of ducks and wild geese frequent the rivers, bays, and lakes, and can be easily shot, as our game book could testify, for a pretty considerable return had we, of "killed," on the 3rd of August. Wild turkeys, quails, grouse, pigeons, and hawks, are numerous. Wild game is plentiful; bears, wolves, elk, deer, foxes, beaver, otter, musk-rats, martin, racoon, wild cats, rabbits, and squirrels, are found in the forests. Nothing can exceed the extent and beauty of these forests, consisting of oak, sugar, maple, beech, ash, poplar, white and yellow pine, hickory, cedar, plum, walnut, crab-apple, cherry, black and honey-locust. There is, likewise, an undergrowth of aromatic shrubs and creepers, together with berries of various kinds, cranberries, whortleberries, blackberries, currants, sloes, and wild and choke-cherries.

But to return to the notice of our sport. After two good days' shooting, we reached a great fishing-place, and found a large party of Indians busily engaged in killing and drying salmon. Here there was a perpendicular fall, of upwards of five and twenty feet, on one side of the river, while, on the other, was a succession of rapids. The fish were taken, in incredible numbers, as they attempted to shoot the falls. It was the height of the season, and, at sunrise, the whole camp of Indians turned out to commence their piscatorial pursuits. The salmon begin to leap as soon as the day dawns: at this time, the black disciples of old Isaac swim to the centre of the falls, where some station themselves upon rocks, and others stand to their waists in the water, all armed with spears, to assail the salmon, as they attempt to leap, or fall back exhausted. It was an incessant slaughter, so great was the throng of fish. The construction of the spears used on this occasion is peculiar. The head is a straight piece of elk-horn, about seven inches long, on the point of which an artificial barb is made fast, with twine, well gummed. This head is stuck on the point of the shaft, a very long willow pole, to which it is likewise connected by a strong cord, a few inches in length. When the spearsman makes a sure blow, he frequently strikes the head of the spear through the body of the fish. It comes off easily, and leaves the salmon struggling, with the string through its body, while the pole is still held by the spearsman. Were it not for the precaution of the string, the willow shaft would be snapped by the struggles and weight of the fish.

Having purchased a good supply of "kippered salmon" from these wild fishermen, we returned to Mackinaw, where, after remaining a day to attend a feast, given by a resident Scottish merchant, we augmented our number to thirty, and made preparations for embarking. But the embarkation of a crew of Canadian voyageurs, on a distant expedition, was not so easy a matter, especially as we had paid them their first fortnight's wages in advance. Like British tars, the Canadian boatmen preface a long cruise with a carouse; and such was the case on the night previous to our departure. We, as it has already been mentioned, had accepted the invitation of a worthy son of Scotland, to spoon exercise" (as Mrs. Butler calls it, in her American travels). Nothing could exceed the hospitality of our host. The tables groaned under game of all kinds; venison from the woods, and fish from the lakes, with hunter's delicacies, such as buffalo tongues, and beavers' tails to boot. Here, for hours, did we sit, and listen, with astonished ear, to the tales of hardship and adventures of the "North-westers."

There was no stint of generous wine, for it was a hard-drinking era-a time of loyal sentiments, bacchanalian songs, and brimming bumpers. Every man toasted "the girl he left behind him," and morning dawned ere we had drank the parting-cup. Whilst we thus revelled in hall, and made the rafters of our banqueting-room (a huge log house, ornamented with skins of every wild animal, spears, and warlike implements) resound with bursts of loyalty, patriotism, and old Scotch songs, chaunted in voices cracked and sharpened by the northern blast, our merriment was echoed and prolonged by a legion of Indian hunters, voyageurs, and hangers-on, who feasted sumptuously without, making the welkin ring with snatches of old French ditties, mingled with Indian yelps, whoops, and yellings. Every cabaret, and sutler's booth, along the bay, resounded with the scraping of fiddles; the night was given up to feasting; and it was with the greatest difficulty we extricated our crew from the clutches of the publicans, and got "all hands" on board. Thence we pursued the usual route, by Green Bay, Fox River, and the Wisconsin, to Prairie du Chien, to that great artery of the west, the Mississippi; and thence down to St. Louis, where we landed on the 1st of September.

(To be continued.)

THE NEW MASTERS OF HOUNDS' CLUB, AND A FEW REMARKS ON BREEDING HOUNDS.

BY ROBERT THOMAS VYNER, ESQ.

