The New Hunting 141 



existence. Too often there is not even the jus- 

 tification of fair play. Usually the hunter 

 exposes himself to no danger from the animal 

 that he would kill. He takes no risks. He 

 has the advantage of long-range weapons. 

 There is no combat. Over on the lake shore 

 every spring I see great cones of ice, built up by 

 the action of the waves. Several stalwart men 

 have skulked behind them and lie secure from 

 observation. A little flock of birds, unsuspect- 

 ing, unprotected, harming no man, obeying the 

 laws of their kind, skims across the water. The 

 guns discharge. The whole flock falls, the 

 mangled birds struggling and crying, and taint- 

 ing the water with their blood as they are car- 

 ried away on the waves, perhaps to die on the 

 shores. There is a shout of victory and a 

 laugh of satisfaction. Surely, man is the king 

 of beasts ! 



But there is another and fairer side. The 

 lack of feeling for wounded animals is often 

 thoughtlessness. The satisfaction in hunting is 

 often the joy of skill in marksmanship, the 

 pleasure of woodcraft, the enthusiasm of being 



