves not alone the
landscape, but loves those numerous additions, fasci-
nating and inexpressible, without which, the effect
of the grand foreground, the beautiful intermediate,
and the soft subdued distance, would be materially
diminished. In the northern portion of the State of
Maine, the scenery is truly sublime ; mountain after
mountain rises, as if each strove to overtop the other.
Giant pine-trees cling from precipice and crag, hang-
ing as if suspended in the air, bowlders and rocks of
all fantastic outlines, far, far above threaten instant de-
struction to all underneath ; brawling streams, grandly
impetuous, leap and throw themselves from rock to
rock, while every now and then glimpses of glassy
surfaced lakes, embosomed in wood, form a lovely dis-
tance. But this country, lovely as it is, is almost
destitute of animal life ; no songster greeted my ear
with his melody ; no startled deer bounded across my
path, so that an intense solitude that became painful
prevented the enjoyment that might have been
anticipated. But if grand natural scenery, ne'er des-

ANIMAL LIFE. 157

ecrated by the hand of man, wants animal life to set
it off to the greatest perfection, how much more do
our tame artiticial grounds and waters require this
adjunct ?

Few of our citizens can, when they choose, fly away
into the highlands, the lake district, or the wilds of
of Connemara, but have to be satisfied with the
artificial and formal beauties which our numerous
public and private pleasure-grounds afford; but
would not the enjoyment of those resorts be greatly
enhanced if more animal life was added to the pic-
ture ? In the city of Philadelphia a public park is
tenanted by great numbers of squirrels, of different
varieties, whose tameness, merry antics, and spright-
line^s cause them to be the admiration of all visitors.
Could not squirrels be introduced here ? not our
common red variety, but the handsome black, gray,
or ground squirrel of the American continent. What
a suitable place would Kensington be for such inmates,
and what a fund of amusement they would afibrd to
the juveniles that in such numbers frequent it ! There
are also several beautiful varieties of water-fowl,
whose advent would, I am certain, be welcomed, such
as the wood-duck, spiig-tail duck, loon, sheldrake,
summer and black duck ; all of these species are ex-

158 GTTX, ROD, AND SADDLE.

ceedingly hardy, and the Serpeiitme and numerous
other artificial waters are equally adapted to them.
Further, while on the subject aquatic, I am informed
that there are fisli in the majority of these miniature
lakes, but they must be of a very base order, grovel-
ers in mud, so much afraid to show their ugly car-
casses that the human eye is never greeted with their
presence ; of course in comparatively speaking stag-
nant water, the river or brook trout would not flour-
ish, the lake trout might, althougli I doubt it, there
being an insufficiency of depth without cool springs
at the bottom to prevent tlie water in summer be-
coming heated, and a cold retreat is absolutely ne-
cessary for their health. However, there is a fish
across the Atlantic, equal to eitlier of the two men-
tioned, gamer for his size and a much bolder feeder,
viz., the black bass, which is a frequenter of both
running and still water, clear or muddy, an admira-
ble table adjunct, and almost unmatchable in the eyes
of the sportsman for pluck and gameness, taking in-
discriminately the artificial fly or trolling bait, spring-
ing from the water Vvdien liooked, and refusing to be
landed till after along, fierce, and protracted struG:-
gle. I have killed a very great number of trout, and
aliso black bass, aud although it was a long time before

ANIMAL LIFE. 159

I could believe that any tiling of the size could equal
the former, I have for some time been compelled un-
equivocally to give the palm to the latter. Now if
we had this fisli in the Serpentine, the water would
not remain without a ripple ; his presence would
soon become known by his rising at the flies and other-
wise disporting himself upon the surface. Who that
has stood at sunset by the brink of some calm river,
or the margin of some unrippled loch, say in the high-
lands, where trout are abundant, has not been de-
liglited to watch the eager fish rising after their prey,
and inwardly made notes of the size of each, from
the amount of broken water displaced ? When we
have suitable homes to offer, do by all means let us
have lots of animals; much room for thought is
afforded by their habits, much pleasure from their
innocent pastimes, and the influence engendered by
association with them is certainly most beneficial.

160 GUN, EOD, AND SADDLE,

STRANGE FISHES.

When returnins; from shootino; i)innntGd o-rouse in
the State of Illinois, I came upon a party of farmers
who were netting a pond on the edge of the timber
land. This sheet of water was about two-thirds of a
mile long, with an average breadth of one hundred and
fifty yards. The bottom was composed of mud, ex-
cept the southern end, where it was gravel. Only when
vei-y high floods occurred in the Wabash River, was
there outlet or inlet to this piece of water; still, I
knew it was well stocked with iish, for on a previous
evening, as I stood on its margin as the sun went down,
waiting for wild duck, I had seen the surface iu por-
tions broken into spray with the fishes' numerous pas-
times, or energetic pursuit of their prey. With curios-
ity I stopped to see the result of the first haul, and well
was my patience rewarded, for what food for study
was in the results ! First and foremost, from the size
and peculiarity of formation, I will mention what the
fisherman designated a " spoonbill catfish " — a name

STEANGE FISHES. 161

without doubt given by some one who knew as little
about genus and species as a cow does about a watch-
pocket. This curious fish was beautifully shaped, with
all those perfections that characterize the salmon fam-
ily, but projecting from his head was a muscular con-
tinuation about sixteen inches long, and six broad in
the center, not unlike the blade of a canoe-})addle.
This spoonbill was entirely separated from and pro-
jecting over and independent of the mouth, the lower
jaw being in its ordihar}^ place ; nor was the mouth
large. As nature forms nothing without purpose, of
what use was this projection ? My own idea is that
it was a feeler, used in poking about through the
weeds, decayed vegetation, and mud : and by its sen-
sitiveness the fish was enabled to find his food. On
handling this ram jnscis, I found that the slightest
pressure on this attachment appeafed to produce in-
tense pain. The skin was entirely free from scales
from the tail to the termination of the projection, and
was very smooth and soft, not at all dissimilar to that
of an eel. For a trifle I secured the prize, as I was as-
sured he was an excellent table addition, and my in-
formants were perfectly correct. I afterward cut
up the proboscis to satisfy my curiosity, and found it
entirely composed of gristle, the surface underneath

162 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

the skin being a labyrinth of veins. Afterward I
saw, at difterent times, many of this curious family,
thus proving that they are in no way rare ; still,
I have neATr seen them mentioned by naturalists.
Probably it is exclusively confined to inland Ameri-
can waters. Further, I would say, the vitality Avas
remarkable, for after transporting it home it lived for
over an hour. The weight of the entire fish was
probably about sixteen pounds. The next attraction
noticed was what is familiarly l^nown in that vicin-
ity as '' the pond fish." In color it much resembles
the beautiful black bass, in shape slender but grace-
ful ; the placement of the fins is the same as in the
pike family, but the head is small and not unlike that
of a trout. It is a greedy feeder, and from its being
uneatable (the flesh being hard and rank) is considered
a great bore by the fishermen. Their average weight
is from two to four pounds. Still another variety
with which I had been previously unacquainted Avas
taken, viz., " the great western carp " there called
"the buffalo fish." It is frequently captuivd of enor-
mous size — several I have seen over twenty i)ounds.
They are much and deservedly esteemed, and are tak-
en in immense numbers in the spring of the year by
spearing ; for as soon as a flood takes place, when the

STRANGE FISHES. 163

water is rising, tliey rash out overall the inundated
lands, wherever there is sufficient depth for them to
swim. For more than an hour one day I watched a
lad, spear in hand, who had taken his post over an
opening which passed under the Ohio and Mississippi
Railroad, made similar to a sluice for the purpose of
preventing the water in time of floods becoming
dammed. During my stay this youngster must have
killed a couple of hundred-weight. You must not im-
agine that these were all that were in the net. Sun-
fish, pike, pickerel, black bass, catfish, mullet, and tur-
tle to a wagon-load rewarded the fishermen's efibrts.
In the end of the bag, I was about to place my hand
upon what I considered a rare prize, Avhen I was stop-
ped by the rough intervention of one of the people,
and the exclamation of, " You don't want to die before
your time ? If he bite you, all the whisky in the goun-
ty won't save you." (Whisky is considered an infal-
lible cure for snake bites.) This nondescript to be
avoided was like Siebold's salamander, with four of
the smallest and most awkward-looking legs; the
brute was about fourteen inches long, and Avas there
known as a water-dog. It frequently takes the fisher-
man's bait, who prefers to cut his line and lose the hook
to becoming on any more intimate terms.

164

BUCK-SHOT.

For many a clay I puzzled myself to account for
the uncertainty of the patterns frequently made with
buck-shot, from the same barrels, with the same qual-
ity and quantity of powder ; at one discharge at long
range, say eighty yards, every pellet would enter a
disk of live feet in diameter ; at the next discharge,
for no obvious reason that I could learn, they would
be scattered over the extent of a coach-house door ;
through the first pattern it would be impossible for a
deer to pass scatheless ; through the second the proba-
bilities were all in his f ivor.

However, after much time, I think not wasted, I
believe I have hit on a method by which the wan-
dering inclinations of buck-shot can be curtailed and
reduced to considerable subservience. For instance,
we will suppose a ten-bore gun (the size I invariably
used abroad) be taken; procure buck-shot of such a
size that the barrel will exactly chamber four, that
is, that four w^ll fit in the barrel without using force.

buck-shot. 165

for if force be used their regularity of shape will he
injured, and their flight will become erratic. Having
thus learned the desired size of shot, make a cartridge
of tolerably thick paper, carefully place your shot in
layers of four each ; with some grease reduced to a
liquid consistency from heat, fill up the vacancies
between each layer, and as the grease cools and be-
comes solid, place in each layer, till the cartridge
contains sixteen pellets, when finish your cartridge
by inserting a thin, hard wad, turn down the
surplus paper over it, and fix with a drop of glue.
Since adopting the above method, I have frequently
killed wild duck returning of an evening from deer
shooting, at ranges far beyond the reach of ordinary
drop-shot ; at the same time I would not wish a sports-
man to imagine that I would purposely load with this
cartridge for duck shooting; but that I made use of
them, as my gun happened at the time to be thus
loaded. I am no advocate for long barrels, twenty-six
inches being the lengtli of the hardest- shooting shot-
guns, for ordinary shot, I have known. But I have
observed that long barrels invariably throw buck-shot
the best ; possibly the reason is that the missiles are
then the less inclined to scatter, or that the friction
with such large grain being less, the impetus does

166 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

not meet the resistance presented by tlie smaller and
more compact fitting grains. An American gentleman
who for some months frequently sliot witli me, had a
ten-bore gun thiity-six inclies in tlie barrels, made, I
tliink, by a gunmaker named Abbey, of Cliicago,
and weigliing very nearly nine pounds. Such a
cannon would soon have worn me out, but my friend
was big all over and strong as an ox, and on the lon-
gest and hardest days, whether shooting snipe, duck,
pinnated grouse, or deer, never ap})eared to suffer
from its weight. Well this gun was an extraordinary
performer with Inick-shot ; on one occasion I saw him
kill a brace of deer right and left so far off tliat I
hesitate to sa}^ the distance, knowing liow skeptical
many are on the subject of long shots.

THE AMEKICAN TKOTTING-HOESE. 167

THE AMEElOASr TEOTTIXG-
HORSE-HIS OEIGIIT.

TiiEiiE is no nation on the face of the earth so
thoroughly embnecl with a love of the genus JEquus as
we are; and knowing this to be the case, I trust I
may be pardoned in advancing a theory which I be-
lieve not to be a follacy, in reference to the origin of
the .Vmei-ican trotting-horse, and from what source
they inherit that specialty, entitling them to be ac-
knowledged the fastest animals in the world in that
peculiar pace. But in case some readers are inclin-
ed to disallow this superiority, and dispute the point,
that American horses are faster trotters than ours,
permit me to state that across the Atlantic I have
seen many nags that could perform their mile in har-
ness in less than two minutes and a half, and three
tliat have trotted the same distance in less tlian two
minutes and tv^-enty seconds ; moreover they have
the most enduring qualities, as can be attested by
several having performed their twenty miles within

16S GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

tlic hour ; and tliat, after much investigation, I have
been unable to tind a single instance recorded of any-
thing like similiar rates of speed having been made
by any of our home-bred animals. However, it would
be better to state before going further, that there are
plenty of thorough-bred horses in America; but
it must be remembered that they are all sprung from
stock imported from this country, and that they ai*o
totally distinct from the family of trotters, although of
kite years the appearance of the latter has been much
improved by judicious crossing the two, — in fact, so
much so, that some of the late crack trotters have
quite a racy look, one in particular. Lady Thorne,
who, if lier appearance does not speak falsely, would
make no contemptible figure on the turf or across
country; yet from all my experience and inquiries I
have been unable to hear of a trotting debutante
of pure breeding, nor do I believe such exists.

Some Americans I have heard avow that it was the
result of training, and that Englishmen did not under-
stand the art of teaching ahorse how to make such
use of his legs, so as to obtain the greatest amount
of trotting speed ; and that they felt confident, tliat
had they but the opportunity, they could select out
of our pastures numerous youngstci's, who, in course

THE AMERICAN TROTTIN"G-HORSE. 169

of time, would be made successfully to rival the perfor-
mances of any of the prodigies who annually exhibit
on the various trotting courses in the United States.
To this supposition I beg to disagree, for I am con-
vinced if such vara aves existed, their excellence
would as certainly be developed in an English break-
er's hands, as under the tutelage of a representative
of any other nationality. At the same time it is true
that trotting is not paid so much attention to, or near-
ly so popular among us, as upon the Western Conti-
nent, where it may almost be designated the national
amusement ; but what person of means here would not
be desirous of possessing a horse that could outpace
all others on the road, assist him to catch a train or
post, transport him in the shortest time to distant
meets, bring him home at railway speed after a hard
day's shooting, or when thoroughly drenched, tired,
and exhausted, with a long day's hunting in a
heavy countr}-, land him at his hall door in half the
accustomed time? Doubtless all would like such a
useful hack, and doubtless such an animal would sell
at a fabulous price ; hence the inducement, if we had
the raw material, to bring it to perfection.

But have we the material ? I say not, but be-
lieve our hoi-ses and the American (not alluding to

170 GUN, EOD, AND SADDLE.

the tliorougli-brcd, who are much in tlie minority in
nnnihcrs) owe tlieir origin to difterent sources, tliat
trotting is a national characteristic of the one, gal-
loping or cantering of the other, and the moi'e I
have seen of the tAvo races the more thoroughly am
I convinced that such is the case. In Kentucky,
when visiting the farm of an extensive hreedei-, and
who has bred and owned some of the most celebra-
ted race and trotting horses in that State, I inspected
both his droves of young ones, the race-horses and
the trotters (for both Inmilies are kept separate and
distinct), and was very much struck with the marked
difference in their appearance ; the latter being heavy
chested, large limbed, small headed with tapering
muzzle, while the tail was generally set on very low.
However, if they diifered in appeai-ance, in man-
ner and habit they were more essentially unlike:
wlien you alarmed the thorough-breds, ofl^they went
at a swinging gallop; if the trotters, their favorite
pace would be chosen, and in few instances, how-
ever much you might coei'ce them to increase their
speed, could they be induced to break, and it
must be borne in mind that tlie majority had not
yet ])assed into the breaker's hands, so that their
action was natural.

