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WINNING WAYS OF A DOG Setter Joe Muncie Tells His Own Tale of His Triumphs From Neglected Puppyhood with witha a Forgotten Pedigree to toChampionship Championship Honors They call me Clminiiioii Joe Muncie and I sun registered in the Field Dog Stud Hook is an Knjr lisli setter number 33332 I acquired the title by winning the famous Edwnril Dexter Memorial Cup in the national championship field trials near Grand Junction Tenn in February 1918 At a dinner given by my present master Benj Wei in my lionor shortly after my victory J M Avent my trainer made the statement that I had to beat the judges the press and the dogs i order to win Tliat is stretching it a point Those judges who gave me the title are class men and it was neces ¬ sary to show them conclusively that I was worthy of the honor I showed them and the win came to me ungrudgingly As for the press that was all wrong It is to the latter that I owe most of my success The press always gave me full credit for all I did sind it was through one of its repre ¬ sentatives that I won my first two places in field trials As a matter of fact when Avant referred to the press I bad to beat he meant the man wlo placed me in field trials when I was still an un ¬ known dog so I have no grievance with the press even if this representative of it told the truth about me mePrevious Previous to my last great success the winning f the national championship my critics Iwtli human and canine called me most anything such as Old Joe the Yellow Dog or the dog without a pedigree and many other things that are not pleasant to a setter as temperamental as I am Jlut that is all past now the field trial world and the doggy public at large know by this time who I am although it took me several years to show them themMy My earliest recollection is of a nice little run ¬ way in the back yard of J II Msthcws at Hodgen ville Ky where I was born and lived with my mother and brothers and sisters for the first few weeks of my life Those were happy days all romping and eating and drinking but they were of short duration My father was Jack Muncie and my mother Lady Mathews At least by those njmes they were registered when I began winning in field trials Previous to that they were only known locally for their owners valued them as shooting dogs and never gave iny thought to field trials nor bad they any idea of any of us going out before the public and so in those days mother was Lady and father was Jack The blood lines Lady and Jack represented were in a measure a secondary consideration and for that reason their masters did jiot require fancy names for their dogs at least not until I put the family before the public by winning in field trials then of course it was dif ¬ ferent ferentTHE THE EARLY DAYS OF NEGLECT NEGLECTHow How well I remember those early days of mine when I was taken to field trials My competitors used to sneer at me and turn up their noses for at tliat time I was entered as Joe Blackburn pedi ¬ gree unknown Of course one cannot blame those aristocrats of the dog world for not recognizing mo coming among them as I did without the creden ¬ tials of a stud book number and a certified pedigree but that was entirely due to the indifference of my master rather than the lack of ancestry back of m My master simply neglected looking up my breedins But it makes me smile now when I think of the old yellow and white setter or plebeian Joe as some of those supercilious Llewellins called me and bow be put it all over those dogs who were so disdainful in the early days I put the prefix of Clmnpion before my name and that is something those who were loudest in their condemnation of me were un ¬ able to do nine blood Well 1 guess when you get down to real facts my blood is as blue as any of them records are all straightened out now and show this ionclusively but when I think of how near I was to going through life with pedigree unknown just l ecause my early master Hd not care it makes me shudder shudderGetting Getting back to my early puppy days and the lit tie kennel yard at Hodgenville where my mother brought us up as best she knew how I cannot resist saying that she was a wise old mother She often sjioke of father ami what a handsome upstaim ing white black and tan setter he was And pedigree Vhy my father who was only plain Jac1 in those days went back to the great Gleam i unbroken lines Children my mother used to say you need never be ashamed of your father he was bred in the purple and his blood is vo blue tliat it could be used by washerwomen for bluing And she was right His father was Sorts Gath and he was by the wonderful Maries Sport which sired so many winners Maries Sport was by GleamV Sjtort and so on down to Gleam and finally to Lin ¬ coln Nancy Price my paternal grandmother was by Champion Ladys Count Gladstone so I guess after all 1 can bold my own when it comes to pride of ancestry My mother never said much alMiit her own relatives but there is nothing in her family that I need lx ashamed of In the first place she was a great individual a wonderful field dog and when you examine the family tree it is found that she traces straight back to Dad Wilson Gladstones Boy Gaths Hope and those other great ones of the eighties My mother once said They may tell you boy that youre no Llewellin but there is no dirt in your veins veinsAS AS A YELLOW AND WHITE PUP PUPOne One day when I was alwnt eight or nine weeks old my mothers master brought a man over to look at us He was a fine tall looking gentleman and seemed much interested in all of us for he picked us up one by one and examined us carefully After he looked me over and put me down he said saidI I like that yellow and white pup over there he seems to be precocious precociousHe He was talking about me I learned afterward that the man IVHS J K Smith of Eminence Ky and that he owned our father Jack A few diys after this he sent over for me and that was the last I ever saw of my mother and little brothers and sisters I was taken away to the home of J K Smith who became my first master The first few days and nights in my new hcme was a period of bitter