4 THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 
mistaking a man for a deer. We respectfully call at- 
tention to the illustration in another place in this issue 
of THE SportTsMAN which shows the absurdity of any- 
one making any such mistake. Back of such careless- 
ness is the anxiety on the part of the hunter that he 
will miss his deer if he does not shoot when the bushes 
move. 
In the first place a hunter who shoots at the moving 
brush without seeing the object which causes the motion 
may become a violator of the game laws even though 
he kills a deer. He is shooting on the chance that a buck 
deer is causing the motion. The motion of the brush 
may be caused by a doe. In at least four cases in the 
past year frightful experience has told us that a human 
being was the cause of that rustling in the brush. 
Year after year the State Game Warden has issued 
warning not to shoot at moving bushes. In addition 
to this he has repeatedly cautioned hunters never to 
pull the trigger until the object to be shot at is clearly 
in his vision. In spite of these warnings, however, 
hunters will take chances. They are willing to place in 
jeopardy the lives of their companions simply on the 
chance that what they are shooting at might be a deer. 
If every hunter would follow the simple rule of never 
firing till the deer is in sight there would be no tragedies 
to record like those of last fall. 
Of course it is impossible to avoid those accidents 
which will happen in spite of the greatest caution. But 
cases of this kind are rare indeed. Such a case was that 
of John W. Gates, who was carrying his shotgun under 
his arm in the approved fashion when he stumbled and 
fell. The gun was discharged by the trigger coming 
in contact with a twig. Gates lost the fingers of his 
right hand as a result. 
