Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, January 6, 1895, Page 7

ON THE LEGENDARY PLATTE The 8tory of a Wild Gooe Hunt in Wintery December, THE FCRIST, FIELD AND STREAM °r with the Ball Player and the Byker ~ Among the Horsem The Red Tall Hawk and the Usunl Grist of Loeal sports. HERE royal sport s much for the gunner In Nebraska, | but passes equals goose ehoot- | ing the Platte. | The time was when | this stream one of the most famous resorts for the birds, both fall pring, of any in the known world, 18 stll a haunt numerously visited In The population of the coun . with it8 attendant Increase of rs, has done much to reduce the flocks that come in here nowadays, and instead of countless thousands they are only be | seen In scattered flocks, some days mol less, but never in a feathered avalanche as overwhelmed the region regularly, season in_and season out, twenty years ago. In company with B Dundy, jr., and Myron Learned of this city and Chariie Hoyt | and Sam Richmond of Clarks, I put in a couple of days recently at the latter point and had one of the most pl > liunts that has fell my way for For many years Clarks 1 a favorite rendeavous of the goose hunter, and even fr these latter days continues to furnish as good returns as any point along the river. It is the home of such celebrities as Sam Richmond and Chariie: Hoyt, the most suc- ceasful goose huaters! in the whole Platte valley, and whose services aro almost in- dispensable to visiting hunters. Richmond will run & big hotel camp on the river this spring, and gunners patronizing him will be most satisfactorily cared for. The first day we shot from bars just a couple of miles below Clarks and we had great luck, Dundy, Hoyt and myself getting nine big Canadas and Learned and Sam seventeen, including two Hutchins. Reaching the point from where we were to wade out to the bars about 9 o'c . we could not resist the temptation of halting and for a brief time enjoying the romantic scenery. The unfettered Platte rushed and gurgled and rippled as it bore on its way, as it under a spell of enchantment, with the soft, south breezes playing over its frothy surface and the yelow sunlight kissing the ragged masses of floating fice and frosted bars into radiant smiles. aly, the Platte river, in the fall, presents a thrilling picture, flowing, as it does, ith a migh impetu- osity onward and downward through one of the grandest agricultural regions in the world, 8o lovely yet xo wild and fascinating in its environing detail ssive in its sweet of grandeur. ar the ea ward are the dim outlines of the bar ands, with thelr lacustral borders the cottonwoods stand naked and spectral, but gleaming topaz and opal in the soft light; to the west numberless towheads and islands, dark and gloomy in the shadows, but affording the most excellent blinds from which to deal out death and destruction to swift-winged duck and wary goose. Stretch- ing before you, through a network of float- ing Ice, foam and snow-laden floes, the savage Platte, a gleaming, glittering expanse of crystal waters, dim artery to all that vast country beyond, everywhere offered a favored home for the coyote and jack rabbit, «chicken, Canada goose, mallard, sandhili crane, redtail hawk and that king of the air, the eagle. The Platte i a wonderful stream, and at this time of the year, like in the spring, it is gencrally one seemingly dnterminable stretch of watery wilderness, the whole country for miles appearing to be so swal- lowed up by its extending shores as to make it next to impossible to-pick out or distin- guish the river proper. The main channel, it there Is such a thing, even to one most famillar with the configuration of the land- scape, cannot be determined from the count- less sluices, divides, cut-offs, guts and cul-de- #acs which crowd its broad bed. It is sel- dom, It ever, In this region, at any point, over a man's head, although from ope to one and a quarter miles wide, but there are channels deepsr than others, treacherous holes and beds of quicksand, which make it hazardous, even for the most adventurous and skilled hunter to enter; yet, in their high waders or macintoshes, ~they boldly penetrate to the most remote bar, and cross and recross, here, there, and everywhere, without cither fear or disaster, and yet many an unwary and fnexperienced hunter has met death in its powerful, merciless and per- fdious current. These fatalities, however, in almost every case, have occurred In the spring, when the river is at its highest, the floating ice most dangerous, and the quick- sands more frequently encountered. om the time when but a solitary wagon trail crossed the state, and ages back of that, in all likelihood, the Platte river has been one of the most noted resting and roosting places for wild geese, during thelr spring and autumn migrations, there is to be found this side of the Californias, and as I re- marked before, is still a region much visited by these great birds. In the morning the geese leave the bars and fly off to the corn and stubble flelds for food, returning for ablution and rest shortly before noon, and then off again about the middle of the after- noon for their vesperian refreshments, and back In the dusk of eventlde for rest and safety on the bars through the cold and dreary hours of the night. Qur first morning out was a glorious one, even for De: While the atmosphere was 4 bit keen, everything was as fresh and radient as June. The pink tints of dawn had hardly faded before we had stored away a substantial breakfast at the Commercial house, and were on our way to the shootiog grounds. An hour's drive brought us to the point down the river, off from which we were 10 shoot. The distant bluffs had now warmed into hazy purple, while the tops of the soraggy cottonwoods