368 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Bbobmbkk 8, 1881. 



I'MAESE WARDENS AND VISITING SPORTSMEN." 



iSMtor Forest and Stream : 



My last letter seems to have lind the effect desired, that 

 n£ directing attention of the sportsmen ofc Maine lo the 



, i current among at least U part of their own cornmuui- 



t>es, that aside from the inefficiency of the game laws to 

 protect game and fish, and a lequatcly to punish poachers, 

 there is a laxity in the system pursued aud a want of aggres- 

 siveness which go far to encourage the professional "pot- 

 hnuter," aud do not deter the summer tourist from helping 

 himseif to game (Then be can get it. But. first of all and right 

 here, 1 wish to disclaim any intention Of abusing the Hon. 

 iMr. Stilwcll, or of saying anything nngenlleinauly or un- 

 sportsmanlike. I know that that gentleman is very much in 

 earnest In the enforcement of the game laws, and I have no 

 reason to d rabt that he is impartial. 1 was careful in my 

 letter to lay most of the failures of prosecution distinctly to 

 the game wardens, and if the facts which have come under 

 my personal observation during the past few years in Maine 

 have .-el pointed to one conclusion — to wit. : that the native 

 aud professional poacher was seldom or ever molested, while 

 a "visiting sportsman " would be handled without gloves — 

 have I committed a breach of propriety in making some of 

 these facts public? They are, in part, at least, corroborated 

 by your correspondents ; none are denied. From them I 

 made general deductions, applicable of course to that part 

 of Maine with which lam most, familiar, and in which most of 

 the occurrences mentioned look place. Is it unreasonable to 

 judge the whole by that partof it which one Bees? That the 

 impartially enforced in some parts of Maine may be 

 true. ii<> doubt, aud 1 am willing to modify my inferences 

 accordingly j but if there is an important section of that i^tate. 

 where the law is to all appearances vat imparl hilly enforced, 

 heed a statement of the facts by the observer of them be con- 

 strued as personally abusive, or ungentlemauly, or as a slur 

 upon Ll?e sportsmen of Maine, or as an attempt to override 

 the law*? 1 think it must be apparent to even the most 

 easua. tender of my letter, tha f fu from claiming privileges 

 lor any particular class of "outsiders," I demanded that 

 justice be meted OUt to all alike— natives and visitors. It 

 tourists, whether from ouiside the State or Irom ituioui; its 

 citizens, take game out of season, they nra-t be ready to suf- 

 Lcr the penalty of the law, and this notwithstanding the f ict 

 i nat they may conscientiously thmk their act justifiable and 

 moral. 



At some otber_tinie it may be of interest to discuss the 

 i.oiestion whether, asid- from its being a malum jirojubitam, 



is morally a greater Bin to kill on The BOfh day of Septera- 

 enly pounds of trout for which one has no use, than 

 it is tor a hungry camper to kill and cat two or three trout 

 i 1st day of UO'lrr; whether ii is worse for one man 

 and his guide to kill two eiribou or moose on the 1st day of 

 October and leave four-fifths of the meat to spoil, thau it is 

 lor a party of four to take one deer on the 80th day of Sep- 

 tember, and use all of its meat ? This is a question of ethics 

 Which Will doubtless find advocates pro and cm. 



The question now in hand is simply one of efficient game 

 protection, and if a more widespread interest in its promo- 

 tion should chance to lesult from my letter I shall consider 

 the imputations on my sincerity of purpose as but a small 

 offi ring in a good c mse. The destruction of a great deal of 

 game is encouraged indirectly by a failure to punish parties- 

 irresponsible in many cases— who make a business of hunting 

 ■■I season. The answer often made to an inquiry why 

 the parties are not prosecuted is either that "they couldn't 

 pay the fine," or "we can't get evidence strong enough 

 to" convict." Another reason why game is destroyed 

 is because nf the want of aggressiveness on the part of the 

 wardens.- Last August the writ' -r found afresh deer-hide 

 t ear the shore of Lobster Lake, and Inter, in September, saw 

 floating in Eagle Lake almost an entire quarter of moose moat, 

 left to "spoil. Now, an enterprising warden, ranging over these 

 waters during August and September could doubtless prevent 

 the unlawful killing of game, although thenunberof moose, 

 deer and caribou taken in this sect ion annually by tourists prob- 

 ably would not equal the destruction committed by one active 

 hunter in a week, during the months of February and March. 