anguish I thought Id die of the loneli ¬ ness of it all the loss of my mother brother am sisters so suddenly took nil the life out of me I couldnt understand that I was the first choice anil that I belonged to my new master as his share of tbe litter because he owned my father This migit have been considered a special honor but to be turn from luv family did not teem H to me and i 1 lay there in my little box thrr first trvr dark anil lonely nights with all kinds of strange sounds about me I wsis frightened almost to death and I suppose I made the hours hideous by my cries and pleadings for my brothers and sisters and the comfort of my mothers breast breastMy My fate was the same as many another puppy however and true to the natural buoyancy of any healthy young animal I soon recovered for my master was kind to me and I could run and play and eat at will I did not forget my mother and my sisters and brothers but I learned to make the best of the situation since it was one that could not be remedied What I enjoyed more than any ¬ thing else was when I was turned loose the fields with the older dogs I had many opport5 lies of seeing my father those days He was a fine old bird dog and as proud as a prince even if he Hd own only the plebeian name of Jack in those days The fields were practically boundless and I would run helterskelter in every direction chas ¬ ing tin small birds and the butterflies until my legs could carry me no longer lint all this time I was growing into a real setter and before many months was almost as tall as my father On one occasion my master showed me to a friend and for hN benefit turned me loose in the fields I guess I must have given a good exhibition of speed and range for after I was called in and put on a lead the man patted me on the head and said saidThat That pup is a field trial prospect He ought to H given a chance Hows lie bredV bredVPREPARING PREPARING FOR FIELD TRIALS TRIALSHes Hes bred all right answered my master but I havent kept track of the pedigree hes by my do Jack Mathews Lady Im not interested in field trials but Im going to send him to a trainer and have a shooting dog made out of him himSome Some time after this I was put into a box and sett a long distance finally landing at Bolivar Tenn I soon learned that I was now going to school rind my teacher was V D Mask of that place I wlf taken out every day and maybe I didnt enjoy those hours in the field I remember well whet 1 smelled the intoxicating scent of my first quail I felt a thrill go all through me and some unseen force compelled me to stop It was as if I was paralyzed or something I dont know what it was but when that strange scent came to my nos ¬ trils I was suddenly changed into a different dog I learned all at once what it means to search for game The older dogs often talked about this searching for game but until one has had the nctni exixrieiice he does not understand I know now Well I stood there on that point trembling but not daring to move My teacher come up to ni spoke softly patted me on the head and called me good Joe steady boy and a few more similar phrases phrasesThen Then I saw him put a long iron thing that he was carrying to bis shoulder walk in front of me and up went a whole bunch of birds about twenty in all They went away with a loud brr brr brr and I was so frightened I dropped flat on the ground Then that iron thing belched forth with two flashes and suddenly there came the most fear ¬ ful noise I ever heard Bowl bow and two birds dropped several rods ahead of me I thought the end of the world had come and 1 tucked my tail between my legs and started to run but my master called me and patted me again and showed me the dead birds which still had that same intox ¬ icating smell lint for a long time I was afraid to go up to birds in the field knowing that if I did this strange iron thing would make anothei noise like it did the first time and at that period I was uncertain of the results although I escaped on the first occasion However I knew I could find birds when I wanted to but for the life of me could not disassociate the pointing of birds from u possible catastrophe and so I approached my game diffidently sometimes in my excitement wagging my tail Try as I would I could not get over this habit even during the early days of my field trial successes That is how it came about that the press called attention to the fact that I pointed with ii waving flag a term that has always been nsel against me meAfter After my teacher Mask had me for some time lie prevailed upon my master to let him start me in the AllAmerica field trials and I was taken to Itogers Springs in January 1914 This was a new game to me as well as my handler I was drawn to run against a lot of other dogs which had con ¬ siderable of a reputation I shall never forget my first appearance among those celebrities celebritiesIGNORANCE IGNORANCE AND DOG SHOWS SHOWSWho Who is this yellow and white setter they call Joe Blackburn V asked one supercilious setter thev called Lady LadyDont Dont know said a big white and liver colored pointer but hes handled by a new man and I guess the dog dont amount to much muchThey They say he aint got no pedigree piped in another diminutive setter lady they called Tereso TeresoAll All this while I was right among them too mind you youWell Well to make a long story short I wan started in the stake and I must have run a good ground second series I was much excited however and while I obeyed my teacher cheerfully and went wherever he asked me to by the wave of his hat I couldnt find birds Run Yes I surely did there was nothing wrong with my speed and range but the excitement of this first experience must have thrown me off my nose I couldnt smell a bird on my life and I veut through those two heats without a point 1 was put back in my crate and on the wagon and then I heard the remarks of the other dogs and they did not spare me in the least leastI I told you lie wont do said the Lady which by the way won the stake and she was more su ¬ percilious than ever The little one called Terese also won a place and she too was disdainful disdainfulWhat What business has a