George Peyton

Among the well-known sportsmen who come to Parsham every winter for the "National Trials" of pedigree bird dogs, Lucius mentions four names. Two are identifiable as real men (Horace Lytle and Paul Rainey). This icon represents "George Peyton," whom Lucius says is, like Lytle, "as magical among bird dog people" as Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb are to baseball fans (189). This pairing suggests that like Lytle, Peyton is a real person; in fact, a dog handler named George Payton was active at least during the 1920s, once handling Pearl Momoney at the National Bird Dog Championship.