 1 am satisfied there Can be no a [equate protection until the 

 entire game country is divided up into sections, and each 

 section" allotted to one or two trusty wardens, whose duty 

 it shall be to patrol it, summer and winter. Protection can- 

 not be accomplished by having the wardens hang around 

 hotels aud wait for evidence to drop into their hands of 

 tourists who arc guilty, or by having them say when hunters 

 come back in the spring fresh from the chase. " Wehave no 

 evidence." They must be men whose so'e duly it is to look 

 after the safety of the game in the forests where the game is. 

 The sooner this fact is appreciated by the up i rumen of Maine 

 and the sooner their legislature makes ample provision to 

 carry out some such system, the better it. will be. Moose are 

 almost extinct. A vear ago they were lo be found to some 

 extent about the headwaters of Musqnac.ook aud Mooselenk 

 streams. Last spring two Indians from New Brunswick are 

 reported to have killed thirty in that vicinity. One thing is 

 certain, there are not many there now. 



in this connection one more word about the indiscriminate 

 Slaughter of game, under the forms of law. Many sections 

 of the State, the guides, tradesmen, hotels anil railroads, all 

 derive a handsome income from visitors from other parts of 

 i lie State, who are attracted thither by the inducements of 

 "ace and fish. If these denizens of the woods and waters 

 are allowed to be killed off by the ton, by market hunters or 

 tourists, in season or out of season, it does not require much 

 foresight, to see that in a fewyears the summer travel to these 

 communities will languish, and I he inhabitants, besides the 

 loss of income from this source, will soon bo unable to pro- 

 vide their own tables with fish and game, even in the smallest 

 ies. This is a serious matter. 



A very wide field is here opened for proa 

 in which I conceive lies the true sportsman's 

 eulca- emeicy in the mode, of oaptureof game and moderation 

 amount taken ; to disseminate a respect tor the law 

 is objects among a tmmuui ies long accufllqmed to regard 

 the wild game of I he woods as their own property winch 

 I hey may take at will— these are conditions precede;' t. 

 Without which protecUon will never meet withafull measure 

 of Fncce~B The market-man, the fur-dealer and the logaer* 

 in their winter camps can nil lend a helping h-md As to the 

 ■' visi'ing sportsman" 1 have HO doubt the ravages committed 

 1 y him would be much less llagrant if the Legislature should 

 ifioptthe recommendation made last year by the Cominis- 

 mesiouers of Fish and Game, and make the open season for 

 laijre name extend from Bcpt. 1 to Die. l. 



1 have read with interest the admirable fetter of Ron. Mr. 

 Stanley, It has the ringof the true sportsman, and its trank- 

 uess and dignity will go far to enlist many a one on the side 



and one 

 •e Toin- 



of aggressive protection. But Mr. Stanley must pardon those 

 of us who do not think it quite honorable to play the role of 

 informers. Efficient wardens would render such an appeal 

 almost unnecessary, 



I have not the pleasure of knowing the personality of 

 "Old Tug j" but. if 1 ever should make his acquaintance, 

 perhaps hie can be convinced I hat the writer has a high respect 

 for the real sportsmen of Maine. That, 1 am interested in 

 the protection of game perhaps he-may be already convinced. 

 All honor to the sportsmen of Maine, and all success to their 

 efforts! Let them not stem with the mere enforcement of 

 the laws. Let them teach all people, of high or low degree, 

 to spare the dumb creatures of the forests and streams, and 

 not in wantonness to kill more than they can use. 



Cambridge, A r »v. 28, 1881. Luteins L. Hubbakd. 