dog of unknown pedi ¬ gree in this stake of blue bloods anyway sin sneered sneeredPOINTER POINTER COMET CHEERS JOE UP UPIn In the crate next to me was a black and white pointer they called Comet He won second in the stake and he seemed to be tbe nicest one of tbe lot lotDont Dont you mind he whispered to me through the bars of the crate You have the natural quality and just as soon as you get over your stage fright youll come back to your nose and show this whole outfit up upThat That was balm to my wounded feelings and 1 felt easier Hut my master did not start me again that season was taken back to Itolivar by my teacher and for a whole year did nothing but hunt to the gnu for I learned by this time that this Ion iron thing which he carried was not intended to harm a dog in the least and I got so I enjoyed seeing him carry it The next year in 1915 I was entered in the AllAmerica Championship again My name was still Joe Blackburn and my entry blank read pedigree unknown Once more I met a lot of those high brows anfl once more bad to stand the gaff but I bad another years experience on my shoulders consequently more confidence confidenceYoull Youll never get a look in under these judges a little dojj called Buster assured me But the Mark and white pointer wafc here acain ami ald Dont you believe it Joe the pulses arc Captain Gaines and llochwalt they dont can what a dogs previous reputation or what his breeding is just show them the goods and youll be noticed Well that race was run I went out in the first series and found birds Perhaps I was not quite as stylish aa some of them but I ran faster went wider and found more birds than all the rest put together and my teacher shot a few over me just to prove that I was not afriad of the gun The next heat was of two hours duration I started out like a whirlwind and after the first hour was all iu My legs were so tired that I nearly collapsed but my teacher gave me a nice cool drink of water and I went on once more resolved to go the route if it killed me for I made up my wind that my mother was going to be proud of me My nose was good that morning How I did find birds The supercilious ones began to take notice One dog also a white and lemon thought he had the stake won up to the time I ran my race but when my heat was over and I was put in the crate he was not so certain certainYou You ran a good race old top says he but yoi didnt beat mine mineJOE JOE BLACKBURN WINS FIRST I said nothing for I was content to lie down in the straw and rest my aching bones bonesA A few minutes after the judges announced Joe Blackburn wins first I guess some of those supercilious ones sat up and took notice then thenDuring During that summer my master looked up my breeding and he not only had me registered but my father and mother also My name was changed from Joe Blackburn to Joe Muncie for it seems as though another Joe Blackburn had been registered way back in the dark ages and so I had to have another name About July of that year my teacher took me up to South Dakota to prepare for the chicken trials That is a glorious country tip there So big so boundless and such exhilarating air One can go all day without encountering a fence or a gully like we do in the south And those chickens say I like to hunt quail but chickens thats the sport par excellence I won the allage stake of the Great Western open trials in which the best of the land competed J M Avent did not like it because I was given the decision Said I did not have enough intensity on my game but all the same I learned that he was trying to get me iu his string That next January I started in the most Important of all short heat stakes the United States allagt and among others I bant the pointer Lewis C Morris then in the heyday of his fame I found birds galore In woods in the open everywhere singles as well as bevies On one occasion I remember very distinctly I had a single bird right down in the thick of the grass My teacher tried to kick it out but could not He ordered me on but I remained The bird was right under me but I could not make my teacher under ¬ stand although when he saw I wouldnt move he came back and finally flushed the bird It is just one of those instances where a dog knows better than his master and unless he is firm he is apt j to get credit for a false point whereas he is doing an unusually good piece of work but I was de ¬ termined to have credit for that point and I got it itCHAMPIONSHIP CHAMPIONSHIP HONORS AT LAST I won several more places for my old master Mr Smith and my teacher Mask and then I be ¬ came the property of Benj Weil of Alexandria La It was then that I obtained a new teacher in the person of JV M Avent who saw in me a much different dog now than in the days when h thought I was not intense enough on game My first great race for him was on the prairies in 1916 when I ran against my famous but goodnatureo rival Candy Kid I was sick and all out of form there and that was the hardest race of my life The judges kept us going for two hours and forty five minutes and the nice was finally awarded to Candy Kid but I gave him a rim for his money moneyIn In January I won the allage stake of the United States trials but my great feat came about a year later when I won the Championship on the preserve of Hobart Ames near Grand Junction Tennessee last February As fate would have it I was down with Candy Kid and I suppose I must have rattled that good little dog on several occasions for when ¬ ever he made a cast I made it a point to swing around and cross his course just ahead of him In this way I found the most birds and at the same time had the Kid all excited The second series heat was just about as gruelling as the first three hours for I ran for nearly that length of time with the pointer bitch Square Edges She gave me a good race but I guess I proved to those three class men Messrs Ames Merriman and Buckle that I have some of the stuff of my ancestors in my makeup makeupI I am now at the kennels of my present master Benj Weil and I like my new home very well for my master is a good boss Shall I start again That is not yet settled Perhaps A F llochwalt in Outers Book