glistened In gold, A lit- tle later, and the genial sun was kindling the grass and willow sprouts into yellow life, and now picking out the weedy crannies and water-worn gulches, everything was quickly under one broad {llumination. A belated lark piped Nis merry note as blithsome as in May, from a swaying mullin stalk hard by; a wanderiug breeze fluttered over the land” scape, and soveral great lines of geese were seen cutting the air to the east on their way from the bars to the feeding grounds, Scip, Hoyt and myself went together, and Sam and Learned, and while the latter drove off to a point a mile below us, we were not #low in making preparations for the midday return of the birds. Each one cut a bundle of brushwood, and with this, and our guns and decoys, we made our way (o a favorable bar. It ‘was with some trepidation we steamed the powerful current, but in spite | of this and the perfidious shoals of quick sand and floating ico. we finally reached the point selected. Old Honker,” as Hoyt is familiarly known to the goose shooters who visit Clarks, was but a marvelously short time In arranging the blind, and the decoys all carefully set out to the wicdward, we were soon ready and eager for business. But It was a long wait, nearly two hours | and & balf, before our straiaed and impatient | vislon was rewarded with anything more im- portant than the passage of @ crow or snow bird, when suddenly that electrifying mono- | syllable “mark!" came from the vigilant Hoyt, and all crouch'ng low behind our shield | of brush, we peered cagerly through the in- | terstices. A bunch of five gees was coming | in, all Canadas, with a huge old veteran i the lead, They were coming in from the northwest, and decoying splendidly A moment more and the grand quintette set | thelr wings ard came directly at us. I was on the west, the side nearest the approaching birds, Honker in the middle, and Seip to the east, and in order that no bungle be made, I | whispered: “I'll take the last bird, Seip the deader, and Charle, you bang into the mid- dle of them!" The next moment they were withi and we were on our feet as a i Crack! crack! and again, went our guns al- | most together. Hoyt got one with each bar- none that sur- or even to where rea e man | the | had |t were discoyered cf | their splendid | South 1 | in front of me, zel, but I only got my second one down Tho old leader wust have looked as big as | the fabled Roc in the Arabisn Nights to the | | while THE but he never flinched. He poked hi load full into his broad, -ash-colored side, and thes, as he wheeled with a startled ah-honk-honk-honk! and began to climb sky- ward, Scip steadied himself, and down he whirled bift! into the water at his second barrel Ho was doad ns a_stone, and 8o was mine, but the one Honker had gotten down with his second shot, was only wing-tipped. He had fallen on the bar, but before Charlie suc- ceeded In getting a Killing shot ha led him & merry chase a halt-mile out into the foam- Ing river. ip's bird welghed quite seventeen pounds, besides him, we had three other fine ones, and wera ' correspondingly jubilant But we were allowed only a few moments for congratulation, when another flock was descried In the distance, coming straight our way. On, on thoy came, as If pulled by a string, they came o directly into us, There were over twenty of them, and waiting until they dropped their crimson feet to light upon sands of the bar, we again arose and poured a volley of lead into them, four birds again fell, while a fifth, hard s , fwerved from the main flock as the soared away, and flylig stralght across the river, went over the line of low woods and fell in a cornfield a mile awa: Then came a long wait returned to the bars, start 1o leave again before 3 or 4 oclock, and we were de- bating whether to go In'o shore and give the quail a whirl or not, when a flock of canvas- ing over the oper water a half mile below us. Honker brought his caller into play and after considerable effort succeeded in attracting thir attention and they started to come over. They soon B0t thelr keen eyes on the geese decoys, but shied past just when we thought they were coming in. They made a circle of a mile or more, then came bearing down upon us like a whirlwind. We saw that they were exceedingly wary and agreed to take a long chance. Sure enough when within possibly y-five yards of the decoys they dished, with a sibilant swish, and began to go up at the rate of a mile a minute, and feeling that this was our only show, we jumped quickly to cur feet and let them havs six barrels, We didn't get a feather! When we got to shore that evening Honker struck a bee line off into the cornfiell where our wounded goose had fallen in the afternoon, and in ten minuets he was back, bringing the bird with him. We were shortly joined by Sam and Learned, and when they displayed kill of seventeen geese, we felt a bit crestfallen. However, we were pretty well satisfied curselves. We had nine, and one that tipped the scales at nearly eighteen pounds, and we felt under the cir- cumstances that we had no kick coming. Learned, of course, was excessively jubilant, nd as guarrulous as an old woman, and in- isted on telling us of his extraordinary hooting, how he killed five birds out of a singlo flcck, three with his own blunderbus and two with Sam's gun. Richmond had gone ashore to jump a flock that settled on a bar below them, and where, he apprehended, they would decoy all the Incoming birds. He left his gun in the blind. While he was out a big flock of Canadas came In. Myron sat like a block of ice. The birds lit, and then he didn’t do a thing to them. Two dead in their tracks at the first crack; another at to his second barrel; then he grabs Sam's gun and gives them some more. Bang! another Canada, and