Editor Foreai and Sir earn, I 



I notice in your issue of the 24th inst. a communication 

 signed "Old Tug." I wish to reply to such parts of it as 

 relate to us, the Howe, Waytnouth Bros, party. Tug 

 says, "The sportsmen of Maine are composed of as good 

 material as can be found in any State, and are entitled to 

 respect." I agree with him. He then says, " Our visiting 

 sportsmen have insulted us." This, in allusion to the Howe, 

 Waymoulh Bros, party. He then goes on to state that "this 

 party came to Cranberry Lake with five dogs, and were 

 joined there by a party from East Machias, the Shopper 

 Bros, of Beddington, and aNorthtield man who was camping 

 at the Saboo Lake." This is a mistake, as 1 will endeavor 

 further on to show. Tug then says ; •' The party set at defi- 

 ance the law, but being watched [by the deputy warden], 

 were troubled ; but by the aid of the East Machias party, the 

 Shopper Bros, and the Northfield man they eluded the 

 warden and killed six deer." This also is a mistake; the 

 facts are briefly these : A small party of friends and old ac- 

 quaintances, residing in Massachuset's, started October 1 

 tor a hunting trip in Eastern Maine, taking with them their 

 guns, fishing tackle, cedar boats and dogs; one water- 

 spaniel, one fox-hound, one setter and one thoroughbred 

 Irish deer hound. They arrived at Mr. Albee's camp, and 

 took possession. After a day or two they formed the ac- 

 quaintance of the East Machias party. They had never met 

 the gentleman before, but found him to be a very good fel- 

 low, and, like themselves, looking for sport. They also met 

 two other gentlemen from Machias, who said, "We are 

 deputy deer wardens, sent here to watch you and to prevent 

 you from dogging deer;" to which we made reply, "Gen- 

 tlemen, we respect your authority, and shall respect you. If 

 you see us dog deer, you may proceed to execute the law." 



They stayed with us several days, camped with us, messed 

 with us ; we found them to be gentlemen. After they went 

 home, another deputy warden came — a sailor man — who told 

 us, before the ceremony of self-introduction had been hardly 

 gone through with, that he "always carried a pistol," and 

 that he "was not afraid to use it; that he had been through 

 some hard battles on land and sea." We didn't take this man 

 into our mess ; he did not impress us favorably' ; he camped 

 alone. We finally sent the dogs away— had no use for them, 

 and did not care to have them poisoned. We went to Saboo 

 Lake several times, killed quite a number of deer up there, 

 still-hunted them. As George said one morning, " We kept. 

 as still as mice until they came near, and then shot them." 

 That is what George calls it --still hunting— and I presume 

 he is correct. 



Now, my frieuris aud myself feel that ''Tug" is too severe 

 upon us. We did not go down there to slaughter deer. We 

 found that the law was such that we could not dog the game, 

 and we cheerfully obeyed the requests of Mr. Parker and 

 Mr. Smith. In conclusion, I wish to exonerate the Last Ma- 

 chias party and the Northfield man. We found the former 

 a pleasant companion, and a man who would not Bhoot a 

 deer unless he first asked if if was right ; and the latter a 

 person who was so deeply impressed with the majesty of the 

 deer-warden's law-book and blank warrants of arrest, that he 

 would not eat venison steak when cooked in mo-t approved 

 style by our truthful friend and guide, "Old Bob." 



Mkhriuao. 



DEER LN TOE ADIRONDACK^. 



Adlbondacks, Nov, 9, 1881. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : 



The close season for hunting deer with dogs has brought 

 nearly all of the parties out of the woods, although a few 

 remain to continue their work ff extermination. There is 

 work for the game constable this way. It has b.-en a very 

 successful season for the hunters, but hard on the deer. 

 Parties have killed from five to twenty-five deer each, which 

 in this vicinity, under my immediate observation, amounts to 

 about two hundred deer. 



The first snow of the season fell on the 4th inst. to the 

 depth of three inches. The snow storm occurred about 

 noon, and two o'clock found me in the woods in pursuit of 

 the wary deer. But as doer do nut move much during a 

 a storm, I did not succeed in finding any until the shades of 

 night warned me to return, and when too late to pursue I 

 came upon the spoor of two largo bucks, which apparently 

 had been made but. a few minutes. I succeeded, however, 

 in bagging one marten or sable, and one ruffed grouse. 