THE AMERICAN TEOTTLN'G-HOESE. 171

Again, I purchased a horse in Illinois, tlie produce
of a very good trotting-mare. Up to the date of
my owning him he had never been in harness. After
a few trials he showed a very great turn of speed,
and in ajuonth or two was a very fast trotter; and
so much did he prefer this gait, that no amount of
punishment would cause him to break. Now, in this
animal's education I did not use other means than
those I have always practiced at home ; still, I never
previously had a hack that could drag a conveyance
at the same velocity. To whom was the credit due,
the horse or driver? Doubtless the reader will agree
with me.

In temjoer and disposition a great dissimilarity is
also apparent, for, as a rule, the American horse is
very free from vice (kicking and biting being rarely
fomid), sluggish, patient, and subservient, not unfre-
quently without a certain amount of mulishness in
look and manner; in fact, one of the most celebrated
trotting stallions (the sire of Dexter, who has made
the best time in harness on record, and many others
almost as good), is the most wonderful likeness to
that useful cross, viz., between the horse and ass, and
thoroughly dissimilar to any of his race that I have
seen in England ; however, he must not be taken as

172 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

a representative of all, for few Imndsomer liarness-
horses can be found than Patchen, Jan.,' Butler, and
George Wilkes, all three of whom have reaped hon-
ors which will long render their names famous
among the patrons of the American trotting turf

Having stated my belief that the transatlantic
trotter has a difterent origin from our home stock,
it behooves me now to endeavor to point out the
source from whence he came, and thus in part ac-
count for the marked difference which characterizes
him. The horse is not a native of Arherica. If we
may believe liistorians, on the discovery of the
American Continent, no such animal existed there ;
the distant prairies and western slopes, which are
now traversed by innumerable droves of Avild horses,
were then entirely without this genus. But whence
are they sprung ? How are these innumerable hei-ds
which are now found there to be accounted for ? In
the following manner: — The Spaniards were the first
people to attempt any important conquests on the
American Continent. The first horses that were
landed in that country were the chargers of the mil-
itary force under the command of Cortez. The
natives who at first received the foreign invaders
with the strongest demonstrations of welcome were

THE AMERICAN TROTTING-IIORSE. 173

over whelmed with wonder, and awe-stricken when
they beheld the strangers monnted on animals dis-
similar to any they had previously seen. Nor were
the Spaniards slow to avail themselves of this ad-
vantage, and in the numerous re-enforcements con-
stantly forwarded, cavalry formed a large portion ;
familiarity between the natives and the dreaded ani-
mals soon reduced their fears, and as a natural con-
sequence in many of the engagements that took
place, the rider being slain the charger was cast
upon his own resources and became free. Again,
upon the line of march, doubtless many a foot-sore
and exhausted animal was left to perish, but liberty
and rest imbued him with fresh spirit, and the for-
saken, broken-down steed, with abundant pasture,
abundant water, perfect idleness, and self-control,
soon became thoroughly resuscitated. Further, we
learn that on one of the repulses which the Spaniards
were subjected to, in their hurry to save their lives,
they turned their horses loose, and took to their ship ;
and still again, when De Soto discovered the upper
waters of the Mississippi, he turned all the expedi-
tion's horses free, as he had determined to continue
his researclies through that then terra incognita^ on
the bosom of the miglity father of waters. From

174 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

these horses introduced by the Spaniards, introduced
by De Soto, are doubtless sprung the countless teams
tliat the traveler may daily see over the unpeopled
plains of northern Texas and northern Mexico.
The Spaniards then brought the first horses to Amer-
ica, from whence did they obtain tliem? None
could be got nearer than Europe, none more conveni-
ently than in their own country ; we have, therefore,
every right to conclude that the horses were from
Spain, probably from the southern portion of it, as
horses are more numerous there, and the inhabitants
more partial to horsemanship. Who, that has trav-
eled in Spain, if his eyes have been employed to take
observation of more than the sierras and senoritas,
can have failed to observe that the native horse
is very unlike (in many respects) the Englisli or
French species, and that this dissimilarity increases
the farther you go south ; but it is in this very dis-
similarity that the descendants across the Atlantic
differ from our home breed. Moreover, in Spain I
liave observed among their nags, a great deal of what
is termed in America "knee-action," a })eculiar method
of raising and placing the loot down, which is con-
sidered a necessary by the connoisseur in selecting
an embryo trotter. The Spaniards like this action,

THE AMEEICAN TROTTING-HOESE. 1Y5

tliey tliink it sliowy, and cultivate it in their saddle-
liorscs, but for the purpose of display, they being too
indolont or ignorant to turn it to better account.
Further, the roads are generally villainous througli-
out the land, and very unsuitable for quick driving,
in fact some of the most wealthy and aristocratic
Spaniards, even at the present day, always use mules
in theii carriages.

The Spanish horse doubtlessly has a very large
proportion of Barb blood in his veins, more espe-
cially those of the southern portion ; this may be ac-
counted for by the shortness of the sea passage which
ic the neighborhood of Gibraltur, in suitable weather,
even before the days of steam, could be made in
three or four hours ; but the influx of Barbs into
Spain, which must have been great, I do not attrib-
ute so much to accidental importation of individuals,
as to the numbers which must doubtlessly have been
taken there during the Moorish ascendency, for the
purposes of war, more especially as the Moors at
that period were famous as cavalry, and relied prin-
cipally on this arm of the service for carrying out
successfully their predatory system of warfare.

The Moorish horse also has very frequently this
kuee-action, previously mentioned in the Spaniard.

176

I was particularly struck with it in some colts in the
neighborhood of Taugiers, and more especially in a
horse, the property of one of the consuls. Gut of
the numerous importations which come to Gibraltar,
I have seen several who could trot very well, and if
pains had been taken, might have been made fast, not
perhaps so flist as the American; l)ut then it must be
remembered that he (the latter) is a larger animal,
of greater muscular development, which he doubt-
lessly owes to superior climate, intermixture of Eng-
lish blood, and the cultivating of this pace through
successive generations.

In proof that the Barb can be made a trotter, it
may not be irrelevant to mention that, when in
Malta, I j^ossessed a Tunisian horse as a hack. I ran
him in one or two of the scratch races that fre-
quently take place on the road to Slioma: however,
he acquitted himself so badly that he, and I fear his
owner, became quite a laughing-stock. Now, al-
though this horse could not gallop, he could trot;
and often surprised me with his spurts of speed
when pushed. After mess one evening, a staft' offi-
cer, who was my guest, kept chaffing me on what he
was pleased to call my dromedary. To put a termi-
nation to his nonsense, I offered to back myself to

THE AMERICAN" TROTTIKG-HOKSE. 177

trot him to Sliema and back, fi'om the St. Frances
gate, in less than thirty-five minutes. The perform-
ance was accomplislied, and very much under time ;
nor in the return did I push my nag, as I found 1
had the race in my hands. Xoav this Barb, if he
had been in the possession of a person who would
permit him no other gait, would doubtless have be-
come a fast trotter.

Although a great many years may have passed
since any direct importation of horses from Spain
to America took ])lace, still the resemblance between
the two breeds remains most striking. The cele-
brated sire, known as Rydsich's Hamiltonian, wliom
I have alluded to before, as the father of the present
champion of the transatlantic trotting turf, is un-
like any horse I have ever seen in England, but is a
perfect counterpart of many animals I have seen in
Spain and Morocco, except that the American has
the advantasre in heigjht and substance. Few of us
have not seen pictures of the celebrated horse, famil-
iarly known as the Godolphin Arab. Xow, this
horse was doubtlessly a Barb, his appearance at
once tells it, if we can place reliance on the correct-
ness of his portraits ; and even could we not, the

majority of authorities who have written on hurse-
8*

178

flesh, pronounce liim to be so. In America I sliowed
a picture of tliis animal (if I remember correctly,
drawn by Stubbs) to a well-known breeder and pos-
sessor of trotting stock, and lie assured me that it
Avas a most perfect portrait of tlie sire of several
trotting celebrities, and very like many others he
had seen.

I have further observed that a great number of
American horses were addicted to those most un-
gainly modes of progression called racking and pa-
cing, a gait that is very seldom seen in England,
while in Spain and Morocco it is extremely common.
In fact, the Spaniards highly approve of it, believing
that it shows both horse and rider to the greatest
perfection ; nor is the American behind him in this
taste, a good pacing hack being deemed by all as
the most desirable animal for saddle purposes. Hav-
ing shown, I think, conclusively, the similarity in
appearance and proclivities betAveen the American
and the ]>arb, and further, how I account for the im-
portation of the preponderance of Moorish blood in
the Western Continent, I -svill endeavor to sliow the
difference between the Barb and Arab, how our En-
glisli stock, with few" exceptions, takes after the lat-
ter, and that it is from this difference of parentage we

THE AMERICAN TROTTIXG-HORSE. 179

may attribute the superior speed in trotting of
the American liorse over our home-bred animals.

During an experience in the East that extended
over three ^^ears, Avhere I had the fortune to see every
variety of Arab, from the pure-bred Medjid to the
Persian, I never knew one that was a good trotter
or was gifted with knee-action ; their paces are
jjrincipally walking, galloping, and cantering, their
movements being too close to the ground to excel in
the trot. Nor can this be accounted for otherwise
than from the great difference in the characteristics
of the surface of the ground in Arabia and in Bar-
bary, and that Nature with her wonderful forethought
has adapted the gait of both races to the different
surfaces over which they have to travel. If we are.
correctly informed, the districts of Asia, where the
pure caste Arab is reared, is undulating, very sandy,
and sparsely covered with vegetation ; where the
colt or mare can, without any fear of danger of inter-
ruption, lay well down to a gallop. But, on the
other hand, Barbary is rough, rocky, and mountain-
ous, intersected with ravines, and in man}'- portions
thickly covered with shrubs. On such grounds it
would be impossible for a horse to gallop with safety,
the velocity of his movements would certainly cause

ISO GUN, ROT), AND SADDLE.

him to come to grief, and the better to avoid this he
trots, his legs being all mider him, enabling him to
halt or turn to one side or other with the greatest fa-
cility. Further, by raising his legs so liigh in this
pace he saves his hoofs from coming in contact with
stones and brush, at the same time giving him a bet-
ter choice of where he will replace his feet. Adopt-
in gj this action throuo-h numerous o-enerations has
developed those muscles which are more strongly
brought into play, causing a change of shape ; so
that if the horses of Arabia and Barbaiy have a
common origin, their difference of appearance can in
some measure be accounted for.

So far I have been alluding to horses as trotters, that
is to animals of such a height as would entitle them to
that appellation. For a few moments I ^vi\\ take a
glance at their more diminutive brethren, the ponies.
Who in our metropolis has not been surprised to see
how they trot, it may be under the weight of a
patrician youngster or fat butcher-boy, in my lady's
phaeton, or a grocer's delivery-cart ? Still they get
over the ground at an amazing pace for such small
quadrupeds, and much faster in proportion to tlieir
size and leno^th of limb than their lari^er brethren.
If we take up a sporting paper and see any trotting

THE AMERICAN TROrnXG-HORSE. 181

events narrated or predictcrl, it is invariably ponies
tliat are going to figure, and Avonderfnlly good time
tlie little ones make, exhibiting speed, stoutness, and
endurance that is truly wonderful, But where do the
most of our ponies come from ? Devonshire, Wales,
Shetland, Orkney Islands, Connemara, the wilds of
Donegal and Antrim. Xow on the coast of each place
mentioned, portions of the Spanish Armada were
wrecked ; a large force of caValry doubtlessly formed
a part of that fortunately ill-fated expedition, and is it
not more than probable that many horses reached tlie
shore ? If so, these ponies have Spanish blood, and
by that link are connected with the Barb, their
present diminutive size being the result of severe
climate, exposure, scarcity of food, and possibly want
of housing in winter. The wild horse of America has
also become smaller than his ancestors, but not to so
great an extent, from his range lying many degrees of
latitude nearer the equator.

Further, all the above-mentioned places celebrated
for ponies are rough, irregular, and rocky in their
surface. Those who may be disinclined to acknowl-
edge the Spanish origin or connection of our ponies
may be disposed to think their trotting action is
induced from the same reason that I attribute to the

182 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

Barbs, viz., ^STature adapting them to a pace which
is most suited to the surface over wliich they have
to travel

Kow this can not be said for the American liorse;
tlie ground there is not stony and irreguhar, in those
portions where wild horses principally abounded — the
magniliceiit flat savannas or undulating piairies on
either side of the Mississippi ; so that it may be safely
inferred that trotting in the American horse lias not
been the adopting of a pace better suited to his present
home, but the retaining of a peculiarity inherent in
his ancestors. This is a farther proof of the con-
nection existing between the transatlantic horse and
the Barb, also an additional inducement for us to
believe that our ponies have probably a large propor-
tion of S})ani8h blooel in their veins, and that from
that source they obtain their excellence as trotters.
I am aw^are that for some time great efforts have been
made, more par&icularly at Exmoor, for the improve-
ment of the original stamp of pony by the introduction
of undersized Arab stallions. Success has been the
result, and you frequently see ponies that arc model
race-horses, hut, as a rule, the trotting proclivity-
does not exhibit itself in the beauties, but in the rough,
shaggy, hardy, original breed, which not unfrequently

THE AMERICAN TROTTIXG-HORSE. 183

more resemble mules, cart-horses, or even Xewfound-
Lind dogs.

In Australia, where racing has long been the favo-
rite amusement, and where great attention has been
paid to breeding, the proof of which is the excellent
time made on their courses, fairly rivaling the best
we have on record, I never heard but of one nag tliat
Imd gained a great reputation as a trotter. Now in
this colony a great number of Americans reside, and
they, doubtless to gratify their favorite taste if they
could have found the material, would liave had some
steppers wliose reputation would have reached the
parent country. Now it is a well-known fact that the
horse is not indigenous to Australia, but that it
was introduced from England, India, and the Cape —
all three so far from Barbary and Spain that it is ex-
tremely improbable that a native of the last-named
countries ever set foot upon her soil. In Australia
there have been no remarkable trotters. To Australia
I doubt if there has been any direct importation of
the Barb. Englishmen have long acknowledged the
excellence of their through-breds to be attributed to
the Arab cross ; at the same time, it must not be for-
gotten that many Barbs have been imported of which,
as I have previously stated, the celebrated sire, the

184: GUN, EOD, xVND SADDLE.

mjyiamccl Godolphin Arab was one ; tlierefore a great
many of our horses have Barb blood in their veins,
but it is in the minority, the Arab being esteemed the
favorite animal, and consequently m.Vich more sought
after when the foreign cross was dee^aed advisable for
tlie improvement of our stock.

In conversing with many Americans on the subject
of their crack trotters, and in what sires and families
they found this pace better developed, to *he English
stallions, Messenger and Mambrino, many years since
imported into the United States, they gave the cred-
it. Now if any one will take the trouble to hunt out
their pedigrees, they will find a stronger cross of the
Barb (going back as far as the Godolphin and Barb
mares) than is usually the case. Another stallion
exported from here into Boston (Mass.), and who a
long time stood in Long Island, near New York,
called Bellfounder, or the Norfolk Trotter, has also
produced a numerous progeny celebrated for this
pace. Of his pedigree, although I used every en-
deavor, I could learn nothing ; however, a friend
pi'ocurcd me a print, said to represent liim when
performing the.feat of trotting I7f miles in the hour,
and never did I see a picture more remarkably rep-
resent an animal with the prominent Barb points.