bang! again, and still another For a moment, he d, he thought it was raining geese, but when' he began to tell us of the two crips that flew off over the woods and fell in the fialds, we demanded a halt, but he wouldn't have it, and kept up his tale of wos until we reached the hotel, and far Into the night, Scip declaring that he cracked the old chestnut ovar and over In his sleap. t day was another glorious one, and while we did not bag quite so many birds, we had plenty of shooting and plenty of spert. SANDY GRISWOLD. and Most of the birds and would not Yorest, Field and Stream, Tho only game which can now legally fall to the sportsman's gun is equirrels and rab- bits. The law on chicken and quail was up Tuesday last. Fred Montmorency and Stocky Heth took a last jaunt through the brush and stubble last Monday up near the famous Honeycreek. They found birds in abundance, but owing to the cold found shooting very difficult, yet they bagged twenty odd birds, A great deal of interest is being manifest among the trap shots over the coming match between J. C. Read of this city, and George Nicolal of Sutton. It will be at 100 live birds each for $100 a side, and takes place on the Bemis Park Gun club grounds, across the river, one month frqm next Monday, February 7. That it will be a close and in- teresting raco goes without faying, as both men are more than fair shots, and quite evenly balanced at the trap. Report has it that a good many fine bass and pickerel are being taken from Cut-Off and other adjacent lales through the ice, The new game law, once: on the statute books, and’ this nefarious practice will be brought to a speedy termination, While enroute for the western Platte coun- try this fall, our little party fell in with Jack O'Hern in the smoker of the Pullman, and enjoyed his society on to our destina- tion. Mr. O'Hern is superintendent of the Union Pacific shops at Cheyenne, and speak: ing of shooting and game, Ne said he had ju returned, a few days previous, from a sue- cesstul antelope shoot. “Yes," remarked one of our party, “‘that 13 all right for you fellows out in Wyom- ing, but here in Nebraska we have got to be content with ducks and geese.” “I beg your pardon,” interjoined the suave superintendent, “'but our party came to Ne- braka for our hunt!” “What?" “That's what I said. We stopped at Bush- nell, the last station on this road in the state, and did not go out of Kimball county for a single animal, and we Killed nine. Why, I tell you there were more antelope in Nebraska this fall than there has been for ten years, and there were a pile of them killed, too." “You don't say?” Yes, but I do. The last morning we were out, I sat on my pony on the top of a moderate sandhill, and saw no less than three bands at one glance of the eye, and there wasn't less than twenty In each band.” “You can bet your life I'li have a little of that In mine in another fall, eh, judge? en- thusiastically exclaimed the legal member of our party. “Nixey," quoth the judge. “I've killed a car load’ of ‘em, and wouldn't go twenty miles to see a thousand of them. Give me geese and ducks, there's the sport for you, And I don't Know but what the judge, as usual, {s eminently corgect, On Wednesday last a farmer living just southwest of Bellevue shot a common red- tailed hawk that had attacked and all but Killed a full grown turkey hen. The bird was brought into my office and then taken to Scow, the taxidermist, for mounting, Speaking of hawks reminds me of a little ineldent that came under my own observation a year ugo last fall while duck shooting in kota with Lawyer Simeral and Stocky Heth. I was Iying in my blind one afternoon, impatiently awaiting some signs of a flight, when suddenly I was startied by the distant honk! ahonk! of a goose Carefully stanning the surroundings I quickly made out a long line of the birds coming over the lake directly toward me from the southwest. They were fiying low, not more than a couple of yards above the water, and 1 was at once all eagerness, for 1 was moral'y certain of getting a shot. All hun- ters, however, will appreciate my pique and disappointment when e birds quictly slid into the lake's cooling depths immediately but 120 yards away. There they floated like 50 many shadows in the image of Apser Canadensis. The lake was glossed over with the slanting sunshine, and all about was still as death. I lay perfectly wovel:ss, hoping the birds would swim In within range of my Lefever. But they were a wary lot, and had evidently been there before. Suddenly there was the wildest com- motion wmeng them, and with wings lifted high and beating violently, they bunched to- gether in an incredibly small space, ail the time emitting o savage, hissing sound, not uulike that of the tame goose whan annoyed by the small boy. I was ot kept loug waiting for the caus: of this singular scene, for the next astant, with a smothered fcreech, a big redtall hawk darted down fnto the very thickest of the birds, snd he made the feathers fly they beat him off with their sturdy pinions. he came back quickly to the attack Reaching an altitude of forty feet, down he came again, head first, like an arrow from the bow, Into their very midst. Again they beat him off and again he assailed them, the last time causing them to leave their resting place on the lake with discordant squawks. They only flew a couple of hundred yards until they again dropped Into the Raccoon's refreshing waters. The hawk was a bold buccanneer, however, and he was right after them, and they had no more than struck the lake's surface before he was onto them again. Agaln that scene of wild commotion and shrill_sounds occurred, but this time it grew flercer and continued longer, and to my ‘ll\mrw ment 1 failed to see Colonel Redtail emery from fhe group as