62 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[ArnrsT 24, 1888: 



ADIRONDACK 0HRYET NOTES 



VI.— UlUDES Km DEliK. 



r PHE Adirondack guides, taking them as u whole, are an 

 -* except ion ally good body of men, wlio, as a vole, arc 

 steady, temperate, honesl and iadiistrinus. That there are 

 exceptions goes -without saying - ,. Mi <flj8se do tail gel much 



pat ion aire, ami arc looked down upon by the glgftt body of 

 guides, Tbey are superior to western guides generally, by 

 their entire absence of 8Waggettn"g airs, and not a single 

 specimen of the "Buckskin Jo." or "Rattlesnake Dick" 

 have 1 mot. Not thai there are no modest, intelligent guides 

 on Ihe plains and in other parts oi' the West, lint it is only 

 there that the fantastic egotist displays himself in the 

 manner of the hero of a border novel, and, even if harm- 

 less, is o nuisance. The Adirondack guides are usually well 

 known and are in demand, but sometimes this demand ex- 

 ceeds ihe supply, and hangers-on about the hotels undertake 

 to guide sportsmen and tourists. Life and property is as 

 safe- in these woods as anywhere in America, and there are 

 SCOrea of guides who might lie trusted with both, to any 

 extent, 



It is lit interest to note their varying opinions on protec- 

 tive hiws fur g;une. especially deer. One rainy day half a 

 dozen of them were assembled, and the conversation turning 

 on this subject, ran I bus: 



•'There was a party through here a few days ago. and 

 From what I know of them they will kill a deer before they 

 are in the woods many days," said one of the older men. 



•'Well, let them," spoke' up a youuger one. "What sire 

 deer in Ihe woods for but to kill when a man wants rjfeatS 

 I know' one man that won't go hungry long if he can get 

 venison." 



"I don't agree with you," replied the first speaker; "these 

 men come in here lo kill deer for sport, as well as food, 

 before (he law is up, and, while I will go with you so far as 

 tfi say that a man living in the woods may kill a deer in 

 June or July, if lie or his family want meat, y T et people who 

 live outside and come in for sport have no right to do it, and 

 lor one I'd iike to see them sweat for it. I wouldn't like to 

 COlUplain. Of a woodsman for killing a deer—he will never 

 kill more than he needs — but I would send word out to 

 Dodge, or any oilier game constable, if I knew of a sports- 

 man who did it." 



' You have it right," spoke another. "I've thought ihis 

 matter all over; and have learned that a. live deer in the 

 w r oods is worth more to me than a dead one any day, unless 

 1 am hard up for meat; and I tell you that when the deer 

 and trout are gone from these woods we can hang up our 

 fiddles, for there will be, no one here lo guide. It's the deer 

 and the fish that brings sportsmen up here to spend their 

 money, and so I believe in keeping up the attractions as long 

 as possible. You can put this down: No deer, no trout, no 

 ffiiidin" ; and when the deer are played out we are played 

 out, too, and I don't, like to si r e men come imo the woods in 

 June and lull deer," 



At this point the rain ceased and the different parties sepa- 

 rated in their bouts. I was struck by the force of the logic 

 of the last speaker, who certainly presented the case to Ids 

 comrades in the strongest light, that of self-interest. In 

 this matter of killing deer out of season, there is no doubt 

 of the fact that sportsmen — heaven save the mark!— .ire 

 mainly to blame for the lax views that some of the guides 

 hold on the subject. They employ the guide and set him the 

 bad example of violating the law. As an instance of this, 

 the following conversation occurred between myself and a 

 gentleman at a guide's house (l hud relalcd the above con- 

 versation to him): 



"Oh, yes, that's all very fine," said he; "but if you hire 

 any Of those guides who talk that way, ami just offer them 

 ten dollars to put you on a deer, out of season, sec how 

 quickly they will do it." 



"Perhaps so," said I, "but Unit is not fair. I would then 

 be his employer, and he might think lie would lose my cus- 

 tom in future if he did not comply: besides, it is not the 

 proper thing to tempt any man to do an unlawful act. These 

 guides ore mostly -poor men, working for their daily pay, 

 and that some of them, perhaps most of them, might yield 

 to such a temptation is not to be wondered at. But do you 

 think thai it is honest to kill deer out of season f 



"I don't see how it is dishonest," he replied: ihe deer 

 don't belong lo anybody; and if my necessities in the woods 

 demand meat, I don't see why 1 should not take thai which 

 is running wild." 



Here was a fitting opportunity for a sermon, and the temp- 

 tation was strong lo give it to him: but it is not always 

 pleasant to tell a man to his face just what you think of 

 him. sol merely rep Jed: "It is a question Whether a man 

 lias a right to place himself in such a position or not. Fish 

 are in season arid plenty, and canned goods will take him 

 over the close season." 