THE AMERICAJS" TROTTING-nOKSE. iSo

To the difference in disposition and temper be-
tween tlie American and the English horse to which
I have alluded, much allowance must be made to the
varied systems of breaking practiced. The former,
as a rule, commence to liandle their youngsters at a
very early age, almost making them pets, till they
become so familiarized with man, that when suffi-
ciently old they go to work with the steadiness of
old ones; while, on the other hand, the vice which
we frequently see at home i-esults from severity of
treatment, or from the teasing of mischievous boys,
or bad-tempered grooms, who are too frequently
employed about our stables.

A statement of the time made by some of the most
celebrated American trotters I will here append, as
it will doubtless be of interest to many ; at the same
time due allowance must be made that such is done
from memory, I having unfortunately lost my rec-
ords. Of one thing the reader may be certain, that
if a mistake does occur it is only in the fractions
of seconds. Flora Temple, one mile, on Kalamazoo
course, Michigan, 2 min. 19f sees. Dexter, at Buffalo,
N. Y., one mile in 2 min. 18 sees. Ethan Allen in
double harness, trotting with a running mate, on
Fashion course, L. I., one mile in 2 min. 15 sees.,

18G GUN, EOD, AND SADDLE.

Dexter, his antagonist, being only two lengths behind
at the finish, making his supposed time for the mile,
2 min. 16^ sees.

In conchision I will state that I believe most thor-
oughly that the excellence of the American trotting-
liorse over ours is entirely owing to his having a
preponderance or greater portion of Barb blood in
his veins than our home-bred English animal, and for
a i)roof that the American has this preponderance I
refer you to his origin.

HINTS OS SHOOTING. 187

HINTS OjSi SIIOOTIS'G.

To lay down rules by the observance of which the
majority of bad shots may become experts is easy
enough ; but the trouble is, however great the deter-
mination to follow the precepts may be, as soon as
game is flushed the advice of instruction is thrown
to the winds, and bang, bang, go both barrels, with
the same unsuccessful results as previously. That
more birds are missed by shooting too quickly, I as-
sert as a fact that is indisputable; and knowing this
to be the case, why will it continue to be j^nicticed ?
For this reason, that many are so fearfully nervous
that for the moment they have no control of their
actions, or that they are so timid that firing off their
gun they consider a duty, and the sooner it is got
through with the better; neither of such pupils are
ever likely to become crack shots. I have a friend
who is, without exception, the most unlucky shot —
I was going to say the worst — that ever I met. We
at one period very frequently shot together, and each

1S8 GUN, EOD, AND SADDLE.

evening, on our tramp liome, he was certain to tell
me tlint he had discovered the reason for his apparent
want of skill. How various the causes attributed
would be beyond possibility of enumeration ; however,
he always devised some means of counteracting them
— viz., by stuffing cotton in his ears, not to hear the
spring of the game j to wear a loose collar, so that he
could the better and more rapidly bring his head to
the stock ; to discard a waistcoat, for the thickness of
cloth over his shoulder militated against bringing his
gun rapidly up. However, he was always wounding
birds — at least he said so ; for constantly, if near, he
would call out, " Don't you see the feathers fly ?"
which, perhaps owing to my less keenness of vision,
I never perceived, save it were the feathers flying oif
with tlie bird. Another peculiarity this gentleman
possessed was, that although he might have discharged
the entire contents of his shot-pouch without bagging
a single head, as soon as we both shot over the same
point, one or other of the birds knocked down was
due to his skill; doubtless companionship reassured
him, or induced him to take more pains. I would
advise such, therefore, always to shoot in company,
only I would rather be excused becoming the compa-
ny. Of course occasionally he would knock over a

HINTS ON snooTiNa. ISO

bird, but when tliis took place it either was lost or
took no end of trouble to secure. I remember one in-
stance in a marsh where we were*snipe-shooting, a num-
ber of mallards flushed within easy range ; following
the report of his gun, one of the greenheads left his
companions, sailed round several times, each circle
becoming lower and less contracted, till he droi)ped.
lI:df-an-hour was fruitlessly wasted in search, my
friend would not give up, so I went forward alone ;
some time afterward he joined me, but his perseve-
rance had not been rewarded. All that day he la-
mented over this lost bird, for, like many of our fish-
ing friends, he doubtlessly thought it (beca^lse it was
not bagged) far larger and far finer than any obtained.
The reason for the so frequent loss of the few birds
he hit was this, the victim seldom received more than
a stray grain outside the disk described by the shot,
and therefore Avas not generally seriously wounded.
That there are many like my friend I know, and
I fear it Avill be a hopeless task to endeavor to
make them good shots ; at the same time I think
there are many bad shots who miglit be much im-
proved.

I believe that too nmch importance can not be
attached to the stocking of your gun. Occasional-

190 GUN, EOD, AND SADDLE.

ly you will meet with men who appear to do equal
execution with either a crooked, straight, long, or
short stock; but such' are rare, and when found you
may feel certain that they have possessed unusual op-
portunities for constant practice. The length of man's
arm, neck, and conformation of shoulder are so various,
that seldom will a gun come up alike to different in-
dividuals ; the straight, tall figure wants a crooked
stock ; the short, stout person, the reverse ; and inter-
mediate figures, the bend between both extremes. I
once possessed an excellent gun, with which I inva-
riably acquitted myself creditably. The stock had
always been an eye-sore, for it was composed of bad
wood, and the previous owner had chipped and scratch-
ed it so badly that, after lengthened hesitation, I deter-
mined to have it re-stocked. However, when it re-
verted from the gunmaker to my hands, I was sur-
prised how indifixu'ently I shot with it ; but, on exami-
nation, I found that the new stock was much straighter
than the old. Again: being in a neighborhood where
game was abundant, when I did not have one of my
own guns with me, I boi-rov\'ed fi'om a iVicnd, and my
execution was so bad that before the day was over I
gave up in disgust. This gun's stock was so straight
that 1 doubt if any but its owner could use it. In

HINTS ON SHOOTING. 191

having a gun made, there is nothing that should re-
ceive from the gunmaker more careful attention than
the figure of the purchaser; for I feel confident that
a \evy great deal of bad shooting is made through
want of attention to this point. Again : a gun should
never possess a superfluous ounce of metal that is not
necessary to its safety. AVhen we start in the morn-
ing, fresh and vigorous, after a good night's rest, the
weight may appear a trifle ; but in the evening, if the
day's work has been severe — more especially on
grouse moor or snipe bog — you will be surprised how
little tells, and will induce you to undershoot your
game.

Still another equally important point is the strength
that is required to pull your trigger. After long prac -
tice you may get accustomed to either very fine or very
heavy, but wliatever you are used to, that retain. With
the tyro it is difierent. Through frequent experiment
he sliould find out what weight of pressure he cangive
Avithout disconcerting his aim at the precise moment
that he has obtained the firing line of sight. By im-
parting this knowledge to his gunsmith he will com-
mence shooting under great advantage. A great
deal, we all know, depends upon a good start. It
is almost equally applicable to life, horse-racing, and

192 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

•

shooting. If you begin under advantageous circum-
stances success becomes probable. Success begets
confidence, and with confidence we are certain to
shoot well. An habitually bad sliot has no confi-
dence. Constant failure makes him doubt his abili-
ty, liis gun, in fact, every portion of his shooting
paraphernalia. Nearly all persons who do not shoot
regularly, fire their right barrel first. When such is
the case, your left should shoot the strongest, as the
second shot is so frequently at longer range. A
good workman, however, will use either indifterently,
and if such can be attained it should invariably be
practiced, that one barrel may not be worn out
sooner than the other. A fault which a great num-
ber are addicted to, is using too much shot. An
ounce of number five, or au}^ of the smaller sizes, is
amply sufiicient for a twelve-bore gun. However,
if you have reason to use a larger grain, a quarter
of an ounce more may be substituted. The reason
for this is that the small packs the closer, and thus
makes a more formidable resistance to the exi)losive
power. For strong shooting, and, tlierefore, long
shots, it is the driving force that is required, which you
counteract by surplus lead, for friction is increased
and 2)owcr wasted in starting the charge.

HINTS ON snooTixG. 193

Old hands may smile after reading the above, and
justly say, "The fellow has told us nothing new;"
but remember we are not all old hands, and that all
w^ere once beginners, for whose benefit these hints

194 GUN, KOD, AND SADDLE.

A OHIj^ESE mode of
FISHIKG.

In "Land and Water" is mentioned the circum-
stance, that while a pleasure party were descending
the Thames, a large pike jumped on board their
boat. The reason attributed is doubtless the correct
one, but perhaps few of your readers are aware that
in China it is a common practice to take fish in this
way : viz., by inducing them to jump on board. I
do not speak from hearsay, but have several times
witnessed it, and will endeavor to explain how it is
practiced. The boat used is built for the purpose,
excessively long, narrow, of light draught, and close
to the water. A board about three feet high and
almost the length of the boat, painted snow white,
is erected lengtlnvays on one side or other, while on
the reverse side from this board is attached to the gun-
wale of the boat, a shelf nearly the length of the boat,
which gradually slopes to the Avater's edge also paint-
ed white. When tiie weather is calm and tiie moon

A CHINESE MODE OF FISHING. 195

brii^ht, a sino^le fisherman starts on the river in this
craft, always shifting tlie board and ledge so that the
former will be on the far side of the boat from the
moon, while the latter is next it. The fish see the
moonbeams glancing off this white arrangement and,
why I can not say, jump at it, when they strike the
board and fall into the bottom of the boat. On two
occasions I examined the proceeds of John Chinaman's
catch, ^nd found it to be principally composed of
gray mullet, and a representative of the Perka fami-
ly. The Chinese, to all appearance, are a most stu-
pid-looking lot, still they are wonderfully cunning in
circumventing fish and game ; another instance of
which is their training cormorants to assist them in
takinoj fisk

156

AMEEICAN EUFFED GEOUSE
AND PAETEIDGE.

With bat very few exceptions the grouse shooting
for years has been an utter laihire. Last year the
results were the same, and we find ourselves thus
early looking forward distrustfully to the future,
hoping, but still doubting, that we shall ever again
enjoy the sport which was usually awarded to our
earlier experience. Tlie grouse season for 1868 may
virtually be said to have terminated, yet we are only
commencing September, about three weeks' very in-
different shooting being all the reward the sportsman
has received in remuneration for keeping up a staff
of keepers, a large kennel, and, if not a proprietor,
l^aying a heavy rent for his moor, possibly not only
for one but for several seasons past. This is a dread-
ful state of affairs, enough to discourage the most
ai-dent, for although he has paid liberally, still no re-
turns can be obtained at all ade({iiate to the outla\\
The journey to Scotland hajs been so jnuch time throu'u

t

RUFFED GROUSE AND PARTRIDGE. 197

away, and tlie relaxation and j^leasure well earned,
possibly after tedious Parliamentary duties, supplant-
ed by disgust, annoyance, and disappointment.

From the heather let us look at the stubbles. !N'ear-
ly all accounts tally in the smallness of the bags made
and the extreme wildness of the birds. In this case
we have not disease to lay the paucity of sjjort to,
but a more than usually dry summer. Shooting in
England will thus be seen to be a A^ery uncertain
amusement, for if the birds should survive the nu-
merous ailments of their infancy, our eccentric climate
may still intervene, and however good the early pros-
pects were, wlien the time for enjoyment comes the
sp^ntsman has to be satisfied, after hours of unsuc-
cessful tramping, with the information that the heat
or wet, or a combination of both, is the cause that
so indifferent a bag is made.

If our game-birds are so susceptible of effects, that
shooting becomes an amusement that can not be look-
ed forward to with certainty, the best remedy to ofter
is tlie introduction of foreign game, hardy in constitu-
tion, suited to our country and the sportsman's wants.
In time these strangers might be influenced by tlie
disadvantages the home birds suffer from, but we
would have variety, and the season that was unsuited

198 GUN, EOD, AND SADDLE.

to one species could scarcely be expected to be so to
all. On the 12th of August, if the grouse fail, you
have no shooting. On the 1st of September, if the
weather has been too dry and the heat more than
usually protracted, the partridges are so wild that in-
different sport can only be obtained. Now if the
ruffed grouse and American partridge were intro-
duced, if you could not fill your bags with one de-
scription you would with another, better flir thnn
returning empty-handed, disappointed, and probably
out of temper.

The reasons that induce me to select these Ameri-
can birds are that I believe they are in no way infe-
rior to our own, that they are extremely hardy, with-
standing with impunity the intense lieat of the South-
ern States' summer, or the protracted winters of Xew
England. Many I know have objected to them, be-
cause in the wildest portions of that continent, Avhere
man is seldom seen, when flushed they will occasion-
ally perch on trees, but this is not the case in the set-
tled parts, Avhere they have become acquainted with
dogs and guns. In tlie Alk'gliany 3Iount:nns, Xew
York, and Pennsyhania, I never remember such nn
incident taking place. Again, some assert that our
country is too highly cultivated, which I deny, lor

RUFFED GROUSE AND PARTRIDGE. 199

the American partridge is only to be found in the
neighborhood of farms ; and I have been assured that
this bird is more abundant now on the western end
of Long Island, which is close to the city of Kew
York, and more carefully cultivated, than it was in
days gone by, and the country more wild. The rufted
grouse, on the other hand, but requires irregular
ground, plenty of water, and a fair proportion of tim-
ber, and they will attach themselves to a neighbor-
hood without straggling off for parts unknown, like
the pheasant.

That the ruffed grouse will breed liere, there is
scarcely room for doubt. I know that the American
partridge has already done so, and that in a state of
captivity ; but let the experiment be made — the cost
at most would be but trifling — and, if successful, their
importation could be gone into on a larger scale.

In America, over a great portion of the country, their
partridge goes by the name of quail. The same de-
lusion appears to have crept over here, and a fear that
the introduction of this species would be unsuccessful,
for the reason that our migratory quail is scarcer now
than in days gone by, from the land being more care-
fully tilled, is advanced as a caution to those who might
entertain an idea of making the experiment. The

200 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

quail of Europe I know Avell ; I have killed them in im-
mense numbers in Spain, Italy, and Greece. Twenty
years ago in the nortli of Ireland, when partridge
shooting, I seldom would conclude a day without bag-
ging several couple; so I have no hesitation in say-
ing that these birds are so totally dissimilar, that
Avliat miglit affect the residence of one should not be
entertained as an argument to prevent the intro-
duction of the other.

THE POWEE OF A SHARK'S
JAW.

Eight bells had only struck a few minutes, and
the old watch had been relieved, when the cap-
tain came on deck and ordered a man into the
cliaiiis to heave the lead and obtain correct sound-
ings. For several days this order had been so
frequently given that it attracted little attention;
and only that I happened to be lounging near the
waist of the ship at the time, ruminating over a
Manilla cheroot, I should not have been an eyewit-
ness to the following incident.