he was wont on every other assault 1 #tood up In my boat and,” shading my eyes, peered off over th lake in keen excitement.: The geése were | huddied closely together and their wings were beating the air and water like flails, while the hissing was louder and more vicious than ever. 1 was about concluding that the hawk had met his masters and by some mishap they had succeeded in getting him in their clutches, when suddenly 1 dis- cried his brown shape, as it shot from out the very midst of the clamoring geese, and went like a fleeing shadow off over the rice beds, the hay flelds and the low darkening sand hills, out of the range of vision beyond. hen there was a low cackling among the Be e, & flap or two of a wing and they rose, and, wheeling north, bore swiftly away, as if they, too, were anxious to leave a scene that had been fraught with so much danger. Tt is a singular thing, but the redtail hawk is to bo found no more numerously anywhere than he is about the isolated little lakes within the arid depths of the western sand- hills. I have killed scores of them on my semi-annual hunts, and seen more in a single fall than in all my life together before. While crouched in a blind in the rice or reeds on a calm autumn afternoon it is not uncommon to see a dozen of these beautiful but wary birds a-wing at the same time. They are inordinately fond of wild duck meat, and but few cripples escape them. They circle about the rice and rushes, this and that, in ard out, until their keen eyes detect the hiding mallard or widgeon, and then it Is all day with the wounded bird. These hawks, while T have never yet found a nest, certainly breed in the sandhills, and must build their nests in the sand, as there are mo rocks or ledges, trees or any other sort of lodgment where they could de- posit their eggs and perform the duties of nidification, The state fish commission will make some big plants of bass and pike fry in the west- ern streams and lakes the coming spring. Grorge Kleinman and Dr. Carver will meet at Watson park, Chicago, early in February, and will shoot off their match for the cast- Iron championship of America. Kleinman won the medal in open competition a few weeks ago. The medal represents the live- bird championship of America. The match Wil be at 100 birds for $100 a side. State Fish Commissioner Lou May has re- turned from a two months' sojourn in Louislana. He looks hale and hearty, and has some thrilling tales to tell of the sea bass he caught off Pass Christian, and the pompano and red-snapper at Bay St. Louis. _ The trap shooters are all impatiently wait- ing for John J. Hardin to set a date for his L match shoot with the Plumber. v_broposed game law provides for rest for deer and antelope; also a good sound license for non-resident shooters, Over at Des Molnes Next Friday. The annual merting of the Western associa- tion will convene at the Savery hotel, Des Molnes, next Friday afternoon at 1 o'clock. As the association now stands there are nine cities in the circuit and, it St. Paul'fs counted, ten. But St. Paul is merely ‘a dream. Sioux City, however, Is a bonafide menber and is in to stay, notwithstanding Omaha, Lincoln, St. Joe, Des Moines, Quincy, Jacksonville, Rock Island and Peorla. all think they are fixtures. Some one fs fais- taken. Who is It? It cannot possibly. be Omaha, because Omaha is the head and front of the whole institution. The assocla- tion was conceived here and we own the president and all the machinery. It cannot be Lincoln, because Thomas Jefterson Hickey says no, and what Thomas Jefferson says generally goes. Des Moines? Nope. Billy Traflley, the big Indian with an appetite, has a big coop full of shanghals over thera and says he can sell eggs enough to carry them through if there isn’t a man at a game this summer. St. Joe? Hardly. She has had the hieroglyphies sponged off the slate and Is back for another year, Must be Quincy or Jacksonville, and likely both, for, accord. ing to the Sioux City Tribune, Rockford “is wild over base ball and would almost scll its court house and postoffice to get into the assoclation. It is said to be the most en- thuslastic town In the west over the na- tional game, and, while it is not as large as some other’ places, is willing to guarantee playing the season through. It has selected Hugh Nicol as manager and the business men have already raised $1,800 cash and placed It in a bank to his credit. Then the town, like most other places that want base ball and arc not quite large enough to afford it, has a street rallway that will help sub. stantially.” This makes it look as if Rock- ford would be taken in. Anyway, there is to be a good deal of hair pulling at the meeting. Lincoln s after Dave Rowe's scalp and asserts she has It as good as dangling at her belt, and this means war to the knife. In case Uncle Dave is given the fire W. V. Kent of Jacksonville will step in, and it that happens how are we going to get rid of the village? It looks to a man up a tree as if the Savery will be the scene of a good deal of sulphurous pyrotechnics about next Friday afternoon, and I'll have to run over and take ‘em in, Palaver with the #all Players Kid Fear has signed with Grand Rapids and his contract has been approved. Nick Young, president of the National league, has notified KFear that Dave E. Rowe had no power to suspend him only for the season of 1894, Buck Ebright is very popular in Lincoln and will have every facility for giving the capital a strong team this season. Barnes, the pitcher, says that Buck would be a hard man to match, 80 far Omaha has not signed a man, and seems In no particular hurry to do so until after the annual meeting next Friday. Man- ager McVittie, however, is negotiating with a number of good men, and expresses no fear but what he will