Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-08-01
ADJUNCT OF THE CASE.
From the Point of View of the Prairie
Chicken Hunter.
L,,ygyJ.,, DIV

Eaeiline Bell
The season for prairie CHICKEN hunting is
almost here, and the Bell will be pardOned
for referring to some of the features of the
sport. A successful hunt is always started
by several sportsman providing themselves
with small TASKS, while in the buggy Is O
large demiiOhn to be used as n sort of Il
supply depot. The party then starts out,
some of. the members usually also taking
along guns and liver-cOlOred dog, which
looks as II its ancestors had had nothing to
eat for several generations. Concerning
this dog we propose TO make few casual
observations from strictly nOnpartisan
standpoint
The ordinary bird dog consists chiefly of
ribs and legs. Theirs ara two kinds, the
pointer and setter. They are so named
for certain personal peculiarities when
searching for game. They are used chiefly
to locate prairie chickens and bring iieas
into the house.
When the pointer sets out to find bird
it puts its nose to the ground and starts
across the prairie at rapid rate. Before
going far it invariably experiences a change
of mind and comes back. The programme
is then repeated, with few miscellaneous
curves dropped in TO throw the prairie
chicken off her guard and get up an appe-
tite for dinner. While making these eyOlu-
ton valuable pointers have ire
quently been injured by having their nose
drop into gopher hole and break of.
After that u pointer may make an excellent
parlOr ornament, but seldom amounts to
much for hunting purposes.
When pointer stbmbleS on to q chicken
which it can't well avoid, it has habit OF
raising a fore leg to call attention to the
fact. One which would point out the bird
with hind leg would be curiosity and
command q high price. A good pointer
after having struck this attitude will keep
it up for a long time, if no sportsman
comes to its relief and scareS up tbs bird,
and shoots calf over in an adjoining field.
The setter is another breed of dog. 1t
! has more hair aud consequently fewer ribs.
The chief Us he setter, like that of the
pointer, is for hunter to swear at when
! he misses the cd. Tine setter is so called
| from it's manner of making the fact when
it has sighted game. This is accomplished
by careleSSly taking a seat as If nothing
lslu napptlctl duNl ttNliilS 80 II AiS AA''N '>''
down to remain, very much like a Carpen-
| ter working by the day.
! We have heard QfSetters which, after be-
ING seated, would take out cigar and be-
gin to smoke, or commence TO look over
the morning paper, but never fully credited
he story. We did, however, once see a
setter which habitually carried n camp
stool around in its mouth, and upon sight
ing a cOvey of chickens would calmly sit
down on the stool and cross its legs, We
actually saw this several years ago, so there
can be no doubt about IL.
A fine Irish setter belonging 10 an EStel-
| line gentleman once went into black
smith shop during chicken season, and,
happening to sight recently-killed chick
en- in the belt of man in the shop, imme-
diately began to sit it with more haste
| than caution, and in doing so by mistake
sat on red hot horse shoe which the black
smith had just dropped, Its owner after
wards paid the blacksmith $3.50 for the
window sash, and telegraphed to the next
| town for his dog.