Toung Hunters 



gun from the old country, but seldom took time 

 to hunt, even after the first hard work of fenc- 

 ing and clearing was over, except to shoot a 

 duck or prairie chicken now and then that hap- 

 pened to come in their way. It was only the less 

 industrious American settlers who left their 

 work to go far a-hunting. Two or three of our 

 most enterprising American neighbors went off 

 every fall with their teams to the pine regions 

 and cranberry marshes in the northern part of 

 the State to hunt and gather berries. I well 

 remember seeing their wagons loaded with 

 game when they returned from a successful 

 hunt. Their loads consisted usually of half a 

 dozen deer or more, one or two black bears, 

 and fifteen or twenty bushels of cranberries ; all 

 solidly frozen. Part of both the berries and 

 meat was usually sold in Portage; the balance 

 furnished their families with abundance of 

 venison, bear grease, and pies. 



Winter wheat is sown in the fall, and when 

 it is a month or so old the deer, like the wild 

 geese, are very fond of it, especially since other 

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