be able to secure a much stronger team than he had last season, All'New York 1s agitated qver a rumor that Buck Ebright is after George Van Haltren, Both Kmg Gaff and Fighting Tim Hurst have been given the grand fire by the Na- tional league, Lynch, Emslie, MeQuald, Keefo and McDonald constitute the umpire staff so far. Up in Cleveland they'll bet you alm thing but money that *‘Chippy” McGarr—our own erstwhile Chip—is the best third base- man, barring Nash, in the National league. Jack Haskell floated in with the last cold wave. He is big and fat, and will likely flap bis lungs in the interests of the Western league this year. Manning of Kansas City likes him, and that is equivalent to a job. John McMahon, the Washington catcher, was called out for all time on Tuesday last at his home in Bridgeport, Conn. Bright's disease was the umpire, It is to be hoped that the Western assoc ation moguls will take some action on the loud and vulgar coaohing business so dis- gustingly prominent in these western cities last year. Such men as Nosey Shaffer, Mat- tie McVicker, Little Hollingsworth, Jakey Strauss and a few others of a similar breed, should be muzzled while a game s in prog. ress. A code of signals should be used during 4 game—nothing else. Harry Clayton, who caught for Milwaukee early last season, has been harpooned by John L. Barnes for his Minn:apolis war party, A crusado has set in from certa'n quarters agaiust the big mitt, acd it is very probable that some reform in this direction is forth- coming. It {s both a ludicrous and a tantal- izing sight to see a short stop or second or third baseman wearing a glove, which If nec- essary, they could hide behind, and I have seen ‘as many pretty plays spoiled by this very habit as [ ever saw made. Still, that is not the greatest objection, it is the fact that fielding s thus dependant upon a specles of machinery instead of adroitness with the hands, Might as well contrive a hand cata- Lnlll for the pitcher and & spring-bat for the atter, st any- OMAHA DAILY BE JA NUARY 6, FAVORITE B/\‘[()ODI'.D DOGS Fine Points of Breoding that Invariably Win Prizas, el ST. BERNARDS AND-RUSSIAN WOLFHOUNDS A Where the Dogs of -Fashion in America Nearly All Come, Erom—Strong Charace terlatics of Bloogho How n Mastift Kestored a Child, (Copyright, 1594, McClure, Limited.) The dogs of fashion in America have pretty nearly all of them come to the United States by way of Great Britain. There s to be sure, in this country some distinctive breeds that originated on this side of the Atlantic, and the dogs of the Indian vil- lages are probably indigenous, aboriginal Among the dogs that are American in sense of first having been produced by a crossing of streams till there was a distinctive type are the Newfoundland, the Chesapeake bay dog, the American fox hound, the American bloodhound and one or two others. The coon dogs are distinctively American, but 1 am afrald they cannot be said to form a separate type, yet I do not insist on this opinfon; a reference of this question to the members of congress repre- senting districts south of Ma line would probably secure some and authoritative Information on a subject of which the world at large is now in entire ignorance. But the dog of fashion, the dog that attracts great attention at the bench shows, the dog that commands high prices, comes to us by way of Great Britain, and in most instances Is practically of British or- fgin. Two of the dogs now fetching the highest prices and therefore occupying the position of ultra fashion in the canine world, are not British, but they are very fashionable in Bogland, and had this not have been there by 8 8 the | here | on and Dixon’s | valuable | the male, but not humpbacked like the camel; in the female the back should be almost flat, Why this peculiarity exists in this breed alone, of all the canine race, no one yet has been able to discover. The hind quarters should be broad and well developed, showing & wealth of muscles and sinews, strong and tough. The tail should be exceedingly long and cimeter-like, heavily fringed with soft silky hair, which in some good specimens reaches to ten and eleven Inches. Add to the formation already described a profuse and long coat of long silky texture, a movement of body that is the poetry of motion and synonym of grace, an outline that is artisti- Iy perfect, a carriage that is at once strong and dainty, and a head that is un equalled for elegarice, and we have the Rus- sian wolfhound at his best.” THE BLOODHOUND LESS BLOODY THAN REPUTED, The bloodhound f& not a popular favonite [ in this country and his disrepute is in a large measure due to the strolling compantes that played Mrs. Stowe's “Uncle Tom's Cabin” all over the country for more than a generation past. Though Mrs. Stowe only tioned bloodhounds once in her narrative did not bring them on the scene at all, are a prominent feature in the drama of “Uncle Tom's Cabin” as put on the stage. Ambitious compani have a pack of dogs and even the little companies that perform uhder tents always have at least two. And most feroclous and forbidding looking brutes the But_they are not b They are generally some mixed br cross between a Cuban or Siberian hound and a mastiff. This prejudice by misrepresentation took the form in Massachusetts of a legislative enactment declaring it a misdemeanor to keep a bloodkound within the state. As a matter of fact the English bloodhound is one of the gentlest members of the canine family and even the American bloodhound—hunter of runaway slaves and escaped conviets—is not in the least bloodthirsty, all the sensational ales to the contrary notwithstanding. These Ihounds, both ~English and American, follow man's trail to find their game, but not to prey on it. A bioodhound would no sooner jump