The weather was thick, blustering, and wet. For
a day or two we had been unable to obtain an obser-
vation, and as we were in a most dangerous part
of the Chinese seas, it vms necessary to be more
tlian usually careful. Moreover, the barometer had
suddenly fallen, a warning not to be neglected dur-
ing the typhoon season; so our cautious old Scotch
captain was not satisfied with bringing on deck the

202 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

topgallant yards, placing the ship under reefed top-
sails, but had as further precautions the lead hove
every half-hour. Altliough along way off the coast,
t]ie singing chant of the leadsman had in the earlier
watches proclaimed six fathoms, six and a lialf: shoal
Avater, all will say, for the center of a vast sea; but
for days between the Straits of Sunda and the mouth
of the Canton River yon may sail without wetting
the knots that mark ten fathoms.

It may be necessary to explain, for the benefit of
the uninitiated, that the deep-sea lead is a bar of
that metal about two feet long gradually tapering
from the base (which is about four or live inches in
diameter) to the top, where the line is made f^ist.
In the base is a deep indentation, containing about
half a pound of lard, whicli coming in contact with
the bottom, informs the navigator (by the particles
tliat adhere) of what formation the surface of mother
earth is composed. The line which is attached is of
various lengths (a hundred fathoms, I think, was on
this occasion), carefully coih'd in a tub, so that notli-
ing can prevent it being freely paid out.

Well, the lead was hove, and rapidly tlie line ran
out ; five, six, seven fathoms were passed, still no
stop, — on, on, till double that luimber, yet no indi-

203

cation of bottom. The captain looked snrprised,
but said nothing, till a third of the contents of the
tub had gone over board, and then he uttered an ex-
clamation very forcible, but far from polite. How-
ever this did not alter matters, for soon scarce twen-
ty fathoms were left. The seaman was now ordered
to stop the line, and in doing so exclaimed, after a
violent effort, that he was unable. Two or three turns
round a belaying-pin soon settled this difficulty, and
at lenofth the lead was drawn on board. On being^
handled, it was found to be very much cut ; so, to
have a better inspection, it was transferred at once to
the chart-room. On examination we found on the
reverse sides a succession of furrows over half an
inch deep, out of which we picked, with the point
of the compasses, a number of broken fragments of
a large shark's teeth. The opinion of the majority
was that the brute had smelt the fat and been thus
induced to lay hold. From my knowledge of the
habits of the fish, I believe he was attracted by the
glitter of the metal passing rapidly through the
water;" imder either circumstance, the rapidity with
wdiich he must have dashed through the water to
seize his prey, is a proof of the agility with which
some of the species of this genus are possessed. The

204 GUN, EOD, AND SADDLE.

araoimt of strength of jaw necessary to make such
deep indentations on a bar of lead four or five inches
in diameter, can scarcely be conceived possible in a
cartilaginous fish. If this shark is still alive, I pity
the sailor that chances to fall over board in his neigh-
borhood.

BLACK BXiS AND MUSKALLOXGE FISHING. 205

BLACK BASS AISTD MUSK-
ALL0:N'GE FISHING.

In the memory of the past there are always remi-
niscences the recalling of which give us the greatest
pleasure. Such is particularly the case with me when
I tliiuk of the scenes and events which I am about to
endeavor to describe. I was living -on the confines
of civilization literally, for there was but one residence
farther nortli than the house of which I was an inmate,
and it was inhabited by a canny Scot, who never knew
what it was to take a day's relaxation, his entire ener-
gy, early and late, being devoted to the improvement
of his homestead. Shortly after my arrival I paid him a
visit, but I found that information on shooting matters
would have to be obtained through my own exertions,
for more than a complaint against Bruin occasionally
depriving him of a pig, he knew literally nothing of
the sporting capabilities of his neighborhood. It is
always pleasant on a new field of operations to obtain
a slight inkling of what you may expect. It is far from

206 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

agreeable to have to draw a cliarp;e of siiipe-sliot,
and thus lose time, to substitute B B, or perliaps ball,
small game being expected and large game found.
The locality of which I am about to speak is at the
extreme northern end of Lake Simcoe, where one
uninterrupted forest extends northward for several
hundred miles to the banks of the Upper Ottawa,
except when an occasional lake or river occurs to break
the monotony of this ocean of timber. In wandering
about the neighborhood of my temporary residence,
about two miles fi-om home I came uj)on one of those
beautiful little sheets of water so frequently found
upon the northern portion of tlie American continent.
This soon became a favorite retreat, for wild duck
were numerous on a portion where wild rice grew
luxuriantly, and wood pigeons and spruce grouse had
adopted it as a watering-phice, owing to its freedom
from intruders. All devoted admirers of nature know
what a pleasure it is to be alone where none of man's
work mars the prospect, where every object the eye
rests upon is as it came from the Creator's hands, unsul-
lied and unchanged. As I sat on a rocky promontory to
seethe sun dip the horizon, perliaps visions of my distant
land and far-oiffriends flitting before me, I was struck
with the immense numbers of fish that kept breaking

BLACK BASS AND MIJ3KALL0NGE FISHING. 207

the unrippled surface, — good evidence that the rod
and Ime might find abundant work, and on tlie next
visit I determined to put it to the test.

To those wlio are acquainted Avith the "birch-bark
canoe it is needless for me to say any thing. All
the praises I could sound could not further enhance
it in their estimation ; but to those who are not, to
them let me snj^ that there is not in existence a
more perfect piece of mechanism for the purpose
it is intended. Only learn to handle it properly,
and you can go in it anywhere, over shoals, down
rapids, through channels where an - oar would be
useless, and finally, if necessary, you can take
it on your shoulders and tramp across portages
where nothing but an ox-team could transport a
boat. In construction they are models of skill,
yet the Indian alone knows liow^ to make them ; for
although a white man may occasionally attempt
their manufacture, they never do so successfully.
On the following day, with my birch-bark on
my shoulders, looking like a gigantic animated
letter T, I crossed the portage wdth a formidable
array of lines and artificial baits, full of most
mischievous intent toward the finny tribe. This
day the surface was broken by that desirable ripj^le,

208

whether it be for trolling or fly-fishing, and dark
clouds occasionally darkened with their shadow the
face of the water. With exhilarating freedom, deep
I dipped my paddle, pushing for the rocky end,
waiting till I had crossed the centre of the lake be-
fore I commenced to fish ; for, as a rule, unless there
should happen to be a reef, seldom any fish will be
taken far from the margin. When alone in a canoe
one line will be found as much as can be conveni-
ently attended to, for the navigation of your craft
requires both hands. Getting under good headway,
I soon had twenty-five to thirty yards of liiip astei'n,
with a few inches of red cloth for lure, which proved
so attractive that I almost immediately had a break,
and in a moment or two afterward a fish hoiked.
Of all plucky, determined fish, to Black Bass I
give the palm, they are so thoroughly reckless in
their efforts to escape, — first springing from the
water, then possibly coming at you like a cricket-
ball, giving you often more than you can do to get the
line out of their way, — next dashing to the right or
left, and only succumbing when exhausted nature
refuses to do more. For two or three hours such
was the sport which continued with never over a few
minutes' cessation.

BLACK BASS AND MUSKALLONGE FISHLN^G. 209

As I pushed slowly along the shore I came to a
river previously unknown to me, and which I liave
since learned is the only outlet from this lake. Tlie
edgje of this stream was frino'ed with a dense net-
work of weeds, and the channel had scarcely a per-
ceptible current. On breaking full in view several
dozens of wild duck rose, conspicuous among whom
were many of the beautiful wood duck, a gem among
his brilliant-plumed race. What a pity at home we
could not acclimatize this bird, but I fear his migra-
tory habits would sadly interfere. The sedgy na-
ture of the shore here predicted pike, so, replacing
the red cloth by a large Buell's spoon with some
scarlet ibis feathers tied along the slianks of the hooks,
I again tried my fortune. Few who have not heard
of the muskallonge, the king in stature of the pike
family. He is to be found in nearly all the rivers
and lakes of northern Canada. Among the shoals
and rapids of "The Thousand Islands," on the St.
Lawrence, he is said to attain an immense size, even
eighty pounds ; but the largest I have seen did not
exceed two-thirds of that weight. Such large fish as
the above I had not on that occasion to deal with,
but before I ceased, the bottom of my canoe Jiad a
goodly show of bass and pike : so many, that I was

210

satisfied to select three or four for present use and
liide the others, with my birch-hark, till I could send
across for them in the morning ; but a couple of
bears, judging from the different-sized tracks, got at
my cache during the night, and had the bad taste to
maul and pull about what they did not eat, so that I
rejected it as unfit for food. Fish I have always
found the most tempting bait with which to attract
Bruin into a trap, so I built a bower-house and hung
up the bait at the end of it, with ray trap nicely cov-
ered with leaves ; still all would not do, he ar.d his
companion were too wide awake, or had left the
neighborhood. This lake I often visited again, and
with equal success ; the influences of weather never
appeared to affect the fishes' appetites, and they arc
always a welcome addition to a backwoodman's faro.
In company of a Chippewa Iiidian I also ti-ied fisli-
ing through the ice. The method adopted is simple,
viz., cutting a hole two or three feet in diameter,
over wliich is built a small hut to keep out the liglit
and sufiiciently large for tlie fisherman to sit inside,
the end of his fish-spear protruding tlirough the top.
With an artificial minnow on a few feet of line in the
left hand, and weighted so as to make it readily sink,
you attract the pike to the surface, when, Avith a

BLACK BASS AND MUSKALLONGE FISHING. 211

dexterous blow, you drive your leister home. Very
much like poaching ; still where fish are so abundant
and wanted for food, this system becomes less cul-
pable.

At the northern end of Lake Couchachin, the
beautiful Severn, after tumbling over a grand fall,
starts on its erratic, precipitous course for Lake
LIuron. To visit this spot was not more than seven
or eight miles of water, through a labyrinth of islands,
and along the most picturesquely beautiful shore,
wooded to the margin. Beside the fall was a saw-
mill belonging to a descendant of the French aris-
tocracy, who had emigrated before the days of
" The Empire." Whether or not the proprietor hap-
pened to be at home, a cordial welcome could be re-
lied upon, and the fishing underneath the fall was
always excellent — sometimes so good that your bait
would scarcely touch the water ere it was seized.
However, there was one drawback, for the spot was
infested with snakes, particularly a large, thick, dir-
ty-brown water species, which looked exceedingly
venomous. From the indifference with which the
mill hands treated them, I imagine their look was
worse than their bite. They had, however, a pen-
chant for minnow, for I saw one captured on the

212 GUN, EOD, AN"D SADDLE.

hook. As the wikl fowl migrate this is a splendid
stand ; for if the weather is in the least stormy, with
an indication of cold, the ducks keep passing all day,
and their flight im^ariably is so low that they are
well within range. By following the Severn down
to its junction with Lake Huron, plenty of occupa-
tion can be found for both rod and gun ; and the ap-
petite your open-air life w^ill impart will make all you
eat taste superior to any thing obtained in civilized
quarters.

LIFTIXO THE TRAPS. 213

LIFTIITG THE TEAPS.

Ox the northwest of the State of Maine exists a
ridge of hills which divide it from the township of
Success, ill the State of Xew Hampshire. Whatever
may have been the cause (possibly the presumption
of the uamor), it has remained as wild and unsettled,
as it was in the days when the whole country be-
longed to the aborigines. Xo, I make a mistake ; a ruin
of a tumble-dov/n diminutive barn, on close scrutiny,
may be found. The area of tliis township is composed
of an immense meadow (through which a clear but deep
and sluggish stream flows) and the pine-clad slopes
that divide it from the State of Maine. For some
weeks I had been residing eight or ten miles distant
from Success. Tlie person in whose house I stayed was
a trapper during winter, when the inhospitable climate
foiled any attempt at cultivating what at no season
was a productive soil. Night after night with pleas-
ure I listened to his stories of how he had run down

214 GUIS-, ROD, AND SADDLE.

this moose, shot that caribou, or at length trapped
the most troublesome of bears.

For some days my fly-rod had been indefatigably

most successfully at work, furnisliing not only my own

table, but many of the neighboring families with

trout, so that a change of programme was far from

unacceptable. One morning as I was deliberating in

which direction I would go, my host asked me if I

should have any objection to accompany him to lift

some traps he had not visited since spring, ■ The trip

promised an acquaintance Aviih a new beat, and an

insiglit into what I was not as yet conversant with

in tliis section of the American continent, viz., the

method followed of trapping martens. As the sun

was rising over the eastern hills — for these primitive

people are early risers — we found ourselves about to

leave the surveyed road. My friend bore on his back

a sack in which to place his long-neglected traps, while

I carried my trusty ten-bore double gun, loaded by

request with ball in one barrel, and buck-sliot in the

other. Our route at first was through a dense cedar

swamp, exceedingly irregular on the surface, while the

undergrowth was so close tliat it was witli difficulty

palled ; a t'hick coating of moss was under foot, so

spongy and full of water tliat il"we remained station-

LIFTING THE TKAPS. 215

ary for a few seconds we would be over the insteps in
water. Nevertheless, the tracks of the American hare
were innumerable ; an animal, by the bye, Avhich I be-
lieve very closely allied to the Scotch mountain hare,
slightly changed by climate and different habits of
life, caused by the very dissimilar localities in which
they are found. A blazed path was all we had for
direction, but as both were in the full vigor of man-
hood, we steadily progressed. Several times we flushed
the Canadian willow grouse, but as my projectiles
were not suited to this stamp of game, and ray com-
panion continually kept informing me that larger
might be looked for, I forbore troubling them.

From the swamp we got on drier soil, very rocky,
and densely wooded with pine,— such glorious pine-
trees as might one day form, without discredit, the
mainmast of a three-decker.

Upward, like the youth who shouted " Excelsior,"
we kept ascending, but Ave had not the maiden to warn
us, but whose warning I doubt not, unless she had
been unusually pretty, would have been disregarded.
Soon the walking became climbing, and after an
hour's clambering- the summit of the ridg:e was reach-
ed. Here the first trap was lifted, and at intervals of
two hundred yards or so, according to the nature of

216

the ground, the others were found distributed. As
tliey had been down for nearly two months, whatever
had been captured was found in. a decomposed state.
Soon the whole had been gathered, over a dozen,
when we descended to a stream literallj^ alive with
fish; trout of all sizes up to a pound, appeared to be
actually crowding each other, while our presence by
them was totally disregarded. Lunch-time had ar-
rived, and on the margin of the brook we enjoyed our
meal ; several of the trout which my companion had
taken with the most primitive tackle, and rod cut from
the nearest tree, forming no inconsiderable portion of
the meal.

After a smoke and half hour's dawdle, we started
on our return, following an entirely different route,
still equally disadvantageous for rapid progression.
During our homeward tramp I learned that martens
could only be taken on the highest ridges, and that the
bait used was either a red squirrel, the beautifid little
cedar-bird, or the heart or liver of the American hare.
I vras not a little surprised at the number of times my
companion halted to inquire if my gun was all right,
more especially as so far we had seen no indications
of large game, exce])ting some broken-up stumi)s,
moved logs, or scratched trees where Bruin long since

LIFTING THE TRAPS. 217

had been searching for insects or stretching himself.
As the sun set, we once more regained the path, well
fatigued with our rough and protracted tramp, myself
not a little disgusted that I had seen nothing sufficient-
ly large to be worthy of considering fit game for the
heavy missiles which both my barrels contained ; in
fact, I could not help openly grumbling that I should
have been inveigled into such a useless journey, to
which I was informed that I might thank my stars we
had got back safe. With this answer for the time I
liad to be satisfied, but that evening the mystery came
out, and the selfish motives that had dictated my
companionship being sought. I will endeavor to
state the story as told by the trapper.