In June, 1840, it was proposed, by some staunch supporters of the good old cause, that a dinner of masters of foxhounds should take place at Grillon's, on Wednesday, the 2nd of June, 1841, and, when the day arrived, it was agreed that those present should meet, on the Saturday following, at the same place, to consider the practicability of forming a society for the purpose of making such a dinner annual. At that meeting, Lord Hawke being in the chair, it was agreed :—

First-That a club should be formed, called "The Club of Masters of Foxhounds," and that a letter should be written to all masters of foxhounds, inviting them to become members of the same.

Secondly-That it would be advantageous to the interests of foxhunting, that the lists of all packs of foxhounds should be annually printed; and it was therefore agreed, that the subscription to this club should be sufficient to pay for the annual dinner, and for the printing, in one volume, all such lists of foxhounds as should be sent in by the different members. The annual subscription to be £3.

Thirdly That a general meeting of the club be held at the Thatched House, St. James's-street, on the Saturday in Epsom raceweek, 1842, at 12 o'clock, on which day all subscriptions must be paid.

Fourthly-That the annual dinner should be held on the Wednesday of the week between Epsom and Ascot; and that the president of

the year shall fix the place at which the dinner shall be held, and give due notice of the same.

Fifthly That Lord Hawke be president for the ensuing year.

Sixthly-That a circular, embodying the above resolutions, be sent to all masters of foxhounds in Great Britain, and that they be signed by the chairman (Lord Hawke), in behalf of the meeting.

These resolutions are excellent; and the numerous answers from masters of foxhounds, requesting their names to be enrolled on the list of members, is a convincing proof of the popularity of the measure. That the annual publication of the list of all young hounds, bred throughout the country, would be advantageous to the cause of foxhunting, there can be, I should think, but one opinion; but that advantage would be greatly enhanced, if, on the morning of the dinner, a show could be established, awarding prizes to the breeders of the best puppies, such rewards to be extended, if the funds were sufficiently flourishing, even to the walkers, or to rearers, of the whelps. The judges might be chosen from the most efficient masters of hounds, or huntsmen, of the day.

There is no doubt that the impression of your own brand on the sides of your hounds, is a far more agreeable sight than the initial letter of another man's name: but, before a breeder of hounds makes his début in that capacity, he should well consider, in the first place, what description of hound he intends to possess; he should select a model, and adhere to that model; in fact, he should never put forward one young hound which does not come up to the sample, whether for the sake of sort, power, or any other reason for favouritism. Nice equality in height, where entire dissimilarity in character may prevail, is, in my humble opinion, of far less consequence than getting them not only to run together, but to look like a family of brothers and sisters, even if they are not quite so level to the eye. The attempt to achieve this point will, at first, be attended with much difficulty, vexation, and disappointment. The great obstacle is the small quantity of roomy bitches, of anything like breeding, to be found in any kennel, excepting those which have been long established. In the next place, it must be considered, what sort of dog-hounds will best suit the various bitches to be used: the deficiencies in one sex must be supplied by the excellence, in points, possessed by the other. The best judges only attempt to breed from hounds which can be well relied upon, not only for their own individual merits, but as being of families unstained by vice, or weakness of constitution; while inexperienced persons, wishing to attain the highest steps of the ladder at once, breed from every bitch that may be in the kennel, and fancy that, because a union has been effected with a dog of some celebrated blood, all the whelps put out to quarters must come in well up to the standard of their idea of perfec

But, when the 1st of March arrives, bitter disappointment is the consequence, and a set of spindle-legged, flat-sided egg-suckers, or chucked-up, calf-kneed, jumbo-headed brutes, fit for nothing but to draw a hand-organ about the streets of London, make their appearance; or, even if they are handsome enough to be put forward, the vice, indigenous to their nature, prevents the possibility of their being used for • So called, in kennel language, from their similarity to weasels.

the purpose they were intended for. The first thing that can recommend a hound to notice, more especially for the purpose of propagation, is fineness of nose. Secondly, stoutness of constitution; which consists, not only in enduring work through a long chase, but keeping in condition, and "coming again," after a severe and protracted day's work. The last, is elegance in form, and beauty in general, desirable as it may appear; and, when you can get an animal in whom are united the three above-named qualifications, he may justly be pronounced a perfect hound.

