FISHERIES, GAME AND FORESTS. I 77 



drive a deer to water quicker than their noisy brethern. The Adirondack deer hound 

 has long, drooping ears, slender nose, and smooth tail. Its hair is generally short and 

 smooth. It weighs about 35 lbs. as a general thing. It is of all colors, black and 

 tan predominating. There are also many white and liver ; also gray and black. 

 Straight colors, white hounds and black hounds, are occasionally seen, but not often. 

 When crossed with beagles or collies good results are most always obtained. When 

 bred with a beagle a hound is obtained that will follow a deer for days, a trait which 

 has the disadvantage that these dogs are too often lost. When bred with the collie 

 increased intelligence is secured, a desirable point, for the average deerhound is a 

 stupid, uninteresting brute that would not be tolerated by a sportsman were it not for 

 the wonderful instinct and musical voice which renders it such an important adjunct 

 in hunting. 



The third and remaining method in killing deer is by stalking or still-hunting, 

 which is permitted by law during the open season, from August 16th to November 1st. 

 This is deemed the most sportsmanlike and creditable method of deer hunting, because 

 the animal has a better chance for its life, and because the hunter, alone and unaided, 

 pits his skill and intelligence against the instinct and wary nature of the game. 



Still-hunting is followed mostly in October, for then the deer are larger and fatter 

 than in the earlier part of the open season. This kind of hunting cannot be followed 

 later than October, after which the killing of deer is prohibited by law. A slight fall 

 of snow in which the deer tracks are plainly seen — the " tracking snow " of the hunter 

 — furnishes the best time and opportunity for still-hunting. But the open season no 

 longer includes November, and the still-hunter seldom gets a tracking snow in October. 

 The hunter uses a rifle in this sport, an accurate shot being necessary. He seldom has 

 the entire body of the animal in sight for a mark, the game being concealed by the 

 thick evergreen brush which, at the same time, helps to screen the hunter. He 

 generally has only a small part of the deer's body in sight, perhaps a leg, or the neck, 

 or tail. He may draw bead on the small spot in view, or, by making some calculation, 

 aim to one side of the exposed spot. 



Still-hunting requires strength to withstand the fatigue caused by the long tramp 

 over the rocky hillsides, hardwood ridges, and through swamps filled with almost 

 impenetrable thickets of cedar and balsam. When the skillful hunter strikes a track 

 he seldom follows it direct, but going to one side travels in a circle, endeavoring thus 

 to locate the animal in its resting place. The utmost care, skill, judgment and keen 

 eyesight are necessary. A broken twig or careless footstep may alarm the deer. 

 A knowledge of woodcraft is also necessary in this wandering through a pathless 

 forest, or the hunter may lose his way and have to pass the night in the woods. A 

 keen eyesight must be exercised or the sportsman may not see his deer until too late. 