Last April, when the snow was on the ground, I
laid out the traps we have to-day lifted. The travel-
ing was very bad at the time, for it was near the
break-up of winter. I got along the ridge all right ;
but as I thought the vv^alking would be better to re-
turn as I had come, I had determined to retrace my
steps. I had scarcely turned about when I found to
my surprise, the print of an animal following my old
track. I looked in every direction to see where the
follower could be, but was unable to detect him.

However, I knew well that the skulking villain was
10

218 GUN, EOD, AND SADDLE.

no other than a painter (Anr/llch. puma) ; and as I
had oidy my old shigle-barrel loaded witli bird-sliot,
1 became justly scared. All of a tremble, I started for
home, and you may bet I made tracks. The very evi-
dence of the brute following me, showed lie was after
no good, and I was right; for as I drew near the out-
side edge of the swamp I saw liim riglit ahead; but I
went out of the way to avoid him, and after I left the
wood I heard him howl, doubtless in anger because
he had missed having me for suppei*.

At the time I could not help tliinking that my
liost had been needlessly alarmed, and tohl him so,
when he informed me tliat notliing would liave in-
duced him to return alone — in fact, that he would
sooner have lost his traps than do so ; that a painter
in tliose regions, more especially in winter, was much
to be dreaded, and in corroboration informed me of a
little tragedy that occurred some years past in the
same neighborhood. Two friends once trapped tlie
toAvnship of Success. They had two beat s, running in
reverse directions, while tlie slianty in. winch they
both lived together was situated equally distant tV(^m
each. Tlie one who examined the traps to the noilh
to-day, visited those to the south to-morrow, chang-
ing their routes witli each other daily, and always

LIFTING thp: traps. 219

meeting at night at their common residence. Al-
most half the season had thus passed away, wlien the
trapper who had returned for the night became se-
riously alarmed at the continued absence of his friend.
At length the little cur dog who constantly accom-
panied the missing man came home alone. There is
an end to every thing, and so there is to a long winter
night ; and with the earliest indications of day he
sallied forth to find the missing trapper, whom he
found- dreadfully mangled and partially eaten. The
assassin had been a painter. The tracks on the
tell-tale snow spoke correctly. About thirty feet
above where the corpse lay, an immense limb ran out
at i-ight angles from the parent tree. From this
the skulking coward had doubtless sprung u])on the
unsuspecting trapper.

That the puma has attacked and killed human be-
ings is well corroborated ; but fortunately he is such
a cowardly, skulking scoundrel, that he seldom makes
the attempt.

220 GCN, HOD, AXD SAEDLE.

STEAjSTGE fish in CALAIf
MAINE.

The strange fish lately caught on the coast of the
State of Maine, and dubbed the shark dog-fish by
some of the learned in those regions, I have little
doubt, from the description given in American peri-
odicals ^s the basking-shark, for these reasons, that
the basking-shark has been found on the Newfound-
land banks not far from that neighborhood, that the
basking-shark is the only proper fish with wdiich we
are acquainted that grows to this gigantic size,
thirty-three feet long ; that it could not belong to the
wliale family, or the inhabitants of that section of the
coast, from their long experience and connection
with the whale fisheries, Avould have known it, and
given it eitlier its proper name or a local one recog-
nizable ; and that from its being so excessively like
an ordinary white or blue shark, with wliich the
American coast abounds. To make the name more
telling or characteristic it is christened with a Chris-

STRANGE FlSn IN CALMS, MxilXE. 221

tian name aud surnaraG, each of different species of
the same genus. Don't laugh at the Yankee misno-
mer; remember the tunny that was melted down in-
to an albicore by some of our educated fellow-citizens
and accepted natural historians. But still the most
important part of the mystery remains nnexplained.
The anal tins of tlie basking-shark have an elongation
of a different color and textnre from the balance of
these lius, which, if broken, would look excessively
like a flipper on a small scale. If the carcass had
been knocking about on the coast for some time be-
fore it was stranded, is it not very possible that this
fragile portion of the anal fins would get broken ?
and hence the fractured members in the imaginative
minds of the country people, be supposed nitended to
perform the functions of feet. It lias long been be-
lieved that the basking-shark lives principally on ma-
rine vegetable matter, although on dissection one was
found to contain a portion of a mangled crab. In
my opinion a desire for romancing or attaching mys-
tery to a strange animal has induced the good people
of " away down East " to exaggerate the most stria
ing peculiarities.

223 GUS, EOD, AND SADDLE.

BUFFALO PLAIN'S.

WiTiiix the last year or two tlie borders of Mis-
souri and Kansas, where tliey adjoin, liave become
so much altered, from the springing up of new towns,
and the making of the Atlantic and Pacific Kailroad,
that the points which were formerly considered the
best starting-places for the plains, on account of their
being situated on the verge of civilization, are deemed
so no longer. However, as in days gone by, I should
choose Leavenworth for commencing outdoor life,
if the intention were to reach the hunting ground by
land. Although all frontier towns are to be avoided,
from the number of loafers and blackguards that
constantly haunt them, Leavenworth nowadays can
scarcely be classed in this light ; moreover, the reli-
able and minute information with which you will be
furnished by the ever-kindliearted officers of tluj
United States' regular army stationed in its fort, is
most desirable to obtain. But instead of going by
land, I would by choice take the river route by one

BUFFALO PLAINS. 223

of the numerous trading-boats that sail for the upper
waters of the Missouri, every May, from St. Louis.
Here, also, I would purchase my horses and stores,
which when once on board would be safe and well
taken care of till requii'ed. However, to avoid tlie
tedious journey up the river to Leavenworth, I should
leave my traps and nags (provided I had an attend-
ant), and go by train to Leavenworth. Of course it
would be even better, if your party be large enough,
and do not object to expense, to charter a boat of
your own, as you would then always have a com-
fortable home, good hard food for your horses, and
the means of transporting many luxuries, which it
would be impossible to carry with a limited number
of pack mules, for the river is navigable through a
large portion of the best hunting range, and from
the boats being of very liglit draught you can land
or ship your horses without trouble ; on man 5^ occa-
sions, while the vessel is progressing onward, you
may be hunting, for the bends in the river are fre-
quejit and abrupt. The exact places where buifalo
Avill be found is difficult to say. Li summer they
keep going north, feeding on the just-sprouted grass,
up to almost the sixtieth degree of latitude, while in
autumn their progress is south, till Xew Mexico and

224

GTTN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

Texas is reached ; nor do they follow' the same mutes
yearly, the section of country passed over one season
often being deserted for years. A few years ago the
Black Hills used to be a favorite wintering-place of
the hunter and game, but it was ever dangerous from
hostile Indians. All are now fled that locality, hunt-
ers, game, and Indians, and the formerly lonely sier-
ras and woods now echo to the navvies' whistle, the
stroke of the chopper's ax, or the grunting of the
locomotive; but why I mention the Black Hills is,
that between them and the waters of the Yellow
Stone and the Upper Missouri the sportsman can not
fail to obtain more game than it is possible to mak(.
use of.

EENOOUKTEE WITH A BEAR. 225

EEN"COUNTEE WITH A BEAR.

I2C America a bear-story and a snake-story are
synonymous, to tlie generality of listeners, to cram-
mers. Knowing such to be the case a man can not
help approaching this subject without nervous feel-
ings, particularly when a bear figures as one of the
principals among the dramatis personcB of the narra-
tive. But it matters not, travelers appear to be born
to be doubted. I do not hesitate to say that they
will sometimes romance, but invariably the fiction
portion is credited and the reality ignored. We do
not need to look at the experience of modern tim >s,
our forefathers were impregnated with the samo
spirit ; vide the reception poor Bruce received after
his incredible hardsliips in ISTubia and Abyssinia.

A friend, in the true sense of the word, and myself
went to visit a small lake that was reported to swarm
with trout, almost believing that no such place ex-
isted, but as a tramp through the woods was never

objectionable we determined to make an effort to
10*

226 GUX, ROD, AND SADDLE.

find it out. An old lumberman, long superannuated,
gave us our instructions thus : " First go through the
woods two miles north, then incline a little to the
westward, and after about half-an-hour's walking
through a swamp you will strike a small brook, which
follow up and you will certain sure make the pond."*
To those who have not wandered through an Ameri-
can forest, such instructions will be perceived to be
far from lucid; to the thorough woodsman, however,
it would be sufficient. Before we left the township
road where we were to branch off, there stood %
shanty, at which we halted to put up the horse and
buggy in which we had thus far traveled. From
the head of the establishment we made inquiries,
who, calling to his son, who was within, gave the fol-
lowing directions — " Bub,f take the gents and show
them the pond." Now " Bub" was a most commu-
nicative youngster about fourteen years of age, and
scenting a dollar in the distance, hopefully undertook
the job. A cow-path we, the trio, followed for more
than a mile, then we continued on what is familiarly
designated a blaze road — id est, a path marked out

* Small lakes in Maine are always called ponds.
f A Yankee father's familiar way of addressing liis son;
daughters after the same manner are called '' siss."

RENCOUNTER WITH A BEAR. 227

by a tree at every hundred yards, more or less, hav-
ing a piece scooped out of its bark. The walking
was as bad as possible, for constantly we were de-
layed by giants of the forest wJio had been pros-
trated by the gales of the preceding winters. At
length, tired and frightfully worried by mosquitoes,
we reached a brook eight or ten feet in diameter, but
deep and sullen as a canal ; down this we pursued an
erratic course till between two lofty bluifs we came
upon a beautiful sheet of water of an area of about
forty acres. To fish it from the banks was impossi-
ble, for the sumac and cedar grew to its margin,
so that no other resource was left but to cut a num-
ber of cedar logs and form a raft. An hour or
more was lost in this operation, and when we had
launched out we found that nothing but the smallest
fry could be taken, although these were in such quanti-
ties that frequently we would have three or four rises
to a cast. For an hour or more we fished indefatiga-
bly, still nothing over a quarter of a pound rewarded
our labors, and when we landed for our pic-nic lunch
I determined to fish the stream vdih the hope of ob-
taining some heavier specimens. My friend, who felt
indisposed, either from the effects of the sun, or some
State-of-3Iaiue whisky (which is warranted to kill as

228 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

far as a six-shooter), and Avhicli he had been imbib-
ing, refused to accompany me ; so, with the youth
who had acted as Palinurus, I left him to ruminate
over his transgressions or misfortune.

As I had supposed, large fish were to be found in
tlie stream, and my basket began to groan under its
weight; when I hooked my flies in the top of a larch
that leaned over the water close in my rear. With
all my efforts I could not get them free, so sending the
lad aloft, I waited patiently for him to cast them off
The place where I stood was hummocky, such lumps
as you come across in the bogs of Ireland when snipe-
shooting, only a great deal larger. With care and pre-
caution the hummocks could be traversed without
wetting a foot, but hurry would certainly get you
between them, when over the boot-tops would be the
consequence. I had stood for several minutes for the
youngster to get the line loose, when across the
stream, but a short distance off, I heard an animal
grunt ; the spot from whence the sound issued was a
large clump of whortleberries, where some fallen
timber lay. Not being quite certain that my ears
had not deceived me, I waited, when the noise was
repeated. By this time my line was free, and my
juvenile companion was descending, when I asked

i

KEXCOUXTER WITH A BEAR. 229

him to listen to the noise, for I felt convinced it
emanated from no other than a bear feeding, enjoying
his favorite bonne houche^ the blue-benies. Young
America listened ; Bruin gave another grunt of evident
satisfaction, when the former — exclaiming "bear!"
slid down the tree with such agility as Avould have
put in shade the majority of moidieys. As soon as
he reached the ground, off he started down stream,
but the funniest part of all was that my guide, in the
precipitancy of his movements, must have tripped
over the hummocks at least half-a-dozen times in a
dozen strides. When Ave had got thirty or forty
yards off, — for I followed, though scarcely as rapid-
ly,— my amour pro2:)re asserted itself, and I halted ;
not so with ray companion ; soon he disappeared
through the labyrinth of shrubs, and I remained alone.
To my relief I found no bear was in pursuit, so, placing
my rod against a stalwart hemlock, I ascended its
branches to take a view of the situation; for a long time
I could not discover Bruin, but at length detected a
large mass of black fur, accompanied by two smaller
ones, buMly employed feeding. They had quitted
the wet ground and were on the edge of an acclivity,
where the mother was most industriously drawing the
broken fra<Tments of shattered locrs on one side, while

230 GUN, KOD, AND SADDLE.

lier liopeful progeny feasted upon the beetles and ants
thus exposed. The old lady had neither winded nor
heard us, and slie remained sedulously pursuing her
avocation, perfectly ignorant that her industry and
strength were forming a subject of admiration to
a son of Adam. At length their search for insects
took them out of sight, and I descended to join my
companions.

The day by this was far spent, and neither of us
Iniving arms suitable for an assault upon the happy
family, we determined to seek the settlement and
revisit the scene on the morrow. Next day, at an iBarly
hour, with quite a re-enforcement, all armed with most
formidable fire-arms, from the Spencer ritle to the old
smooth bore, and accompanied by a well-tried bear
doo-, Ave sallied forth ; for miles we tracked iMadam
l]ruin by the broken fragments of decayed timber
and the numerous logs she had disturbed from their
original resting-place.

Finally, we thought she could not be far distant,
and the dog was untied; oiF he went like a tlumder-
bolt, and in a quarter of an hour we heard iflm baying
vociferously. Guns were looked to, the men most
energetic previously now dropped behind, doubtless
to examine their trusty ritles and sec that the pow-

RENCOUin'EE WITH A BEAE. 231

der was up in the nipples; but when we reached
Watch, what was our disgust, of course, to find
that he had tree'd a covey of Canadian partridge ? *
"Unwillingly we went to work and decimated this
unhappy and unconscious brood, nor could all our
efforts afterward induce the unfailing bear-dog to
take up the desired track ; intensely disgusted we all
returned, and bear-meat and bear-hunting for a long
time were subjects that few of tlie would-be hunters
liked to hear mentioned by the residents of the settle-
ment, for there was a strong suspicion that what was
said on these subjects was said in chaff.

* Willow Grouse.

232 GUN, EOD, AND SADDLE.

IDEAS OK FLT-FISHII^G.

To those who have gained skill from constant prac-
tice in the gentle art, I do not address my remarks ;
still they can read if they will, provided they will
do so in good temper, and farnish beginners with
such minutiffi as have been forgotten, or have not
been told. I fancy I hear nnmbers dissenting from
my proviso, for it was only through long months,
ay, years of toil — we may also say pleasure — they
gained the information on fly-fishing which they
now possess, and, therefore, why impart the result
of their study to Tom, Dick, and Harry. But if
our forefathers through generations had held back
their views and experiences, for such selfish reasons,
do you suppose the machinist, the naturalist, the
navigator, etc., etc., of the days in which we live,
would be as proficient as they are in their respec-
tive trades or sciences ? For all Izaak Walton states,
I much fear the followers of the rod and line pos-
sess the quality of selfishness. As one of its votaries,

IDEAS ON FLT-FISIIIXG. 233

I can well remember keeping buried in my own bosom,
the position of pools, the color of flies, etc., where I was
either certain of taking the largest fish, or by the
nsing of which, I could almost guarantee myself good
sport. But I trust I no longer possess this love of self,
and in no better way can I prove it than by endeavor-
ing to teach the young idea, not how to shoot, but to
fish ; come forward ye, also, who have experience,
and help me in iny task.