on a man he had found than a pointer or setter would jump upon the quail or partridge that had been traced by scent. The bloodhound is trained to find, not to destroy, and is therefore as useful in hunting lost children as desperate criminals. blood- z. { I PRIZE RUSSIAN WOLF HOUND. “air Haven, in Vermont, where Mr, is little chance that they would have found such great favor in this country. T allude to the St. Bernard and the Russian wolf hound. THE ST. BERNARD AND HIS HISTORIC ANCESTRY. Both of these are distinctively show dogs, though under proper conditions each makes a good and trustworthy : companion. But at present they are bred and imported mainly for exhibition purposes and at the bench shows they never: fail to attract a very. large -measure of attention. The romantic Listory of the St.. Bernard surrounds him, even in this age,, when , his, qceupation , i§ gone,: with aainterest: that. will not fail so long” as_we, remember ,the good monks of the hospices in the ,Alps and thelr human efforts to rescue the cruel snow belated and bewildered travelers who had lost their way. As assistants in this kindly work of succor the St. Bernard dogs performed. feats of sq- gaclty ‘and strength almost too wonderful for belief. But the accounts are o well au- thenticated that intelligent doubt is impos- sible. The rallway tunnels and improved facilities for travel through the Alps have taken the occupation away from the St. Bernard, and had not fasnion come to his rescue the breed would probably have be- come extinct. As it is, there are many more St. Bernards in the world than when he and his kind were trained to perform and did perform the noblest work ever given to a dog to o, In contemplating the history of the St. Bernard dog it is easy to agree with Cuvier that the domestic dog is ‘“‘the completest, the most singular and most useful conquest ever made by man.” What has been the effect of lack of occupation and training upon the St. Bernard, I am not prepared to say, though upon general principles and judging from the effects of like conditions upon other dogs with which I have a more intimate acquaintance, I fancy the St. Bernard of the bench shows, the blue ribbon winner, is more | symmetrical, of finer coat, of more delicate constitution, and of more uncertain temper. If these assumptions be correct the dog cu not have improved during the generations of idleness, But he is a great favorite and specimens have been bought by American broeders at immense prices—fve and ton thousand dollars, RUSSIAN WOLFHOUND FAVORITE. The newest favorite, and one likely In a year or 5o to be even more fashionable than the St. Bernard, fs the Russian wolfhound. This dog was also introduced here from England, though within a year or so enterprising breed- ers have made Importations direetly from Russia, where the wolfhound is a Breat favorite, both as a companion and a sporting dog. In this country it is not likely that he will be useful other than as a show dog and @s a companion, He is without doubt the handsomest of the greyhound family, and Is at once both larger and stronger. Indeed many specimens are larger than the deer- hou He 1s more graceful in movement tha her of these, and In general appear- ance the most aristocratic of dogs. What is probably more to the purpose, he is likely to thrive in the American climate which is fatally hard on many branches of the grey- hound family. I am indebted to Mr. H. W, Huntington, master of the Marlborough ken- nels of Lawrence, Long Island, for this de- scription of the Russian wolfhound when at his best <11 ‘‘His head is exceedipgly long and n rrow, his eyes full, round,,dark and ve 'y tender, The muzzle is well dilled out below the eyes, thus avolding what we o often ses in Krey- hounds, a snipy sppewrance. His work de- mands that he shall have great power of Jaw and that his teeth shall be even and strong. A weakness ) before the eyes in greatly (o be doprecated, as is also a head that is short and thicks Extreme length of face, with flatness an tup, and with, perhaps, a Roman nose, arezgquadities greatly sought after, though Infrequemily found. The face, indeed the entire shend, should denote strength, courage, ; mdliness of Alsposition and also possess thaeorare quality which among dog breeders is known as character, The ears should bgimmall, of fine leather, set close to the skyll pnd carried well back, :mfildL'l being well l‘“vl‘\fl’v] with long, soft hair. 11 “The neck s not ‘gafiérally as long as that of the greyhound, yet' It should be o moder- ate length, well carrjed and nicely set into the shoulders. The more profuse the coat 15 on the neck the better, and in some good specimens It is so excessive as to give the dog's head the appearance of protruding through a muff of long hair. The feet should be rather longer than those of the Brey- hound, but not splayed or with distende toes. The toes should be close together, well knit and strong. Th: Fegs should be abso- lutely straight, of good bone, not quite so round as those approved of in the. grey hound, but rather broad than otherwise. The feathering in the Jegs should be profuse The shoulders should be wel and obliquely #et on, not heavy or loaded, but clear, thus Blv free action to the fore part of the body. The set on of the ribs I8 & vexed Question. Some guthorities claim that the ribs should be flat, while others are in- clined to prefer a gentle spring to them, THE NEWEST thus giving freer action to the heart and lungs. I prefer the latter formation. “The back of both sexes should be strong, weil made and clean, somewhat srcned in | come to the Winchell has a kennel for bloodhounds and mastifts, a bloodhound bitch was one day quietly sleeping before his sitting room fire, His son, then 5 or 6 years old, took it into his head