 The following day I was again in the woods at an early hour. 

 I found plenty of tracks made during the night, but before I 

 could overtake the deer it began to thaw, aud the snow and 

 water fell from the trees so fast that it completely obliterated 

 the tracks; and in despair I went tearing through the woods 

 hop-hazard, in hopes that I might be fortunate enough to 

 find a deer without following the trackB ; nor was 1 dis- 

 appointed. After travelling many miles, carefully looking 

 over the ground, I at last espied four deer busily engaged 

 in eating beechnuts. 1 had travelled hard all day, for it was 

 now about three o'clock, p.m., and was thoroughly drenched 

 with water from the melting snow. But now 1 felt amply 

 repaid by the sight of the splendid game before me. which 

 caused everv nerve to throb with excitement. Selecting a 

 large one, and, with as steady nerve as I could command 

 under the circumstances, I fired. But to my surprise the 

 deer only raised its head, while a smaller one, which stood 

 in a line beyond, leaped high in the air, and made a small 

 circle around the one I fired at and came to a stand. I 

 quickly fired again, but with no better success, for the deer 

 still stood motionless. Here now was -an opportunity for 

 the buck fever, and I felt the strongest symptoms. My rifle 

 was now empty, for I used atwo-barrel muzzle-loader, and 

 the deer began to suspect I hat all was not right, as they 

 evinced by first jumping one way and then the oiler tfOl 

 knowing which way the danger came from. I loaded one 

 barrel with all possible diligence and fired again, A quick 



bound told that this shot had taken effect. The remaining 

 three did not run away until I had taken t'vo more shots, 

 neither of which, however, took effect. One always gets 

 great relief when he finds a plausible excuse for bad shoot- 

 ing, and so it is in this case. I had just put a new style of 

 Bight on my rifle, and had shot it but, a few times. To this, 

 together with the distance, I attribute rny ill-luck. I fount, 

 on examination, that I had slightly wounded by the first shot, 

 the one which stood beyond the one I shot at, and the third 

 shot I fractured one hind leg, so that I soon obtained another 

 shot and secured it. The other one I did not get, It was 

 now nearly dark, and I was five miles from home, three of 

 which I had to travel through the woods after dark. 



"S. S. M. " suggests an excellent game law for the pres- 

 ervation of deer in the Adirondacks. 



Could such a law be enforced for five years deer would be 

 as plenty in the Adirondack wilderness as they were twenty- 

 five years ago. The ca'e he cites of a person killing live 

 deer in one day must be an exceptional one, lor after July 

 parties find it difficult to procure more venison than is 

 ueeded for their consumption in camp. The greatest slaugh- 

 ter of deer by jack hunting occurs in the latter part of June 

 and July, in defiance of law. 1 think the present game law 

 in reference to deer is very good, with the exception of 

 hounding. No one here feels much like making au effort to 

 enforce the law while the poachers and pot-hunters are per- 

 mitted to come on in the fall with their hounds and drive 

 the deer into the water and slaughter them by hundreds. 

 Last winter I employed a man at my own expense to patrol 

 the woods in this section to prevent the killing of deer by 

 crusting, and brought four poachers to jail and justice. But 

 I do not see much inducement to repeat it, when the same 

 ponchers are permitted by law to come on the same ground 

 I have tried to protect, and with their hounds kill a dozen 

 deer in two days and drive away as many more, aud that too 

 in a much more ignoble way than crusting ; for to catch a 

 deer in the deep snow implies some ambition and consider- 

 able muscle. But any lazy drone can sit on the bank of the 

 lake and, when the dog has driven the deer into tho water, 

 row up to him and blow out his brains with a live dollar 

 fowling piece, or kill him with a club, whichever way he 

 can do it with the least work, Mttsaitr 



THE GREAT HINKLEY HUNT OF 1818. 