But to commence, we will first allude to the imple-
ments. The fly rod, like the gun, can not be too
light, as long as it possesses the requisite strength.
This is even a greater desideratum in the former than
in the latter, for there is no convenient resting-position
in which you can carry it incessantly ; while on the
river it is at work, not even the respite for loading
being necessary, and if a heavy gun after a hard day's
work will make you undershoot your game, a heavy
rod will make you a slus-srard at evenino- instrikinsi
your fish, and the result will be about similar in both
instances. For the trout fisherman, he, I mean, who
fly-fishes burns and rivers, from twehe to thirteen
feet is quite sufiicient length for his rod to be (lake
fishermen frequently use longer, but what they gain in
reach they lose in quickness, a loss, in my estimation,

234 GUN, EOD, AND SADDLE.

of most serious importance), and siicli an implement
should not exceed in weight eight or nine ounces.
I can imagine I see many cast up their eyes and ex-
claim, that such is impossible to procure, but let me
say they are mistaken. I have owned several of that
weight, and with them, days in succession, taken
baskets of fish, of not only all the ordinary sizes,
but on one occasion I killed a trout nine pounds
in weight. As I can not help regarding this as a
performance to be proud of, I will relate how it took
place. A couple of companions and myself were en-
camped on the margin of Mad River in Oxford Coun-
ty, State of Maine. Our guns had fiiiled to provide
dinner, so taking a hazel wand I essayed to capture
sufKcient cliub to make a chowder, a description of
omnium gatherum stew. In taking a small fish, as
I was about lifting him into the canoe a large trout
rushed from underneath the birch-bark, seizeel the
chub, and although I gave him both line and time to
])Ouch what had not been intended for a bait, on
taking a pull ui)on him the chub came away, and I was
free from the larger antagonist. Having taken suf-
ficient small fry I went home, bi'ooding over my mis-
fortune, but keeping the adventure closely locked in
my own bosom (selfishness again). About the hour

IDEAS ON FLY-FTSniXG. 235

that the sun began to clip behind the giant pines, I
had made up my mind to the course I would pursue,
which was to take my pet rod, mount a cast of two
flies, and carefully whip tlie hole from end to end.
As if it were but yesterday, I remember distinctly
the flies. The trail one w^as ginger-colored cock's
hackle, with light corn crake wnng, tipped with silver;
the dropper a large- sized moth.

" For work at that hour,*' I hear some internally
mutter, " the moth did the business." Xo, it did not ;
cock's hackles of all shades may invariably be backed
against the field, and the cock's hackle on this occa-
sion kept up its reputation. Down on my knees in
the bow of the canoe, the camp-keeper holding her
back by a pole in the stern, slowly and cautiously I
fished the throat, from thence down into the less an-
gry but wider-spread current, when just as my flies
passed over an eddy that divided the downward flow
from the back water, there was a splash rapidly re-
sponded to by a nervous quick movement of the
wrist, which phmted the hook firmly home. I doubt
if I exaggerate, in fact I think I scarcely state
enough, when I say that thirty minutes elapsed be-
fore my trophy could sufficiently endure the sight
of a landing-net to have it placed under him. Thus

236 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

was taken the largest river {salmo fario) trout
I ever caught. But to :^iy rod ; it was made out of
cedar from butt to tip, did not exceed nine ounces,
and was the most lively, quick, light casting treasure
I ever used. Cedar fly-rods I havelieard objected to,
because they are brittle; doubtless you may find
them so, and your casting-line also, if you change its
use into that of a carriage whip. However much
I admire a cedar rod I do not think it suited for a
tyro, but when the beginner has gained experience,
and is able to ofl*er an oi)inion and 'use a fly rod as it
should be used, I doubt not he Avill perfectly agree
with me. A cedar rod can seldom be purchased ready
made, as tradesmen dislike the job ; so if any read-
ers of " Gun, Rod, and Saddle " should wish to possess
one, he liad better go to the very best workman he
knows of, and give him the order.

Next to the cedar rod, but one that will stand any
amount of fair work, is the split bamboo ; this, I
think, can be procured oven lighter tlian the former.
There is a firm, the Messrs. CLark, of Maiden Lane,
New York, who make this a speciallte. I never had
the fortune to use one, but have handled them often
and listened to the raptures of experts on their merits ;
on their good qualities I believe I can say nothing

IDEAS ON FLT-FISIIIKG. 237

that they do not deserve, but their price is necessa-
rily ]ugh, from the care with which the cane lias to
be selected and put together.

When I was a boy, I believed Flint and Martin
Kelly, both of Dublin, before all other makers. I have
used their rods over a great portion of England,
Scotland, and Ireland, and did not, until I used the
cedar rod, believe that any rod ever was made that
could compete with theirs, but so it is, and so it will
continue to be. Old bluff-bowed lumbering packet-
ships sufficed our fathers to go to India ; now we have
the P. and O. service, with rail across the Isthmus,
and it is far from probable that this means of transit
will always suit our children. If Joe Manton was
to arise among us, I doubt much if he could hold his
own among modern gunmakers.

Some i)ersons, particularly Irish fishermen, are at-
tached to double-action rods ; that is, rods which
have so much elasticity in them, that they display
two movements, one up and the other down, when
suddenly used. I do not like them, for more than
one reason ; the movement of the wrist in striking the
fish, while raising the butt, throws the tip down, thus
giving quite a contrary motion to what is intended.
Again, if you have to fish against the wind, they

23S GUX, EOD, AXD SADDLE.

Avill not only be found most difficult to manage, but
excessively fati^'uing. There is a rod made in Castle
Council (principally for salmon), after the above pat-
tern ; it has many admirers, who doubtless through
expei-icnce have become proficient in its use; still I
can speak only from what I know, and my verdict
is, leave them to their present advocates.

A combination-rod has always been my horror. I
nu^an such as fishing-tackle shop pi'oprietors guaran-
tee to be both a perfect lly and bait rod oidy by al-
tering the tip. If [)ersons will but use their brains
they can in a moment see that such is impossible.
The two uses are essentially different, requiring the
spring and elasticity in totally different parts. The
act of placing a dull, luml)ering tip on the fii'st three
joints of a delicate, pliant trout rod is really desecra-
tion. However, some may say, you will find a medium
betAveen the two more generally useful. ISly answer
is, what is worth doing is worth doing well ; and if
your intent is fly-fishing, the most perfect rod fi)r that
])U]-pose should be selected. If the I'iver is so discolor-
ed or swollen that bait has to be resorted to, or you
must go supperless to bed, for goodness' sake go and
cut a hazel Avand, unless you carry a bait rod — an arti-
cle Jor ca])lurjng trout that no true fishcj-nian ought to

IDEAS ON FLT-FISIIl.VG. 239

be jjroiid of. In fact, I am not certain that its pos-
session should not entitle the owner to be arrested, in
the same way as a pocketful of snares for game Avould
a known poacher. Hj^brids, whether in rod or gun,
are to be carefully avoided. I remember being once
entrapped into using a hybrid gun, in the town-
sliip of Markliam, Upper Canada. Going through
some brush I flushed a quantity of woodcock. I sta-
ted the circumstance when I returned to the farm-
house where I was residing. As I had no gun with me
the host offered me the use of his, which from his de-
scription was worthy of a royal duke arid therefore I
accepted the oifer. On production it proved to be half
shot-gun, half rifle — that is, the right-hand barrel was
smooth, the left rifled. This was my first experience of
sucli a weapon, and most probably my last. The game
was found, the cover was close, and snap shooting ne-
cessary. It was of no use. The gun would not come
up, or the game come down. The fact was, that the shot
barrel was only half the weight of the rifled, conse-
quently the whole fabric was Avithout balance, and do
what I would my aim was invariably disconcerted.

Of the joints used in fly-rods the plain sliding one
is probably the most convenient. If properly fitted
it shoultl never jam or work loose; but if I lived on

2-iO GUN) ROD) AND SADDLE.

a river I should never make use of any other than
the simple sijlice, for the lashing affects less the ac-
tion of the spring; and if a few additional moments
are lost in putting it together, the return is ample
recompense. But I fear the age is too fast for its
adoption.

Having given my thoughts upon the rod I will now
go to the i-eel. Of late years, at least since I was a
boy, all kinds of mechanical inventions and appliances
have been used to produce a more perfect reel : there
are now to be obtained stop reels, multiplying reels,
and reels with as many internal cog and other wheels
as would start a clockmaker. Of these complicated
ai)paratuses beware, for they are fraught with disap-
pointment and vexation of spirit ; the old simple
click reel is the only one that deserves the honor
of being attached to a fly-rod. Still, too much
care and attention can not be devoted to their
construction. Every screw and joint should be as
perfectly tinislied as those of a gun from a first-
class manufacturer. The barrel of the reel should
be wide in proportion to its length, for you thus
gain power or give line with greater freedom;
nothing is Tuore unsiglitly or more awkward than a
lont>- narrow-barreled reel. Brass is the metal usual-

IDEAS ON FLY-FISHmG. 241

ly employed for tlieir construction, but the newly-
invented aluminium bronze is infinitely to be pre-
ferred, for it does not corrode or discolor with the
action of the atmosphere, and it is less liable
to suffer from a blow or a fall ; mischances that
the fly-fisher's paraphernalia, more particularly in a
rocky mountainous country, are especially liable to
when following the course of a trout brook, for stones
will be slippery and of treacherous foundation. Who
among our expert salmon or trout fishermen can not
remember having obtained a frightful cropper when
precipitously following up or down stream a heavy
fish he was flist to ? I do not require to tax my mem-
ory greatly to recall half-a-dozen such casualties.

There are various methods of attaching the reel to
the rod. Of none do I approve so highly as that by
which the reel is held fast in a shallow indentation
by a movable band. In those cases where the butt
is pierced, or the reel held on the rod by a brass
band attached to it, which closes with a' screw, the
nuts are constantly getting lost or loose, through
the thread being worn out ; moreover, the hand not
unfrequently gets chafed by coming in contact with
them.

On the subject of fly-lines there is great diversity
11

24:2 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

of opinion. Of wliatcvcr materials they are com-
posed they should taper. Hair and silk I was at one
time much in favor of; but, after a lengthened trial,
1 found one great objection — the two materials had
not the same amount of elasticity, so that a heavy
strain would bear more severely on one than on the
other, which ultimately caused brittleness. A
plaited-silk line, which has been submitted to a pro-
cess of varnishing, rendering it impervious to water,
will, I think, do the greatest amount of work and
throw the greatest length of line; but for deli-
cate, light, line iishing, nothing T know of can surpass
the old-fashioned one, composed entirely of horse-
hair; for they are possessed of more vitality, elastici-
ty, and quickness. In the selection of one of these
every foot should be carefully examined and tested, for
a careless, slop-shop workman will frequently work
in short and worthless hair, possibly in the center,
which will destroy the whole fjibric ; for if the line be
once broken it is useless. It matters not how much in-
genuity and tiiue you spend over the splice. For a
day or two it may pass through the rings, but the fric-
tion will wear it rough, and it will catch, sooner or
later, not improbably with a large lish, for then the
strain is greatest. Can any thing more disgusliiig

IDEAS ON FLY-FISHING. 213

be imagined than taking the last look at eight or
ten yards of your line, perhaps more, rapidly dis-
appearing in the eddying stream Avith your cast-
ing line and flies acting as advance guard? The
thought of such a catastrophe is enough to make a
man's blood run cold.

Casting lines should also taper, and, provided the
gut is good, can scarcely have too fine a termina-
tion. Although a great many disciples of the rod
always purchase these ready-made, every fislierman
should be able to knot one r,p himself. The process
is simple. Select your hairs — coarse ones for the
top, fine ones for the bottom — steep iliem for some
minutes in water, as warm as tlie hand can conven-
iently bear, then knot them together, increasing or
diminishing gradually in size accordhig to the end
you liave commenced at. Care must be taken
that such a knot be used as there is no slip to.
The safest I know of is formed thus: take the ends
to be joined and phice tliem alongside one another,
tlien take one end and make a single hitch hj doub-
ling it back and passing the end through the loop,
which pull tight. Do the same with the reverse end,
wlien by pulling on the line both will slip together,
the strain iiaving the tendency to tighten the knot.

244

After cutting off the surplus ends a few turns of
Yery fine silk to whip them clown and the smallest
quantity of varnish, will add much to the ai)pearance
of the line. There is no amusement that I know
of in which it is so requisite for the follower of it to
knowhowtomakeuseof his hands and his ingenuity.
Bad luck, or whatever you choose to call it, may, be-
fore an hour's fishing be done, reduce you to the alter-
native of either ceasing work or manufacturing out of
broken fragments a new casting line. Very possi-
bly this is caused by the fish being more than usual-
ly on the feed. How disagreeable to be compelled
to halt ! — better far to spend ten minutes with the
dry end of gut in your mouth, the more rapidly to
render the hairs fit for knotting, and to know how
to put them together afterward.

The rings npon your rod should be large and not
too numerous, five are sufiicient for the loAver joints,
and about five more for the tip, supposing it to be
a rod thirteen feet in length, and in three pieces. In
America I lately saw rods ringed on both sides, so
that if after unusual hard work and constant use a
tendency to warp was evinced, you altered your reel
to the reverse side and thus counteracted it. ITow-
ever, the better plan, I sliould say, would be to use

IDEAS ON FLY-FISPIIN^a. 245

the reverse sides day about. The only objection to
this double arrangement of rings is additional weight,
but that must be very trifling.

Having now described the rod, the reel, the line,
and the cast, I approach a subject that I liesitate to
touch, viz., fly-tying, for I do not believe that any
one can become an expert, but through constant
practice, after having received a few elementary les-
sons from an adept. I believe I can tie a lair fly ;
but how long do you suppose it was before I readied
my present excellence? Years; and even now^ I
discover wrinkles and new methods of which I was
not previously aware; however, one rule may be
laid down : never to take a turn of the silk round
your hook w^ithout purpose, or without giving it
sufiicient strength to keep it in its place and perform
the duty intended. The most important part is the
simplest and first, the securing of the gut to the
shank of the hook. Unless this is attended to all
your labor is vain and wortldess — so much time
thrown away and wasted. Here comes all the strain,
and a thoughtless turn or two will cause naught but
disappointment. Some anglers, particularly Irish
ones, place the wangs on so that the feather points
from tlie hook, then double them back and tie them

24:6 GUN, ROD, AXD SADDLE.

down. In this metliod mucli practice is necossary to
form a liandsoine licad; but its advocates claim for it
strength. However, I have so frequently found the
silk shp, and the feathers consequently point in the
rc\erse direction, tliat I nnhesitatingly condemn the
j^ractice. To make a handsome and serviceable liy, I
have always followed the method of putting the
wings on separately, care being taken not to injure the
pile of the feathers ; and this should be done last,
the most minute drop of varnish being used over
the silk when the head is finished off. My first effort
to tie a fly turned out a thing like a hummingd^ird,
my second like a humble-bee, and so on till I have
succeeded in making a good imitation of a gnat.
Patience and perseverance have done this, and none
will ever excel in fly-tying without exercising these
qualities, so essentially useful in every walk in life.
As a rule, the bigger the river, the more water it
contains; and the more boisterous the weathei", the
larger the flies that are used; but in summer, when
the streams and burns have become clear and low, the
smallest sizes must be resorted to, tlirown with tlie
lightest line, from the most unobservable and most
sheltei'ed position.

