The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-05-03

sure of my company. Among friends like yourselves it is another matter I am minded, therefore, to tell you of another rather ingenious expedient that I used not so far away as Persia, but right at home here.
 T was out hunting with Pikas and had used up all my shot. though I still had some power left, when the dog pointed a fine covey. l had only moment to de- eide. Quickly I loaded with powder, sharpened my ramrod, thrust it in, flushed the birds, waited till they were in line and fired. There were seven birds in the covey. When I went to see what execution I had done found the entire seven neatly spitted on the ramrod. carried my game home that way and had it put right over the fire and served en brochette.
 Shortly after that I had another ex- perience that demanded sudden ingenui- ty. I came unexpectedly on a black fox It would have been a thousand pities to damage the wonderful pelt with bullet The beast was standing quite still be- side a great oak Again had a happy thought. I remembered that I had put a big nail into my pocket to repair a shelter hut in the forest. I rammed 1t Into my gun instead of a bullet. aimed very carefully and succeeded In accom- plishing my design. The fox was neatly nailed to the oak by his tall Then took my dog whip and lathered him till he could stand it no longer and finally
 -.- life.
 You laugh! Yet consider that, after all it was due to the lucky circum- stance of my having nail in my pocket. I was less lucky a few years ago when I stumbled across a fine stag when I had neither shot nor nail. All I had in my hand was a fistful of cherry pits, for I had just been eating that fruit. Well, I couldn't let that noble stag go without an attempt, so I loaded the stones into the gun, fired straight at his forehead and the stag looked at me ironically and walked quietly away.
 'It was quite a joke on me, for of course people got wind of 1t. In fact. after a couple Of years 1 was so tired of having some fellow hunters offer me a handful of cherry pits that I hated the very name of cherries. Then it happened that the same party of us hunted in the same district Suddenly a mighty stag broke cover and came straight at us. What was the surprise of my companions to see that he had a cherry tree ten feet high between his antlers! I laid him low and thus had my roast and my dessert secured by one shot.
 T did not have even cherry pits few days later when I met maddened old boar, which charged me at once. I sprang for young birch and had just managed to pull my legs out of harms way when the furious brute struck the tree, and with such force that his tushes went into ! the trunk at one side and protruded from the other.
 q saw my opportunity. I slid down, picked up heavy stone and clinched the points of the tushes. Then I walked home at my case went to bed and returned with rifle and cart next morning after breakfast. The boar weighed 800 pounds.
 By the way, you will have wondered that I succeeded in bending boar's tushes as if they were iron nails. This was not possible until after I had bat tered them with the stone until they were thoroughly heated and thus became soft enough to bend.
 T had another somewhat interesting experience with a boar a few years ago. I was watching for game when young boar and an old one came trotting ex- actly in line, the old one behind. I aimed and fred The young boar scampered away The old fellow remained standing