Cleveland, O. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : 



I inclose to you a scrap that will undoubtedly interest 

 many of the readers of Forest and Stkkam. 1 can fissure 

 you that this is a faithful story of the great " Biuklcy 

 Hunt," as it was always spoken of by those who participated 

 in it. When a boy I have heard many of them recount the 

 story. The country over which this b.iltue took place is now 

 all highly cultivated, save in some of the ravines of Rocky 

 River and on the hill sides, where a few sickly forests re- 

 main that harbor the ruffed grouse and squirrel in limited 

 numbers. The large game of the "Hinkley Hunt" days 

 have long since passed away. Even the wild turkey is. 

 goneand'he hardly holds a nesting place in the St de of Ohio. 

 One item omitted in making up the bag of the llinkley 

 hunters, as given below, was the wild turkey, of which they 

 captured over fifty, and some of these birds furnished a por- 

 tion of the game feast after the great battue. 



Du. E. Stlblinis. 



Of all the fantastic and legendary tales of the wild hunt 

 and chase which abound in the folklore of all nations, none 

 will surpass the great llinkley Hunt undertaken by the set- 

 tlers and farmers of the Western Reserve in the early years 

 of this century in its vivid and realistic charms. The bunt 

 occurred in the fall of 1818. Hinkley, which now forms the 

 extreme northeastern township of Medina county, bordering 

 on Cuyah-'ga and Summit counties, was then an unbroken, 

 dense wilderness. There was not a single settler in all t s 

 territory, though nearly all of the townships on its four sides 

 were already well colonized, and were entering on an era of 

 advanced cultivation. 



lu the distribution of the lands of the Western Reserve, 

 among the original land speculators who bouirhf it of the 

 Stale of Connecticut, Hinkley fell to the lot of Judge Samuel 

 Hinkley, of Northampton, Massachusetts. He also was the 

 owner of numerous other tracts in the different counties of 

 the Reserve. This township being broken and ragged in its 

 physicial configuration, he had made no effort to have it sold, 

 anil settled up. The settlements aud clearings that were 

 rapidly being made in the adjoining townships, drove the 

 wild animalB and beasts, in which the country at that time 

 abounde, into the dark shades and cavernous recesses of 

 Hinkley township. The broad valley of the Ricky River, 

 which flows through the township from south to north, was 

 during these years considered the paradise of hunters, among 

 the settlers for many miles around. The Wyandotte and 

 Seneca tribes of Indians, made this a favorite hunting resort, 

 while the country east, north and south had already been 

 well settled. In the year 1808 a squaw was hung by the 

 Wyandott.es near the' big bend of the river in the smth. 

 eastern part of the township for prophesying that darknfss 

 would come over the earth during the year. She was ac- 

 cused of witchcraft and strung to the limb of a tree fallen 

 against a ledge across the river amid the howls and de- 

 monaical incantations of the red devils. This was in May, 

 18UG; in June following there was an eclipse of the sun. 

 The body of the prophetess was left swinging to the tree as a 

 warning uot to invoke the powers of the evil ono, and a car- 

 rion for the vultures to feed upon until it, finally dropped in- 

 to the river bottom, and its bleached bones were dragged 

 about bv wild animals. 



The depredations and annoyances by the wolves and bears, 

 whose baunts were in llinkley, Caused the farmers and set- 

 tlers of Medina, Summit and Cuyahoga counties it. resolve on 

 a war of extermination against these beasts. A meeting 

 was called in Strongsville in the fall of 1818 to make 

 arrangements for the great hunt, and enlist everybody 

 within available distance to help in the slaughter 

 chase. A committee to conduct the hunt was selected, 

 and they soon issued a proclamation J o the farmers of 

 the three counties. The day fixed upon was the 24th day of 

 D ce.mber. The order was that the farmers gather by < ar'y 

 eak armed with rifles, guns, pitchforks, flails, chilis, 

 and everv available implement of war; from a continuous 

 line on the four sides of the township, and at a given signal 

 ■ toward its center, killing, shooting and slaughter- 

 ing all game that came within reach. A half mile. BOjjarfl 

 was marked out by blazed trees in the centre of the town- 

 i luI on this line they were all to stop, aud take posL 