Three flies, their coloring and component parts,

i

IDEAS OX FLT-FISniNG. 217

that I have found successful on almost all waters and
at every portion of the open season, I will describe ;
in fact, I have so much faith in them that I invari-
ably use all three in making ray first essay on an un-
known river, viz., the red hackle, hare's ear and yel-
low, and black hackle. In America, on the small
trout-brooks, I found them equally attractive, evi-
dence of a similarity of taste in fish on the Eastern
and Western continents. Fly No. 1, the red hackle,
body composed of rufns wool, twisted in with tying
silk, lower portions of body to be fine, gradually in-
creasing in thickness till the shoulder is reached.
Shoulder of bright-red cock's hackle, the color that
is obtained in a natural state from the domestic
fowl, game fowls generally producing the finest ;
but if those from the East Indian jungle-cock can be
obtained, you will possess the very best. Wings
put on separately, and obtained from the wings of the
corn crake, shot immediately previous to their au-
tumnal migration. Fly Xo. 2, hare's ear and yellow ;
this has a tail composed of two strands from the
larger feathers of tlie guinea fowl, body composed of
the fine mottled hair ofi!* the ears of a hare, mixed
with fine mohair, of any of the intermediate shades
from straw color to. olive. The mohair should be cut

248 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

short, so that it Avill the bettor mix with the hare's
ear. This clubbing must also be tied in Avith tlie silk,
and the fly should be large at the shoulder. Xo
hackle in this specimen is required. The wings from
the large wing-feathers of the fieldfare, each placed
on separately. Fly No. 3, black hackle ; body of blue
wool or mohair, finished at termination with a couple
of turns of silver tinsel, black hackle from domestic
fowl for shoulder, with the wing composed of the
feather either from tail or wing of the Avater-hen.
The angler had better be provided Avith various sizes
of these, as rivers are not ahvays in the same condi-
tion, and weather is variable. For me to say that
other flies will not kill better on some rivers, or at
least equally Avell, would be absurd, but those de-
scribed I have found most generally useful. A hand-
some and frequently A^ery killing fly at times, partic-
ularly in blustering AA^eather, is made of the following
material. Body of tAvo of the longest and most rufus
strands of a feather from a broAvn turkey; these
strands to have the fingers pulled up them, so as to
cause the fine edges to stand out ; then Avrapped firm-
ly on. Shoulder of broAvn cock's hackle, Avith brown
grouse feather for Aving. In autumn, particularly if
the stream should be clearing after a flood, I have

I

IDEAS OX FLY-FISIIIXG. . 249

known this fly to be most eifective. However, it is
no bad plan if you are a stranger in a neigliborliood,
to get bold of a poor honest disciple of Izaak ^Yalton,
who will give you information, and very probably sell
you some of the contents of his book. However, be-
ware that he does not palm off upon you the dehris
of his collection. Except for sea-trout fishhig, the bril-
liant and many-colored macaw-like compositions are
totally useless in our inland streams, so let not love of
gaudy coloring or the advice of inexperienced persons
induce you to spend your time and money on such
fabrications.

We will suppose the novice accoutered with all
that money and judgment can obtain in the shape of
tackle and rod, at the same time hoping that his gar-
ments are composed of those sober quiet colors that
are least observable ; for whether in shooting, deer-
stalking, or fishing, attention to this is all important ;
that he wears naught that is not useful, and not like
the Laocoon, as I once observed a young gentleman,
6o covered was he with straps and bright-colored
strings suspending lunch-box, and flasks, and innumer-
able otlier contrivances, the very weight of which
must have impeded his movements and fagged him

to death long ere the day was over. He is on the
11*

250 GtTN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

river's margin, at a sjjot free from bush, rock, or
otlier impediment. The rod is carefully put togeth-
er (I hope it is a spliced one, for I shall have more
hope for the beginner's ultimate success from this
choice), the reel is attached, tlie line drawn through
the rings, and tlie cast and Hies carefully taken oif
his hat, round which they have been wrapped (to
make them more subservient and less obstreperous
on commencing work), and made fast to the line.
Ere an attempt at the first cast is made, take one
word of advice. Englishmen are so horsey in their
proclivities that they invariably consider a rod, when
first they handle it, an instrument to be treated and
used in exactly the same manner as a carriage whip.
From boyhood upward they have been used to the
latter, and the Englishman's hand has obtained won-
derful cunning in cracking the same. Now the two
motions are essentially difierent ; the one is perform-
ed by the quickest possible jerk, the other by making
the widest possible sweep, as free from angles as the
turns on a race-course. Get this information so
grafted into your brain that you will not be likely to
forget yourself, for on each occasion of this forgetful-
ness you will pay a penalty by being minus a fly, pro-
bably the trail one. I have known some persons so

IDEAS OX FLY FISHING-. 251

skilled in snapping off flies, even although possessed
of considerable experience, that their custom must
have been of no small advantage to the tradesman
who supplied them with tackle.

Supposing the augler is facing a river whicli he is
desirous of throwing across. The rod being held in
the right hand, gradually, but with increasing veloci-
ty, raise your rod from left to right ; when the line
is straight out from you, make a sweep, and bring the
flies down upon the water with a half-circular motion
of the hand. This last movement will raise the slack
of the line and cause the trail fly to strike the water
first, which should always happen. ^Yhen this first
lesson is thoroughly learned with the left hand, it
should then be practiced up and down stream : when,
with perseverance and attention, such precision may
be gained that the fisherman can place the flies at
every effort within an inch or two of the desired
spot.

252 GUN, EOD, AND SADDLE.

STEOIfG SHOOTIlN"G.

Do guns of this day shoot better than those manu-
factured ten years ago ? The reason why I propound
such a question is, that I hear and read of birds being
killed steadily at seventy and eighty yards, of trap-
shooting being practiced with a fifty yards' rise, and
the performers scoring four out of five. I never lived
in a neighborhood where it was not reported that
there was a vronderful shooting gun, but I never have
had the fortune to see any of them perform their
unprecedented feats; either the shooter's nerves were
out of order or the powder was bad. How unfortu-
nate it is that powder will so often be bad, more
especially when it is desirable that it should be ex-
cellent. When I hear sportsmen, particularly the
young gentlemen, narrate the performances of their
double barrels, I can not help commiserating myself
that I have never been able to obtain better than a
third-rate article for my use, for I have heretofore
thought the gun which killed reliably at forty and

STRONG SHOOTING. 253

Avitli considerable certainty at fifty yards was as near
perfection as obtainable. I do not mean to say that
occasionally a snipe, or even a duck, has not been turn-
ed over at seventy yards, still at such ranges I have
always tliought the odds veiy much in favor of the
birds. As none of my old battery can accomplish
more than above stated, before I go abroad again it
would be desirable to obtain a modern gun, yet I
should not like to adopt a new favorite, which would
shelve an old, without first seeing him perform, but if
tlie novice will kill steadily at seventy with ordinary
gunpowder, such as Curtis and Harvey's, I shall not
have a moment's hesitation on the subject ; therefore
I ask, do modern guns shoot much better — say thirty
per cent, better — than those turned out ten years
ao-o?

25i

IDEAS O^r DOG BEEAKIXG-

How many that would have turned out good men
and useful members of the community, have been ru-
ined in tlieir youth through not being understood,
and possibly treated with undue severity? How
many promising colts, perfect in general appearance,
have turned out runaways, apt to shy, and possessed
of cA'ery failing that it was possible for horseflesh to
learn, therefore irrecoverably ruined, tlirougli the bul-
lying and barbarity of the trainer? As men are
ruined, as colts are ruined, so are a preponderating
percentage of our pointers and setters. My old Dom-
inie used habitu ally to go about witli the end of liis
strap hanging out of his pocket ; no ordinary strap,
but Avhat the reader might imagine a coujile of feet
cut ott' an omnibus trace, terrible only to behold by
such as were fond of toftey, or encased in tight-fitting
jackets. And then the possessor of this strap was no
puny bookworm — no, not he — but a stalwart Celt
with a biceps so tremendous that his wife, proud of

IDEAS OK DOG-BREAKIXG. I'OO

Lis manly development, nsed freqnently to ask her
friends, her female ones of course, when discussing the
relative merits of husbands, " Have you ever seen Wil-
liam's muscle ? " I don't know that I ever saw it ; I
am certain that I often felt it, and believe now that
I would have been much better informed, and at that
j^eriod more devoted to my books, but for the whack-
ing>i that no excuse, whether just or not, could save
me from. So it is with the majority of dog-breakers,
they invest their surphis cash in the purchase of the
most formidable whip tliat can be found, and with it
conspicuously displayed from the yawning pocket of
their velveteen coat strut about in conscious pride,
and are at once dubbed dog-breakers ; and truly they
are dog breakers, if breaking the heart and spirit of
poor canines deserves the appellation.

The dog I have found mucli like the child ; study
his character, mark his eccentricities; when he does
wrong gently admonish him, when he does well, with-
hoLl not the approbation merited. Of course in
both races a headstrong piipil will occasionally be
found, when castigation becomes necessary. With
this I can find no flxult, but I am persuaded that un-
necessary correction is too often administered to both.
In the course of my life I have possessed a great num-

256

ber of pointers and setters, the majority of which
I have broken, and not giving myself undeserved
praise, I have had among the number dogs whicli 1
have seldom seen equaled, never surpassed, and why ?
Simply because I through kindness got my pupils to
love me, to repose confidence in me, and never caused
them to suppose that their love was misplaced and
their confidence trespassed upon. Xo, no, neither is
the strap the necessary adjunct of the schoolmaster,
nor the dog-whip that of the instructor of the de-
voted, unselfish, enduring, and persevering compan-
ion of man. The dog, like the child, is possessed of
affection, which can easily be won if the proper means
are used, and affection alone will induce both child
and dog to do all in their power to serve the object
of their adoration.

Probably the most important point to be attended
to is that the material you go to work on be well bred
and well made. In a puppy two or three months old
the latter is no easy thing to tell, for it is really ex-
traordinary how they change ; but if, on the other
hand, he should be nine or ten months, and possessed
of the following points, you may go to work with
the prospect of your labor not being thrown away :
Medium size, short back, strong couplings, and well

IDEAS ON DOG-BREAKrNG. 257

ribbed up, feet and limbs large, eyes liigh and intelli-
gent. This last is perhaps not so absolutely neces-
sary, for I have seen dogs with the most washy-look-
ing daylights possessed of wonderful sagacity, partic-
ularly among spaniels and French poodles, but I can
not consider it other than a great defect in their per-
sonal appearance. Above all things, avoid a young-
ster Avith a curly tail. I know nothing more unsight-
ly. The last, although the most requisite, desidera-
tum is to know that the pupil possesses a good nose.
When very young this is not so easy to find out,
still with attention to the rapidity with which he
notices tidbits of bread or meat, a probably correct
opinion may be come at ; but Avhen of maturcA age,
say old enough to be shown game, if when 1 imtiiig
he carries his head well up there can be no longer
room for doubt that his olfactory nerves are ail right.
Your field language should always be th.) same,
and each command be expressed by a word of one
syllable, the words being as dissimilar in intonation
as possible ; but it is better far to do without the voice
by substituting the Avhistle. At all events never
speak to your do<|i while hunting unless absolii^'iy
necessary. In early education I always accoin^ any
each order with a movement of the hand; for in-

258

stance, in saying " down " I liold np my right hand.
In a sliort time the holding up the hand alone is suffi-
cient. In quartering your ground, if your dog is far
ahead and you wish him to hunt either to the righ.t
or left of his present position, with one note on the
Avhistle attract Jiis attention, then turn in the line
you wish him to hunt, at the same time waving your
hand in the desired direction. Before long, with a
note on the whistle to make him look toward you,
a wave of the hand will be all that is necessary to
cause him to alter his course to that which may be
wished.

All well-bred dogs will stand game. I believe
they do it for the purpose of ascertaining the exact
2:>osition of the birds, that by a sudden direct rush
they may have a cliance of capturing one. To 2)ro-
h^ng this p;tuse is the important part of the young-
ster's education, and for that purpose the check-
string is to be used. A ])lan that I have adopted
with the greatest success is the following : — Procure
some game birds, I generally use quail, })luck the
feathers from one wing so as to ivduce their power
of flight ; drop them at different i)laces in a grass
field, marking within a few feet of the spot with a
piece of paper, then give the birds ten or lilteeu

IDEAS ON DOG-BREAKING. 259

luiiiiites' lair, so that they may get over their fright
and move about.

Time being up, take your pupil, with check-string
made fast to him, and hunt him up wind. As you
approach where a bird has been deposited, caution
him, appear to be anxiously expecting game, your
manner will make him doubly cautious, so that when
he winds the game he will give you credit for more
capability of finding than himself; your ability will
be appreciated, Avhicli will be shown by the desire
he will manifest in carrying out your future orders ;
but having come up to the birds, when the dog stands
tighten the check-line, bearing heavily against him
if he appears determined to be headstrong, cau-
tioning him in a soothing, confidential tone, and the
instant the bird flutters up give him a sharp jerk and
cause him to " down," as if the departure of the bird
was his fault. Three lessons of this kind, given with
care and proper attention, the pupil being at the proper
stage in other respects, I have always found sufiicient
to make him steady on his point.

Why I disapprove so much the use of the voice,
is founded on two reasons : first, that it is more alarm-
ing to game and more apt to cause them to be wild
than any other sound, not even excepting the report

2G0 GUN, EOD, AND SADDLE.

of the gun ; secondly, if you keep constantly speaking
to your dogs, from hearing incessantly your voice
they become so used to it, that in emergencies they
will fail to give it that prompt attention so desir-
able. I always teach my setters and pointers
to retrieve both by land and Avater; with the
former breed this portion of their education I have
never had any difficulty to impart, with the latter
I have in one or two instances found a most de-
cided antipathy to the aquatic portion, yet I have
always succeeded in the end by following this plan.
When the weather is w^arm take the youngsters with
you bathing, with one or two more aged and previ-
ously instructed companions, wade some distance
out and then call them ; if you have gained their af-
fection they will ultimately come ; if you can do so
without alarming them caress them when in the wa-
ter, and give them a small piece of food. After get-
ting the puppies to Avade till nearly out of their
depth, cross deeper w^ater, and if tliey will not come
at first, hide yourself, occasionally calling them;
I never knew an instance in which they would
not ultimately come, more particularly when they
see the example of their more aged companions. A
few lessons of this sort will give them confidence,

IDEA.S ON DOG-BEE AKING. 261

and after instructing* them to retrieve by land, tliey
will do the same from water.

