236 Third Annual Report of the 



Hunting Accidents 



The Commission issued instructions to its entire protective 

 force to report promptly and in detail on all hunting accidents, 

 with especial reference to hunters mistaken for deer, and great 

 care was taken to investigate all reports or allegations of dead does 

 left to rot in the woods. Such reports or allegations were uni- 

 formly found to be baseless or greatly exaggerated. 



Up to the close of the deer season, reports from the protectors 

 showed that out of 19 fatal hunting accidents in the entire State 

 but two were killed through being mistaken for deer ; only five had 

 any connection whatever with deer hunting. 



On October IT, William Schreyer, a guide of Tupper Lake, 

 was fatally shot at Shattick Clearing, near Axton, by Thomas 

 Lawrence, a New York city sportsman, who thought he was shoot- 

 ing at a deer, although he had hunted many seasons in the woods. 

 On November 3, Walter Vallier, also a guide, was killed by a 

 heedless shot fired by his own son at Star Lake in St. Lawrence 

 county. On October 13, Warner Briggs, of Coffins Mills, Avas 

 instantly killed by his friend, Grover Spencer, who firing at a 

 deer, missed it and hit his companion whom he did not see on 

 the opposite side of the trail. The bullet struck a tree and glanced. 

 Giles Jones, of Turin, while hunting deer, was killed by a bullet 

 from his own rifle, which was accidentally fired in some way un- 

 known. Frank Holmes, an Adirondack guide, was fatally 

 wounded by Eugene De Bronkhart, of New York, when a gun 

 which the latter was loading preparatory to starting on a deer 

 hunt was accidentally discharged. 



From the reports received it is found that the vast majority 

 of accidents this season occurred to small game hunters, and that 

 a large majority of the casualties were due to the recklessness and 

 carelessness of the victims themselves. 



The fatalities which had nothing to do with deer hunting were 

 as follows: October 2, Tony Cherry, East Buffalo, aged 42, 

 climbing fence, shot-gun accidentally discharged, right arm torn to 

 pieces, died in Batavia hospital, October 3 ; October 4, James 

 Hutchinson, Sonora, aged 18, climbing fence, shot-gun trigger 

 caught, shot taking effect in neck and head; October 4. Walter 

 Gardner, accidentally- shot his brother while handling srun, Avoea, 