that the bloodhound's ears were wrong and finding a pair of scissors deter- mined to trim them to mastiff size and shape, He put his sturdy little legs over the sleep- ing bloodhound and sat down on her. Then he began on her ears with the scissors. The bloodhound awakened and appeared to realize that if she got up she would throw the boy into the fire, so she howled with all her strength of lungs till some one came to the rescue. It never occurred to her to bite the boy. Now it is a libel to call a dog with such sense and good - temper savage and dangerous. Those who know the English blocdhound best are enthusiastic in his praise for both intelligence and amiability and the American bloodhound is nothing more than a beagle with a little admixture perhaps of the blood of either the Cuban or English bloodhound, the characteristics of the beagle predominating. When London of apprehension on account horrible- and mysterious crimes fn White- chapel of “Jack the Ripper,” Sir Charles Warren, then at the head of the London po- lice, determined to see what bloodhounds could do, so he invited Colonel Edwin Brough, the most successful bloodhound breeder in England, to come to London with his degs and make some experiments, The dcgs were tried in Hyde park and were never bafiied in their pursit so long as the trail remained In the park, but outside on the city pavements where thousands of tracks crossed each other they went wrong, This experiment was made with dogs whose ancestors, maybe, for 100 years, had been suffered to go entirely untrained, and the instinct had quite naturally deterior- ated thrcugh this neglect. If a family of these dogs were carefully trained for several generations to hunt the clean boot on hard roads and pavements I fancy thay would soon be 50 sure In their tracking as to be a valu- able adjunct of every police force, THE BLOODHOUND'S SENSE OF SMELL. 1 saw a remarkable exhibition of the in- stinct of one of Colonel Brough’s dogs that had been brought (o this country by Mr. Winchell, Beltus, through illness, had lost beth sight and hearing, and had nothing left to gulde her save the sense of smell. She was cast off in a trail that ran over a pretty rough ountry—over water, through a stone quarry, over fences, across a briar paich, through a thick wcod and so0 on with the numerous fences of a country sido Intervening. She went off slowly and silently—the bloodhound usually bays in the chase—but followed the trail with perfect accuracy. In different places—when water was crossed and the als most perpendicular walls of the sions quarry encountered for Instance—she worked with tireloss patience, moving in broadening cir- cles till the trail was struck. The only sounds she made in the long chase of several miles was a glad cry when an interrupted trail had been found, Once when o finding the trail she took a back track for a few yards and then turned and galloped slowly in the right direction, apparently with entire confidence that she was right. I have never been able to account for the instinct which made her change her direction, for the trail struck by her ran in two ways and how she should know, with only the one sense to gulde her, which was the right way, was one of the most wonderful examples of instinct I ever witnessed, When the hunt was finished and she came up with the men she had been hasing she showed no disposition to fly at them, but only evidence of delight that she should have succeeded in her task. THE INJUSTICE DONE THE MASTIFF. Another much maligned dog is the mastiff, Every tow and again we read in our news- papers that a child or a woman has been attacked and badly bitten by a fierce mastiff, We read such things so frequently that the uninformed public has, naturally, perhaps, conclusion that the mastiff is savage and unsafe. As a matter of fact, the mastift s the gentlest of all dogs, its in- stinct being to protect life and property, How then did it gain this disrepute? Not falrly it may be depended on. By some curious fact of nature, when the types of dugs are crossed, the progeny is apt to bave in an exaggerated form the bad qualitles of both types, and when neither type has bad characterist then the progeny Is very Ikely to show qualities of original “cussed ness’” of an alarming kind, Now the instinet of the mastiff, and also of the Newfound- land, 1s to save life and protect property, yet It you cross these dogs the resull will be a mongrel of ferocity and treacher, And o the mongrels, showing the mastift conformation to some extent, have bitten children aud frightened women, and ther foro the mastiff type suffers in public es. teem, It is wrong that this should be so, for the mastift {s the best dog of all to keep | the country, guard the house and keep wale over the children of a family RESTORED A CHILD TO ITS NURSE. At Mr. Winchell's kennels there was & wastiff bitch with a new litter of puppies. A bitch of whatever breed with pupples 1y always jealous and dangerous (o strangers, There was & little child visiting Mr. Win- ohell's place and this youngster, being un- noticed by the nurse for a moment, pushed its way inoto the keonel where the young Pupples were housed, Had 8 strange map was in a panic of the Thin Women May become Plump and Beautifu Emaciated Men Can become Strong and Handsome Worn=0ut [Mothers Receive New Vitality, Vim and Vigor Puny Children Grow Sturdy, Robust and Healthy BY THE USE OF Ozomulsion TRADE MARWK A Scientifc Preparation of 0ZONIZED COD LIVER-OIL, with GUATACOL, THE KIND PHYSICIANS PRESCRIBE FOR Coughs, Colds, Consumption AND ITS ALLIED COMPLAINTS Scrofula, Anemia, General Debility and all Wasting Discases But few in this life escape disease ; but many might have their ailments cured or their troubles lessened by the timely use of an approved