202 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF 



although we were very anxious to have it done. They dressed him on the spot and 

 made four loads of him. The chief Indian remarked that one might hunt a lifetime 

 and not see such a deer as that." 



The foregoing extract indicates that the deer in Michigan and Wisconsin are not 

 as large as the Adirondack deer. 



The CafsKitl Deer Park. 



I take the opportunity to include in this report some brief mention of the Catskill 

 Deer Park, at Slide Mountain in Ulster county, and matters relating to it. In July 

 last (1895), ' n company with Mr. Davis, the President of the Commission, I went to 

 the deer park and instructed the keeper to let the deer loose. As near as we could 

 count, forty-five deer were turned loose into the forest. One old buck, a vicious 

 beast that tried to kill its keeper, was retained and left in the little enclosure where 

 he has been penned by himself for a long time. This buck was not liberated because 

 he was liable to attack any man, woman or child that he might meet on the road. 

 As he was old and had outlasted his usefulness, the keeper was instructed to shoot 

 him, and save further expense in keeping and feeding. 



These deer were liberated because the herd was not increas- 

 ing as was expected. It was evident that they would breed 

 more freely if allowed to roam at large ; and as the primary 

 object in maintaining the herd was the restocking of the 

 Catskill forest with deer, it was thought that the end would be 

 sooner and better attained by turning them loose. The park, 

 which is less than half a mile square, did not furnish enough 

 food for so many, every bit of arboreal food within reach 

 having been browsed until not a leaf or twisf remained, and 



Abnormal Development of ° ° 



Prongs.* the herd could be maintained only by purchasing grain and 



hay for them. The deer when liberated soon disappeared in the forest, where, 



according to all accounts, they have become strong and vigorous. Some strayed 



beyond the limits of the Catskill regions and made their appearance in adjoining 



counties. Three were killed in Chenango, and one in Albany county, there being 



no law protecting deer in those counties. 



The original intention in establishing this deer park was to restock the Catskill 



forests with deer by maintaining a herd in the park and turning out annually the 



increase. The experiment was not satisfactory owing to the comparatively small 



size of the enclosure, and the consequent expense of purchasing food for the animals. 



The park, however, can be utilized by using it as a place of temporary detention for 



* There were forty-two prongs or " points" on these antlers, twenty-two on cne horn and twenty on 

 the other. This deer was killed near Paul Smith's, Franklin County, N. Y. 