Some dogs have a natural tendency to retrieve ;
with such there will be no difficulty, while others take
a long- time to comprehend what is desired of them,
one pupil that I possessed coud not be tempted for a
length of time to take any thing in his mouth and
carry it. For days I tried to overcome this repug-
nance till my patience was almost exhausted ; at last I
adopted a new plan and found it successful, I attach-
ed a long string to a ball and after rolling it from me,
he would go and nose it, but do no more ; v>'hen he
was about to leave, by pulling the ball his curiosity
became excited, and he would then lay hold of it.
Repeating this, it awakened a desire to retain it,
and at length, as if in sheer opposition, he would keep
it in his mouth and carry it with him. With others
I have tried the same course, and always successfully.
I do not consider any dog of these breeds perfectly
broken that will not retrieve from both elements ; and
although I know tliat in England it is not generally
considered a necessary part of their education, the
advantages are so obvious that it does not need fur-
ther Comment. At four or five months old you
should commence to handle your youngsters. Ac-

2G2 GUN, HOT), AND SADDLE.

custom them to tlie roads, it will liflp to overcome
tlicir timidity and assist iiiliardeuing their feet. At six
or seven months they slionkl be familiar and conver-
sant with the more simple portions of tlieir education,
such as " down," " heel,"ctc.; and at about ten months
game can be sliown them; but on no account permit
them to do a day's work, ov exhaust tliemselves in
liunting, till six or seven months more are over their
lieads. As to speed, it is a common suj)position that
if a dog have a good nose he can not have too much
speed; but very fast dogs are apt to run over game,
and consequently flush it from tlie very rate they are
moving at. I have observed also that those who will
do the longest and severest day's work are less impet-
uous as a rule than others. When shooting i-egularly,
the dogs in use should always be kept in their kennel
exce[)t when in the field ; their associating liberty with
their work makes them more zealous and anxious to
please. On hunting days one good substanti:d meal,
immediately after reaching home, with a i)iece of
oaten or coarse bread in the middle of the day, will
be found the best working diet; a dog with a lull
stomach is in a most untit state to be used.

There is one desci'i])tion of dog I never would kee])
ill my kennel, viz., one that trails his game. ^Soinc

IDEAS ON DOG-BREAKIXG. 2G3

persons recommeiKT an artifice to make liim hold his
head up, which is in my opinion all nonsense, be-
cause the fault lies in the animal being defective in
scenting powers. But even if sucli should not be tlie
case, and they are capable of finding as ranch game
as the dog who ranges with his head up, you will not
have the same sport, for although game may lie well
to the latter, they certainly will not to the former.
The birds possibly argue thus, " that harum-scarum
fellow with head up, slasiiing along after some impor-
tant business to the other side of the field, is too pre-
occupied to mind us ; as long as we lie close, there is
nothing to be feared." But, on the other hand, the
inquir)^ (if birds talk to one another) will be made by
some sagacious old paterfamilias, "What's that pot-
tering dog doing down there ? " All eyes are im-
mediately directed to the disagreeable intruder in
question, and very soon it becomes a decided point
among tlie featliered fiimily tliat their footsteps are
being followed, and that with felonious intentions,
and in preference to waiting for further information
they wing their way to safer retreats. It is not
because birds and quadrupeds don't talk that
they don't think, particularly wild ones, wlien it is
ou a point regarding safety. When young dogs arc

264: GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

SO jealous and headstrong that they will not back
one another, it is well to UvSo them separately, along
with an old and stanch favorite. A point being
obtained hj the senior, let tlie younger approach him
as close as, if possible, for him to see the old dog, then
make him down charge, by raising j^our hand, and
keep him in that position till your barrels are reloaded ;
but if it be attainable, the elder dog being the farthest
ahead, call up the pupil and give him the wind, after-
ward slowly approaching where the firs"t point is
made, showing by both manner and voice that you
are on the qui vive^ and do not let his pace be faster
than your own till the elder dog is reached, when any
attempt to outstrip or go ahead of the proprietor of
the find, should be instantly corrected. With a little
patience and repetition of these maneuvers success
will be the result. I can not recommend, however,
the practice of constantly hunting old and young
dogs together ; for the former, from greater experi-
ence, will find more game, and the latter seeing this
will begin to disbelieve in his own powers, and follow
the veteran, that he may always be at hand when
sport is obtained.

The report of the gun should invariably be the sig-
nal for dogs to drop to shot ; this lesson should early

IDEAS ON DOG-BREAKING. 265

be inculcated at home. To familiarize the dog witli
the gun I liave been in the habit of taking a ])istol
with me to the kennel, and all the youngsters being
called into the yard, fire it, making all drop to shot ;
after having kept them a sufficient time down, I
would cause the food to be brought in, and with a
wave of the hand permit them to rise and have their
grub. To have to shout " down," keeping an eye at
the same time on each of your dogs so as to enforce
the order if necessary, is very unsportsmanlike, and
certainly very much out of place when all your
powers of vision and observation are indispensable
to mark where the departing covey are going to
pitch, or the dead and wounded drop.

When seeking for a wounded or killed bird never
allow your dogs to know that you have been unsuc-
cessful : if you have given as long a time as you can
spare for the purpose and see no ultimate prospect of
finding, take one of your bagged birds and drop it
when the dog is engaged, then cast back that he may
wind it, and thus believe that his search has not been
fruitless.

The setters most in vogue at the present day I do

not like nearly as much as those that were preferred

fifteen years ago, for this reason, that they appear to
12

266 GUN, ROD, x\ND SADDLE.

mc too s'jcdy ; such of course may suit tlic person
wlio only shoots a few hours at a time, and then
over highly cultivated level land, but the sportsman
who goes in for work, who shoots for shooting's sake,
and not simply to get up an appetite, to whom every
day that he is out is too short, would, I am certain,
find more satisfaction in the representatives of the old
school. Some time since so deeply was I impi-essed
witli this idea, that I crossed some of my stock with
a well-bred, but rather lai'ge cover si)aniel ; the result
was that the second cross were not only handsome,
but animals that there was no end of work in, with
great activity and energy.

It frequently happens that among a lot of y(Mmg-
sters you will find one most provokingly backward,
who won't hunt or take any interest in the proceed-
ings. Put a curb on your temper and have patience.
You may have to wait, but gradually the apathy will
wear off, and ultimately he may turn out the flower
of the flock. I remember ayomigster, which until he
was eighteen months old, refused to take notice of
game. Two or three times a week, for months, he
saw birds killed, yet all was incapable of imbuing him
with the proper spirit, for he would scarcely ever leave
heel. At length the ice was broken, lie got by ac-

IDEAS OX DOG-BREAKING. 267

cident among a covey, which his experience toUl him
he would flush if he moved, and from that day a new
era commenced in his life. But this is not so much to
he wondered at. Can not all of us remember some
contemporaries at school who were supposed to be
almost wanting common sense, but who, ultimately,
turned out brilliant men? Intellect is not equally
rapidly developed in each, and precocity is not al-
ways the precursor of brilliancy in mature life.

Having said thus much about our favorites, I can
scarcely lay down my pen without expressing an idea
or two on the lords of che creation. Bad sportsmen
never have good dogs. The fussy, nervous, excitable
person never has good dogs. It is a moral impossi-
bility that they can be so, although they may have
been most perfectly broken. In such hands they are
certain to retrograde in performance, in the same way
that the regiment that is perfect in its drill Avhen
under its cool and collected colonel, becomes a rabble
under the irate, irascible, nervous major. " Keep cool"
should be your motto ; for if you can not, your suc-
cess will only be moderate. Xothing is so destruc-
tive to both dogs and success as hurry. Listen in
conclusion to the advice of an old and excellent
sportsman, and you will see that his ideas much coiu"

268 GUX, ROD, AND SADDLE.

cide with mine : — AboA^e all things never permit your-
self to be hurried ; but when using youngsters, yes,
and even old and tried dogs, j^erform your loading
and duties with as much accuracy as a soldier upon
parade, remembering that the loss of a crippled bird
is nothing to spoiling a valuable dog ; for those which
have courage and energy, and consequently the most
promising, will, from such neglect, be the most liable
to suffer.

WILDERNESS LIFE. 209

WILDEEIS^ESS LIFE.

Circumstances had caused me to attach myself to
a trader, wlio, with about twenty teamsters, was en
route for uortliern Mexico. My duties were to liuut and
supply the ])arty with game, a pleasant enough occupa-
tion but not without danger, for the greater portion of
the country we traversed l)elonged to the much-dread-
ed Comanche, the most reckless race of freebooters and
horsemen proba1)ly on tlie face of the earth, \<\\o are
at war with every one, and prize nothing more than
a white man's scalj). Knowing such to be the case
it behooved me to keej) my weather eye open when
separated from my newly-formetl acquaintances, but
for all my watchful ner.s I several times had narrow
escapes. Still time fled pleasantly onward, and as
I write this I look back with delight to the happy,
free, thoughtless liours passed either in the saddle or
Avatching the movements of the wild animals that
knew no bounds to their demesne. The Indians sel-
dom troubled my thoughts, for I had a mare, that

270 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE.

I daily rode, handsome as a picture, and as game,
fleet, and enduring as any animal I had ever thrown
a leg over, thorough-bred I believe, and as sagacious
as a dog. Between her and my bat mule there ex-
isted a most extraordinary affection. I had but to
go ahead, and the latter was certain to follow, so if
I did not fall into an ambuscade I knew full well I
could distance any Comanche braves till I regained
camp, where, behind the wagons backed by the stal-
wart Missourian teamsters, who well knew the use
of their riHes, I would be safe. Unfortunately tlie
principal of the expedition was a most unpleasant
and unpopular person, so that between his bullying
and his unpleasant manner, a mutiny was raised
among his retainers, and the consequence was that
the majority started en masse on their own hook,
to seek another employer, or find their way back
to their native State.

My education and antecedents had been such as to
give me a horror of mutiny ; moreover, tip to this
date, I had nothing to complain of, so I determined
to stick to the wagons, and use every effort in my
power to save the owner from the only alternative
that appeared left, the deserting of all Ins property
in the wilderness. Erti long, however, I was com-

WILDEENESS LIFE. 271

pelled to cliange ray resolution, for no one conld sub-
mit to his irascible temper and constant insulting lan-
guage; so, with no companions but my mare and
mule, I left the camp, one bright morning in the month
of February, with the determination of returning east-
ward alone. The step was full of danger, but I pre-
ferred running the risk rather than remain to be fur-
ther insulted, or seek redress by recourse to weapons,
too often done in this lawless portion of the world.

As the teams were being hitched up I started in
the reverse direction, little aAvare of the trying ordeal
that was before me. My animals were in good condi-
tion and spirits.

For a week I traveled northeast, in the hope of
finding a suitable halting-place to remain in till
spring fairly commenced. At length I came upon
a spot which took my lancy — a small table-land
well sheltered from the northern wind, and under-
neath a valley, from which the snow had partially
disappeared, and where there was a fair quantity of
bunch grass, the most desirable food for the quadru-
peds. Under a projecting rock I made my camp,
for the spot was so inclosed tliat I hoped the light-
ing of a fire would not attract attention. Weeks
rolled by, and the mare and mule lost little of their

272 GITK, ROD, AND SADDLE.

condition, although the v\-eathcr was frequently pinch-
ing cold. The canons in the neighborhood sup-
plied me witli abundance of game, and each day I
expected that a break in the weather would justify a
start for the eastern settlements. Of course one day
was only in outline a repetition of the other, but how
widely different in detail. In the morning the horses
were taken to the bottom, breakfast was cooked,
the enjoyable pipe lit, and the direction settled in
which I would hunt, returning earlier or later, accord-
ing to success. Tlie afternoon would pass mending
moccasins or clothes, cleaning arms or arrangiuii,
camp, procuring firewood, till it was time to hunt up
the nags, which being accomplished, and the evening
meal dispatched, on a bed of leaves I would smoke
myself to sleep, painting pictures of distant home till
no longer conscious. A hunter's camp always becomes
a rendezvous for two or three wolves, and two of
these scoundrels were seldom beyond sight. Latter-
ly they became so tame that they would come close
enough to pick up ji bone if thrown to tliem, and one
niglit when the cold was more rigorous than usual,
on awaking to add fVesli fuel to the lire, I saw one of
tliem sitting beside the warm embers, nodding his
head like a sleei)y listener to a prosy sermon. Every

WILDERNESS LIFE. 273

day I expected to be able to set out. The apponr-
ance of the sky denoted change as I turned in on the
last evening, but whether it was anticipation of the
good things to be obtained when civilization had
been reached, I know not, or an unaccountable con-
sciousness that danger was not far distant, I could
not sleep. First I tried one side and then the other,
but without effect. As it was not cold the fire had
gradually decayed till only a few embers remained,
making the surroundino- darkness more intense.
"While I was hesitatino; whether the rebuilding^ of the
fire or a fresh pipe would induce sleep, uneasiness
seemed to have taken possession of my animals. The
mule was as watchful as a dog, and as I knew he
would not leave his fmend, I invariably left him un-
tied. Several times he uttered that short, quick
snort so peculiar to the species, and always indicative
of alarm, while the mare kept moving as far as her
lariat would permit her. It might be any thing,
from a deer to an Indian, so as my ai-nis Avere at
hand, I cpiietly crawled out of my lair, taking special
caution that no momentary flicker from the fire
should disclose ray movements, and by a short detour
got beside the nags, and soon had the soft, silky muz-
zle of Beckey in the palm of my hand. The great-
12 *

274 GUN, KOD, AND SADDLE.

est disaster a man can suffer in sucli a situation is the
loss either of his ammunition or of his horses. If
there were any hostile redskins in the neighborhood,
by the step I had taken a stampede of my animals
•was now impossible, A few of the longest hours I
thus sat, my presence reassuring the beasts, and,
when day broke, so still had all become, that I doubt
not I should have been asleep, only that the hour
preceding day is well known to be invariably the
time selected by Indians to carry out their machina-
tions. In the morning, quietly moving about camp,
as if pursuing unsuspiciously my usual av^ocations, I
particularly examined the locality, when, among the
remaining scattered patches of snow, the easily-dis-
tinguished bruised moccasin track of an Indian was
discovered, doubtless made by a brave, who in
search for game had got benighted, when he had stum-
bled across my hiding-place. My camp was there-
fore no longer safe ; the coming night, he, with his
companions, would be back, when woe betide the
solitary white man. My horses I accompanied to
their feeding-ground, not })ermitting tliem to get be-
yond control, and as soon as their ajjpetites were
sufficiently satisiied, I returned to my little liome
for tlic last time. The few trifles I possessed were

WILDERXESS LIFE. 275

soon packed, and nothing remained further to delay
me. Still I waited a quarter of an hour longer, for
the purpose #f building a pile of wood, in which I
placed some smoldering embei-s, in the hope that it
would not blaze up till several hours after dark — an
indication that I doubted not the redskins would
construe into a certain evidence that I Avns stil) ig-
norant of being discovered. On my arrival in the
Bayou my mare had been a little tender in f'-ont
from her hoofs having been worn very close ; the
period of rest had rectified tliis, and, full of hope and
anticipation, I pushed my way eastward, the only
regret that passed like a cloud over my mind occur-
ring as I took the last, ay, and long look, at my
wilderness home.

{i