I72 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF 



hunter carries the jack on his head he now uncovers the lens carefully and by 

 moving his head slightly from side to side, throws its rays from point to point. 

 If not deceived by the sound which attracted their attention he soon sees two 

 shining spots in the darkness, the eyes of a deer. Sometimes, under very favorable 

 conditions, the outline of the body can be dimly seen, a gray phantomlike form. 

 The deer is not alarmed, but stands still gazing curiously at the light which it 

 misinterprets as some natural phenomena. It cannot see the men in the shadow 

 behind the light. 



If the hunter sees only the eyes of the deer, as is generally the case, he aims a 

 few inches below them and fires. The explosion wakes every echo from forest and 

 mountain with a reverberating roar that is intensified by the previous stillness. 

 It is heard by the night-hunters on neighboring lakes and streams who, noting the 

 direction of the distant shot, whisper to each other the name of the locality and 

 inwardly wonder whether it was a successful shot. It was probably not ; the per- 

 centage of successful shots in jacking is not large. Unless the animal falls, shot 

 through some vital spot, it wheels instantly, and, plunging into the tangled forest 

 behind it, is lost. Even though fatally wounded it may travel through the woods a 

 long distance before it lies down to die. The next morning the guide visits the 

 spot, and if he finds the leaves " painted " with blood he follows the track of the 

 wounded animal for some distance, and then gives up the chase. But if the hunter's 

 shot is followed by the heavy splash in the darkness, which announces that the deer has 

 fallen, the guide paddles instantly to the spot and the proud hunter secures his game. 



There are several objections to this method of hunting, and most sportsmen 

 would willingly see it discontinued by law. For every deer killed by jacking a 

 much greater number are wounded and lost, the unfortunate creatures dying a 

 painful, lingering death in some distant swamp or hiding place. Many experienced, 

 observant guides estimate that four deer are thus killed and lost for every one that 

 is killed and secured. Another serious objection to jacking is that fully four-fifths 

 of the deer thus killed, whether secured or not, are does, which were forced to visit 

 the shores at night for food and drink in order to furnish sustenance for their young. 

 They are nursing does, and each one killed at this season leaves one or two fawns 

 in the woods to starve or eke out an enfeebled existence. Then, again, the does at 

 this time of the year, in August, are thin and poor. The venison is inferior and 

 scarcely eatable. To hunt them at this time is a mere, wanton cruelty, prompted by 

 that barbaric instinct to kill which still lingers in the human race. Furthermore, if 

 only bucks were shot by this method it would still be objectionable, because at this 

 season the bucks are not at their best for food ; and, what is worse, owing to the 

 warm weather, the venison cannot be kept, but spoils before it can be used. 