In selecting hounds for the purpose of breeding from them, the races they come of should be regarded quite as much, if not more, than the individuals themselves. We see, every day, remarkably handsome hounds produce very plain stock, and vice versa. Mr. Osbaldeston's Furrier was a hound by no means straight in his fore legs, a deformity attributed to his having been tied up at his walk; but his produce were proverbially straight and clever. Mr. Muster's Lionel, a small, mean, wiry-looking animal, got puppies which might have been supposed to be the offspring of a dog twenty-four inches high. Another thing to be well remembered is, that vice, in every shape, is much more difficult to be eradicated than want of beauty, and, consequently, in a greater degree to be guarded against. I have been asked, two or three times in my life, which was the largest hound I ever saw? Without entering deeply into the detail of symmetry, weight, &c., I have no hesitation in saying, a hound called Riddlesworth,† bred by Mr. John Russel, when he had the Warwickshire. He was so called out of compliment to Lord Jersey, who was an intimate friend of Mr. Russel's, and by whom, with others, he had been walked in the neighbourhood of Middleton, and sent home to the kennel the same spring in which his lordship's celebrated horse, Riddlesworth, won the stake, at Newmarket, of that name, and afterwards, the Derby. This hound I never saw measured, but he was larger than any other hound in the kennel, by several inches, at the same time remarkably clever. Being too large for the pack, he was sent to Mr. Horloch, in exchange for a couple of bitches, where he turned out well, and has since become a stud hound. The smallest hound I can remember to have ever seen, in any established pack of foxhounds, was Little Blue Ransom,† in the Pytchley kennel, bred by Mr. Grantley Berkeley, and included in the lot bought of that gentleman by Mr. Wilkins, when he took the Northamptonshire country. I saw her measured at Brixworth, and her height, if my memory does not fail me, was seventeen inches and a quarter. She was a perfect curiosity, and her extraordinary appearance was rendered more remarkable by having her right ear stuck bolt upright, from an injury received by a kick from a horse. She was a great favourite both at home and in the field, and was one of the most

* Nose, and the qualities of line hunting, are, I fear, in these days of velocity, fast going out of fashion; and faulty as the systems pursued by the great "father of fox-hunters" are considered (some of them certainly with much reason) by the scientific performers of modern days, still the memory of John Warde will be for ever revered by all "lovers of fox-hunting," whether of the old or new school, for the well-digested opinion he held with regard to "nose" beauty, stoutness, speed, and dash, are but of little avail without it; and so thought Mr. Nicholl, of the N.F.H., when he wrote

"Come, then, and see that nose and pace

Are the twin sisters of the chase."

For the pedigrees of these two hounds, see "Notitia Venatica," pages 185 and 241.

inveterate devils on a fox that ever was cheered. What curious names some hounds are distinguished by! Sir John Cope's list, however, beats everything I ever met with in my life, with regard to unique nomenclature. The worthy Baronet must have drawn very deep before he found some of those beautiful specimens of jaw-distorters. I have been told that he never, on any account, admits a name into the list that has ever been used before in his kennel. The late Lord Middleton was as curious in naming young whippers-in as Sir John Cope is in christening his hounds; and, upon one memorable occasion, where he stood sponsor, in person, to two sons (twins) of old Tom Smith, his lordship's first whip, he insisted upon the lads being called, after a couple of his favourite hounds, Romulus and Remus.

It is an ungrateful conclusion to my short contribution for this month, to record the fact of canine madness having discovered itself, some few weeks since, to a frightful extent, in the Cheshire kennels. However, owing to prompt attention, and by separating the bitten from the healthy, there is every reason to hope, that the progress of this dreadful scourge has been stayed; and that the "Cheshire hounds" will, eventually, recover from this sad visitation, although some time must necessarily elapse before the forces, which have been so unfortunately cut down, can be efficiently replaced.

The following letter I have just received from Joe Maiden, the huntsman :—

"Forest Kennels, Feb. 13, 1842.

"SIR,-In answer to your letter, which I received a few days since, respecting the illness of our hounds, I am sorry to inform you that we have lost thirty couple. I was not aware, at first, what the disease was, till I had three hounds dissected by two medical gentlemen, who have given their decided opinion that it was canine madness; and, from what we have experienced since with the hounds, there is not the least doubt but that that was the disease. I hope, now, we have got rid of it, as we have had no fresh case during the last fortnight. I had two capital days' sport last week; and the hounds appear quite right. We have been fortunate in getting a few couple of hounds from most good establishments, which will enable us to keep on hunting, now the frost is gone.

I beg to remain, sir,

Your obedient servant,
J. MAIDEN."

A GLANCE AT THE SPORT IN A METROPOLITAN

DISTRICT.

THE PUCKERIDGE.

THESE hounds, the first week after the frost, had some of the finest sport ever witnessed, killing, in four days, three and a half brace of foxes. On the 31st Jan., being the first day after the shutting-up weather, they met at the kennels, and, with but a small field of horsemen, proceeded to draw Plashes, where they found immediately. The