I now want to say to him through Foniisr and Stihcam 

 that the deer belong to the State of New York until lawfully 

 killed. Thai the State lias decided not to have them shot 

 until the 1st of August; and the man who goes into the 

 woods and kills one before that date might just as well 

 break into the State treasury and carry oil' the money 

 of the people. He is taking a mean advantage of hon- 

 orable sportsmen who wait for the season to open before 

 they taste venison; and it is a very lax state of morals which 

 permiisa man calling himself a gentkmiau to do it. lie is 



:i venison thief. The State allows you to go into its woods 

 and take a gun with you, but you should then bo on your 

 honor not to violate its hospitality any more than you would 

 if invited lo the grounds of a private gentleman. Looked 

 at in this light it [$ a question if a gentleman will wish to 

 capture unlawful faille. 



Not one of ihe survey parly, guides or others, has ever 

 desired to taste the forbidden deer until the close season ex- 

 pires; they live w'ell and bountifully on fish, ham, canned 

 goods, and such oilier filings, as are brought into the woods 

 from 1he nearest towns when a guide goes in tor supplies. 

 For my own part I take no pleasure in the killing of this 

 beautiful animal at any time. Certainly, looked at fiom any 

 standpoint, the sport does not compare with fighting a trout 

 or bass. One pull of the trigger and your game is down, or 

 away. Like men who fish with bean poles and swing a fish 

 over their heads at the first sign of a bite, the pleasure con- 

 sists merely in counting one more. 



One evening in July four deer came down on the point 

 near the Forge House aud fed and drank in plain sight of a 

 dozen, or more, of us gathered in front. On previous even- 

 ings one had been seen there, alone and they were getting 

 quite tame. Poor fellows! their confidence in man will be 

 the ruin of them after the. 1st of August. Venison is good, 

 but I have formed such strong friendships with several deer, 

 which come up and lick my hand, in the Central Park 

 grounds, that I would care more to pet than to shoot their 

 kindred. Perhaps it is not the worst thing in the world to 

 get a little tender-hearted as one's hair begins to mildew. 

 F. M. 



V** ^orkn\mi gottriii 



RAMBLES THROUGH NEWFOUNDLAND. 



PART IV. 



IT was my good fortune during my rambles to penetrate 

 through ail the famous game grounds of the island, 

 and nowhere have 1 -peril uniiv deli-hlful [unit-, liiaii ia the 

 early morning under the shadow of the great cliffs watching 

 for the various kinds of sea ducks to come into the nook 

 commanded by my position. It might seem to those who 

 live in summer climes that while violent storms sweep over 

 the bleat Newfoundland hills in the winter time, and deal 

 destruction to crafts near to its rock-bound coast, that there 

 was nothing for the seashore dwellers but to cling to their 

 cots till the tempestuous season passed; but there is far other 

 and more delightful pastime afforded them in the very din of 

 storms. Now Newfoundland presents almost around her en- 

 tire coast, what 1 may call a stern rocky wall to the sea, and 

 sailing around the island for the first time your impulse is to 

 ask, "How did people ever get upon the island?" Here and 

 there the bold cliff seems to relent, and you notice an open- 

 ing clean-cut as if chiselled by the haud'of man through the 

 rocky wall, and putting your 'boat through this opening, you 

 often find the water as deep at the very base of the smooth- 

 cliff wall as in the center of the passage: mid vou hear the 

 wavelets, when there is only a slight hrecs.e. lapping against 

 the rock. Inside the opening, sometimes the eye is 'charmed 



brook sinus its wav downward. geiitlyVlopfng from the wild 

 hills onward to the sea. The sea-arm runs often From two 

 to twelve and even twenty miles inland, winding through 

 Hats and moorlands, now and again in through' hills, clad 

 always in their tresses of evergreen. In such vales vou find 

 generally a nest of cosy little cottages, whitewashed or 

 painted white. About the hills vou hear the tinkling of the 

 cow-bells or the bleating of the sheep or goat. 



