The record-union., 1893-10-11
BROWN OCTOBER.
The Month That Makes Glad the
Sportsman's Heart,
And Fills Him With New LIfe-some
of the Delights of Going Afield
With Dog and Gun.

Ed. w. S2ndys contributes to the last
Outing the following article in the "Rod
and Gun" department of that magazine,
the reading of which will cause any en-
thuslastic sportsman's nerves to tingle
and his blood to course quicker through
his veins:
He has come! Bravo herald of tho Ice
Kings following train, gay in his tinted
garb, bluff, brown October stands. By
wood and plain, by copse and marsh, his
signal-fires of glowing foliage haunt from
hill TO plain the CHEEKY tidings that the
Northern sportSman's merrleSt month OF
all the twelve has come. Stow rods and
tackle where they may safest hibernate,
for now begins the reign of the twelve
gauge''-or it's heavier brother, If you
needs must, carry metal to your sport.
August yielded some alleged shooting;
September furnished something much
better, tits true, but now we have twenty
six ripe, ruddy days, the jolliest of the
passing year. May it rain on none of
them. If rain it must, let the heavens
weep on one Of-aye! sportsmen are gen.
erous souls-on all of the five days when
right demands that we learn how to avoid
burning birthstone.
o! man who looks askance at the goblet
of ice-cold water which the parched
throat Graves at rising time; who first
must try his arm ere stretching it falter-
tngly toward the too-generously brimmed
cocktail; who must press the button for
that same old collins" ere he dare trust
the keen edge Of his own razor to his face
this is the month for you. Twas
holiday you had in August, or at least
you imagined that it was. 1t was restful
in measure, for change of toll rests one
TO a certain extent, but If the truth were
known you worked harder during the
holiday than you did the month previous
at your desk, with the one advantage that
you were not penned within walls.
You lounged and danced, and f1irted
and courted. and drank moro wine and
mixed stuff than you'd ever think of do
ing at your club at home-all of which
hurt more or less, but other things pre-
vented the fatality of your holiday from
fully asserting itself. The plunging
struggles with the surf, the sun-baths
upon the beach, the yachting in whistling
breeZes laden with the seas salt strength,
the exercise at the nets, and the long,
breezy gallops in goodly company, gave
you your Indian tan and made you look
like Hercules outside. How about in
side? You know right well that there is
a tremor and an occasional Jar in the
delicate machinery which a thoroughly
healthy man never feels. You think that
you are as strong as horse-try one
honest all-day tramp behind brace of
good dogs and see how you finish; and
when the work is done give us your
truthful impression regarding the num-
ber of leagues in that terrible last mile.
Every kind OF game, haired. furred or
feathered, found in the North is now in
prime condition, and worthy quarry for
Ni1nrodS self No more easy potting of
moulting birds or half-grown young
things; big game and small is at its best.
Moose, elk, caribou, bear, deer, water
fowl, turkey, grouse, cock quail, snipe,
hQrp and rahhit-a rnual lief "A
every one strong and fat, perfect OF its
kind, and in its best condition to battle
the sportsman's wiles, or to crown his
triumph If he be successful.
Such days as these fill man with new
life, cause him to forget his "Cordage,''
his financial stringencies," and his other
Selt-1nhlcted tormentS. Fresh from a
long October tramp, man might even
hear that 1t twas daughter" instead of
prayed-for son." and there be no more
squall about the premises than usually
eInanates from freshly arrived daugh-
ter. Now the sky is blue as steel and the
water crystal clear; the air already car
ries a trace of winters chilly breath, and
braces one like good wine. Between the
hills are hung gauZy curtains of mist,
half-concealing, half-enhancing the glow
ing glor1eS OF gorgeous foliage. In GRIM
son and gold and bronze, and countless
colors, the wizard hand of the frost artist
paints the scenery for the sportsman's
stirring drama. Nimrod true is ever a
close observer, and his long, healthful
tramps through lovely woodlands, o'er
brown, b1lloWy plains; his climbs up
rock-r1bbed canyons; his paddles DER pure
blue waters-bring to him many things
more elevating and of more lasting salts
faction than is TO be found in the mere
killing Of any creature, or Of any num-
Der OF creatures. The reading of riddles
not to be read In books; the peeps into
Natures mysteries, where even the mi
croscoptc eye of science has never looked:
the viewing of pictures the like of which
artist has yet to paint; the teachings of
silent sermons from EARTH air and sky
these and many more good things reward
the strong, silent man who steals mid
covert shades, or tramps broad opens all
day long behind his tireless dogs.
1t is good for man to be out of doors
such days as these. cen though he do no
moro than appreciate natures beauties.
exercise himself, breathe pure air kick
the painted leaves from his path as he
walks, and hear the patter of falling mast,
the chatter of jays and the rustling of
squirrels busily storing provender for
bitter weather to come. For the sports
man there are RATS of wildfowl on lake
and marsh; in the cover the stout grouse
roars up and vanishes, whirling dead
leaves as he goes; from the briers and
stubbles the quail spring in full view and
whiz for sheltering brush; mid the sap
lings the woodcock darts and lodges in
battling flight, and in remoter wilds are
trails and runaways of grander game for
those who like to sleep on North America
in bedroom with walls thousands of
miles apart, and earn their trophies by
hard, manly work.
May every good knight, leal and true,
find time to slip away for days or weeks
this month of months; may dogs be
stanch and willing; may sight. nerve and
muscle do their proper parts when called
upon; may fair success attend all sports
manlike effort, and may those whom
luck endows too richly stay the slaughter
ing hand when sense and reason and
good craftsmanship warn that enough
has been done to perfect the enjoyment of
fair October day.