remedy. The value of Cod Liver Oil in all diseases of the throat, chest and lungs, and where great emaciation has taken place, has been known for years and is beyond question. o The great objection to its use has been its disagreeable taste” and smell and nauscating effects. In Ozomulsion this difficulty has been overcome. The preparation is casy to take, and as accept- able to the weak as the strong stomach. It contains Guaiacol, one of the most potent germ destroyers known to medicine, It is charged with Ozone which revivifies the blood and sup plies the oxygen necessary for the proper digestion of the oil. These reasons make it the best preparation of Cod Liver Oil on the market. * To all who suffer from any form of Lung Trouble, Scrofula, General Debility, or any Wasting Disease, to weak, worn-out mothers, delicate children, over-worked men, old people, persons recovering from fevers, to the weak, ex- hausted and scrawny of all ages, sexes and conditions, this scientific preparation comes as the restorer of constitutions shattered and hopes blighted. It can be taken in the full faith that it will accomnlish o' that is claimed for it. : T EILT & COo., 15th and Douglas Sts:, OMAHA. TRYA EXACT SI7E i PERFECT) THE MERCANTILE IS THE FAYORITE TEN CENT CIGAR. v sale by all First Class Dealers. Manufactured by the F. R. RICE MERCANTILE CICAR CO,, Factory No. 304, St. Louis Ma, * GURES QUICKER THAN ANY OTHER REMEDY, arrant's Fxtract of Cue ad Capalbn s & safe, quick cure for srrhea and gleet and s 1 rfet for all [ ry or- Hilghly the me- cibebs done this the bitch would in all probability have bitten him severely. But the mother left the pupples and taking the child by the sleeve of its dress pushed open the kennel door and led the child to the house to its careless nurse. Here was an exhibition of instinet in its highest and truest form, and every one who knows the purely bred mastiff will ‘say that almost any good mastift would bave done the same thing. And yet many ignorant persons believe the mastiff to be dangerous and unsafe. This prejudice |s probably only temporary and in the meantime the breeders are making further improve- ments In their strains, and at this time in Beaufort's “Black Prince” we probably haye in America the finest mastiff in the world, JOHN GILMER SPEED, neentra dicinal virtues capiiba, Its portable om from taste dy nction (curin than any — other It THB KNOWN ont fraud, crog the 1o o ed strip - of mee thist every face of Iubel we has o th Just a Littl hborly Affair. driggists The Sloux City whist tournament opens January 8, continuing throughout the fol lowing two days. It Is not a national affair, as has been repeatedly stated, but simply @ contest between the players of the different clubs representing Omaba, Sioux City, Sloux Falls, Davenport, Des Mo'nes, Cedar Rapids, Councll Blufts and Lfncofa. Messrs, Hawks and Melkle, Wilbur and Allee, will represent the Omaha club, while Harry Reid will ac- company them as substitute, WHO IS HE! He iy one of the most skillful of Chinese doo= tors, because of hig great and - enry 0 olght yeurs al colloge of understandy the action of over of practive and yuidis of (hat (imo In Omiba has glven Mm u reputation backed up by thousin monials ~To the Sporting b | MUTENT four Questious and Answers, HAMBURG, Ia., Dee, 29 Editor of The Bee: Will you kindly answer in_your Sund, Hee? " In playing draw poker, after the hands are dealt off, and they are ready to draw, has any one a right to cut the cards before the draw?—J, M. R. Aus.—No, LINCOLN, Jan, cur refunded. Consulta Hond slamp for book and question blanks. . €. Geo Wo, 619N, 16-5t., Omuba Neb. To the Sporting Edi- tor of The Bee: Can you furnish me with the results of Armin Tenner's test of the relative merits of the different nitro-powders? —R. T. M, Ans. Tenner's conclusions were published in the Forest and Stream, New York, Decem- 16 and 1893, which you can of that house. SUPERIOR, Neb., Jan. 1.—To the Sport- ing ediwr of The Bee: Please send me | address of a factory that makes a cheap but | g00d loaded shell, nitro powders, also give the name, if possible, of the owl herewith de- serib It was captured In an old sod house, and Is about twelve inches bigh, brown | back, white breast, head round as e bull, white with circle of brownish feathers ln front, giving it the look of & monkey or human being.—M. L. Weod Aus.—The Peters Cartridge Cincinnatl, turn out the very cheapest loaded shell In the eoun | try. Thelr goods, too, are all first class, and you can order any powder you see proper. ‘The bird you deseribo ls | @ common barn owl—Strix pratincola | COUNCIL BLUFFS, Jan, 4.~To the Sport- ing Editor of The Bee: Please decide a | wager. Two mey sbaking dice for the drink first flop out of the box.. First man throws pair aces and three trays; second man palr sixes and three fives, which one drinks?— Prohibitionist, Ans—Both, price. RED OAK, Editor of The it the second man has the - Ia, J To the Bporting Bee: Please state fn Sun- day's Bee just what a standard bred horse 8. Does a horse from a standard mare d by a standard sire become u standard regardless of performance.—Capple Woods lins Ans.—(1) Following find the Amerlcan Register assoclation rules: Any trotting stallion that bas a reeord of 2 minutes and 30 seconds; or pacing stallion that has & record of 2 minutes and 25 seconds, or batter, provided any of his get has o record of 2:36 trotting or 2:30 pacing, or better, or pros vided his sire or dsm is already a standard animal. (2) Any maro or gelding that has a trotting record of 2:30 or a pacing record | of 2:35, or better, e has slgned both Jack Crooks son for second base, bui It lmes that the unrivalled S Il bo found on the bag whem company b and Washington and Parson is dollars Paul bea , | the seatq b 4