The history of these "coves." as they are called, is this: 

 About a century ago there was a large tiow of emigration' 

 from the British Isles. For the greater part, newly married 

 couples ,-u'ri ved in the island, with strong arms, pluck, and 

 willingness to seize labor by the forelock. In each such 

 cove one couple settled, rarely more than one. and as the 

 coves were as a rule only a few miles apart, the isolation 

 was not as dreadful as might first appear. There were 

 always numbers of oJd country 'youngsters" to be had from 

 the nearest populous place, and one of these was "shipped" 

 to the solitary eove-dweller for a year for his "prog:" that 

 is, his victuals and his clothes. From ihis cove the settler 



a little o'pen -drill', each provided with a pair of lines. Then 

 the cod used to come in among the Very rocks bv the cot- 

 tage after the .capHn, and the fisherman and ihe bo; might 



often sit, and, a gaff in the hand of each, load the boat with- 

 out putting out a hook. One little skiff frequently in ihe 

 season then, with only two hands on board, lauded 800 

 quintals of cod, worth, on the average, abort! eighteen shil- 

 lings a quintal. The cluster of white cottages you now see, 

 sailing around the coast, belong I o the descendants, of the 

 soliLary pair, and the employment of i heir owners is still 

 fishing". With the early spring they spread the liny wings 

 of their little open craft and go around for the cod", which 

 they dry upon rocks, or upon flakes, shipping it to St. Johns 

 in the late autumn 



This is, of course, a feature only of the general coast, for 

 Newfouudland has a large city, St. Johns, and several other 

 important towns, besides numeroi.s lame selileiu.-nts. But 

 from what 1 have written the reader will be the better able 

 to follow me among the rocks in the gloaming, listening to 

 the doings of the sportsman through the wild winter. 



Every house that you find around the coast has a guu- 

 rack, the pieces being of various sizes. Long-barreled guns 

 of heavy calibre, and capable of belching out "eight fingers 

 comfortably." are those used for the ducks. 



Now while the storm may rage aud drive the wave foam 

 up over cliffs three hundred feet high on one side of a pro- 

 jecting point oreapeupon the other side, it will be as smooth 

 as a pond, and it is by I iking advantage of these situations 

 that the sportsman is able to make havoc among the sea 

 duck even while the tempest thunders. 



I went out for a week's duck shooting to one of the hos- 

 pitable coves in the hay of St. Mary's In the midst of Feb- 

 ruary, a few winters ago. For a week steady, the wind had 

 been blowing sheer inupon the land, and not'a bird had been 

 killed. But I must add that what was a disappointment to 



the rock-dwellers in this respect w T as cause for much gratifi- 

 cation in another. For it is almost certain to happen after 

 a strong southerly gale has prevailed for a few days, if Un- 

 wind suddenly chop around and blow in upon the land, that 

 large quantities of wreckage are driven ashore. Some 

 theinhabitants lie in the rocks hours before dawning, wu 

 light to look for the prize, and the spoils of ocean : 



often 



not less 



interesting than \ 



these 





re built of deals : 



si ran 



1 or he; 



Ch. 1 have know, 



elry, 



and | 



tombs, 



orklol 



cottons, scarfs, a 

 ic thrown up a mo 



the v 



ssel de 



rris, and the huud 



So 



it was i 



l the case i hav 



doable. 



All 



rds 



i bales, 



pack! 



tcked 



tp on the . 

 s of jew- 



ape 



lit of 



them. 







disappoh 







give! lie 





found 



n the 





d inured f 



the wa 



ves, ai 



d in 



valuable t< 



by the 



surf o 



•by 



the rocks. 



Dun 



og hit 



Bra 



night's st 



ficreeh 



-. and 





der not to 



Ihe sportsm 



shoot 



lings, 

 eral huge 



deals had 

 I stuck up 

 to colic, 

 borne. 



lie, whose 



logs lo be 

 dieting of 

 as Aw\ 



the cove the wind blew 

 iot to disappoint, me, who had come 

 o of the young men agreed to i 

 if the w'ind did not" show si_ 

 the small peninsula to where there 



ethc 



rl 



Wl 



. w 



• set 



link 

 iles i 



sh 



liti 



ant 



he'e 

 ddi 

 the 

 than 



mill 

 oast 

 ring 

 lish- 

 the 



ip through huge rocks, up 

 through yawning chasms 



: piercing cold. My dog 

 in terror, clinging to my 

 out" around the 



was shelter. But about noon the wind fel 



The following morning, an hour befo 

 out for the "tilts." The tilts were threi 

 in the crevices of the rocks, about two r 

 from the dwellings. In these tilts the h 

 the summer while fishing, a- the place I 

 Ing grounds, and afforded better landin: 

 dock by the cottages. 



I shall never forget that trau 

 dizzy heights, and down again 

 through the darkness and tin 

 whined and shivered, I believe 

 beds. 1 followed my sure-footed guides 

 perilous way till we came to the cliff top, loc 

 upon the tilts. Dawning showed the tainted streaks~of gray, 

 and I could see the great sea stretched out before me like*! 

 vast and indistinct field of hazy blue. The better trained 

 eye of one of the guides saw more, and taking me by the 



sl|i < i ■ i 1 1 ■ - 1 ■ _ 1 ".:■ eriag ship's ]'.e l'Ii .aieii-.L. In in.;. ,ea La said. 



