Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1903-05-21
JACK MASON'S WAGER
AZ WON 1T IN GREAT STYLE WITH
OUT "TURNlNG 4 HAIR"

Unique Hunting Escapaue VI ~
nous Old Time Virginia Sportsman.
Bird shooting That Opened n Grim
Old scotchman's Eyes.
From all accounts Jack Masor in his
| youth was the widest rattlinS young
blade in the country. One of his sport
ina escapades is a household tradition
! down in old Quantico to this day, says
| Alexander Hunter in Outing.
There was a large plantation in the
section owned and worked by Scotch
/ man. an elderly man, who employed no
overseer. but filed the place himself
He was the typical stern, bigoted
| Scotch Coyenanter as drawn by the
immortal pen of the Wizard OF the
North He was a fanatic in all things
and was utterly out of place among
| the pleasure loving Virginia gentry. 1t
was the irrepressible antipathy OF the
| Cavalier and Puritan-the rising OF the
bristles of the boar at the approach OF
the staghounds He herded by himself,
| and they left him severely alone. Ihe
! canny Scot was himself no sportsman
nor would he allow any of the nelgh-
bors to fire gun on his place.
Now it happened there was large
ball near by, with Jack Mason IN at
| tendance, of course, and during the
] night the young planters discussed the
| chances of autumn shooting and de-
plored the failure of all their efforts TO
be allowed to nunt on the Scotchmans
! preserves. Jack Mason offered to pet
his favorite horse against any of equal
value that he would shoot over tnat
preserve on the morrow and with the
| full and free consent of the owner. He
was asked if he knew him personally
| or had unknown means of winning hs
favor.
| He answered in the negative ana
| added he had never even met the Scot
in his life. The wager was closed there
| and then.
| The next morning as the old Cove
nanter was walking up and down the
| porch enjoying his after breakfast pipe
a strange apparition advanced up the
gravel walk and took off his three cor
| nered hat and made him sweeping
sa,y. The Scot winked his eyes ana
| looked again. He saw slender, effem-
mate looking fellow some twenty-five
years old who seemed literally to nave
stepped from the ballroom. His ruffied
| shirt front was adorned with a dla-
| mond, mother of pearl buttons cleaned
| on his sky blue coat, and his satin small
] clothes glistened in the sunshine. a
| pair of silk stockings were gartered by
n love knot bow of blue ribbon, and his
dancing pumps were decorated by a
| jeweIed buckle. He carried gun IN
one hand, and two pointer dogs trooped
| at his heels.
"Well. what do you wantT" asked the
planter.
In a mincing voice the intruder asked
his gracious permission TO shoot few
birds, saying he had been dancing all
night at Warwick hall and needed a
little morning exercise.
The Scot gazed at him with the same
feeling perhaps that his stalwart noun
tain bred ancestor had at the perfumed
dainty fops of Charles Ills court. lie
was about to utter a curt and positive
refusal when his grim Scotch humor
got the better of him. He came near
hilarious laughter as he saw that deli
cately clothed creature standing SC
clean, jaunty and nice and then pie
tured him returning from the hunt, his
costly attire in rags, his tender limbs
scratched, his morning glory all gone
So he smiled in his beard and asked
him if he intended to hunt just us he
was dressed. He was answered In the
affirmative. So he gave his assent thai
his unknown guest for that one day
might shoot all he pleased. and then ht
started off for the low grounds to at
tend to the cornshucking.
A short time after his negro manager
came running up to him and said:
"Marster, there won't be a bird left
on dis here place. De mans debbil
and the dogs is the debbil, and the gun
is a debbil."
Dropping his work, the owner hur
ried to the scene, and he opened bis
eyes very wide indeed at what he saw
| In the front of the house was stubbie
field of several hundred acres that had
been harvested in wheat the same
year. 1t was as level as table and al
ideal feeding place for the quail. Fol
|, many years they had whistled, mated
| and fed around the place all undls
turbed until they became almost as
tame as barnyard fowls. The owner
| saw the dogs stand motionless, saw the
dandy sportsman pick his way gently
where they were, saw a few birds rise
and two puffs of smoke. followed by
nearly simultaneous report. TIVE
birds dropped. then the dogs retrieved
and the game was handed to monde
script negro lad whom the sportsman
had picked up somewhere, who hat
tied the birds to a string and wrapped
them around his body until he wa
half hidden from view.
The gun was loaded and capped in
side of a minute. The performance wa
: repeated. The man never hurried. tn
! dogs, beautifully trained, never bun
| gled, the gun never missed, and tn
! | dandy had, in sporting parlance, neye
: turned a hair" The stockings wer
! little colored by the chickweed, bu
lie was ready to lead the minuet tha
moment.
The Scotchman at first was furiousl.
angry, but as he saw the matches
work of the trinity Of destructiv
agents-man. gun. dog-so perfect.
.. blended into one, and beheld in the al
fected coxcomb the same metal whic
under Rupert had again and asai
broken the steel fronted squares o
CromwelPs Ironsides. he advanced an
asked his name, and when it was give
he answered, 81 might have known it.