"look:" but looking wdth all my might, I saw nothing but: 

 the indistinct outline of the sea". Then lie whispered me to • 

 "make no noise," that it was "a big flock of ducks/' "and 

 now." he said, "mind yourself coming down here, it is not 

 nice for a stranger. " I kept close to his heels, and shuddered I 

 as I saw him step over the beetling brow of the cliff to make 

 his descent. 



The terrors of that descent I shall never forget, Piercing 

 though the morning air was the perspiration started through 

 every pore of my body. The path down consisted of here 

 and "there a tiny step, like a stairs step, being blasted into 

 shape on the face of the craggy cliff, which, added to a few ! 

 natural spurs and shelves in the rough rock wall, formed a 

 means of descent from the top to the tilts below, Ir 

 aged to get down, and so did ray dbg, tnough the poor 

 brute whined piteously on nearly every step, for which he 

 received from the guides "curses, not loud but deep." 



They laughed at'me as I got to the bottom,.sayiug, "Why, 

 our girls and women run up and down here two or three 

 times" a day iu summer; that's nothing." I felt piqued at 

 this rebuke and tried to think of some form of danger. 



strange to my guides, but familia- 

 brag about: but alas! 1 could not 



"Now. we had better station 

 and it was decided that we she 

 tilts, built upon the lowest ledge 

 birds to come on. There wasoi 

 aud its direction was off land, s 

 the cliffs above us the water was t 



Bringing the dogs in we took up our po 

 first having removed the "tiring boards" i 

 little building. Through this aperture w 

 the time that our preparations had been i 

 light had purged the hazy veil from the fi 

 we had a good view of the surroundings, 

 opening beyond a little point on oi 



myself, which I might 

 think of any. 



nirselves," "said the leadei. 

 aid go into one of the 

 Sf rock, and wait for the 

 ly a light breeze blowing, 

 i that under the shelter of 

 mooth as a mild pond. 



the tilt, 

 the side of the 

 were to tire. By 

 ade the growing 

 ■e of the sea, and 

 Looking through 

 left, what a bound 

 >f delight did my heart give as I saw a huge, dark i 

 mass, covering fully an acre in area, crossing toward the 

 shore. "There they are; gambirds at that," whispered 

 one of my companions. And then in the same low tones, 

 'Keep your nerves steady: you wdll soon see something that 



1 rnai 



kiu« 



duel 



r before 

 state that thi 

 the America 

 locally also : 



duck called "gainbird" by the iuhabi- 



dnck— iS) 



ea duck. 



and ' 



hg salt i 



at in- 



to believe niv 

 rds, and that 

 marie* 

 lispers, would 

 " "Do 

 hot- 

 :li. 



vas next to impossible that 1 should tr 

 eyes thai the huge mass coming on was all b 

 thousands would come in under the very r 

 anas. Nothing less, I was assured in low W 

 happen, and one pointed down into the water ami said, 

 you sec all these shell fishes clinging to the rocks on tin 

 torn? The ducks are after these; 5 ' It was soon plain eiioi 

 The whole- body moved rapidly in, singing a multitudii 

 song, wdiose music seemed not" unlike the sighing of the s 

 A lew acted as leaders, bearing their crestshigh and proudly, 

 and continuously turning then- heads from side to side, as if 

 on the lookoutfor danger. The nook immediately below our 

 tilt soon filled up with the birds, while for several gunshot 

 lengths outside there was a solid mass. We lay still, making 

 not a motion. "Let themdive." whispered the senior of our 

 party. "If they all go down at once we will leave the tilt 

 and get a shot lower down. It will be observed that the 

 point "at which we were was several feet above the level of 

 the birds, which would prevent us from "raking" them with 

 our shot, whereas, bv adopting the proposal made, we would 

 be on a direct level. Meanwhile, the whole mass pressed 

 on and swarmed into the many nooks about where we w 

 After a sharp look around, down went the leaders, and were 

 followed simultaneously bv till the rest. Not a bird remained 

 to be seen of the numerous host of three seconds before. 



While my wonder was upon me my companions ran out, 

 saying to me hurriedly, "Come;" and in a trice had placed 

 themselves behind a hedge of rock directly at the water's lip. 

 I was beside them in an instant, and we all disposed our dogs 

 cosily behind us, aud made ready. We were to fire in the 

 order in which we lay. I being on the right was to fire to 

 the right, he in the center in the center, and he on the left to 

 fire to the left of the nook. I heard the word "Now" given, 

 and 1hat is all I noticed save the birds, so excited was f. We 



