128 



RECREA TION. 



THE ADIRONDACKS AS A RESORT FOR 

 SPORTSMEN. 



SEAVER A. MILLER. 



Long before the " North woods," as the 

 Adirondack region is sometimes termed, 

 became famous as the resort of the invalid, 

 many prominent men had discovered that 

 here was the home of the red deer, the 

 black bear, the beaver, the fox, the otter, 

 the hare, the wolf and the lynx. These 

 men had also learned that our lakes and 

 streams were densely inhabited by trout. 



The beauty of the many Adirondack 

 lakes, with their verdant shores, and green 

 islands; the grandeur of the mountain 

 scenery, have made this region famous. 

 In fact it has been called " the Switzer- 

 land of America," and has taken rank 

 with the famous watering places of the 

 nation. 



Among the well known men who early 

 visited the Adirondacks, in quest of sport, 

 were Ralph Waldo Emerson, James R. 

 Lowell, Professor Agassiz, Dr. Jeffries 

 Wyman, Dr. Estes Howe, John Holmes 

 (the brother of Oliver Wendell), Judge 

 Hoar, Horatio Woodman, Amos Binney, 

 Joel T. Headley, and W. J. Stillman. Sev- 

 eral of these have given to the world 

 graphic accounts, in prose or verse, of some 

 of their hunting and fishing experiences in 

 these hills. 



Many people still have vivid recollec- 

 tions of the famous " Murray raid," when 

 hundreds of tourists and sportsmen rushed 

 to the mountains, lured by the glowing de- 

 scription by W. H. H. Murray in his well 

 known book. 



Have the Adirondacks ceased to be, to 

 the sportsman, the " Paradise " they once 

 were ? Have the rod and gun no place 

 here, since the advent of the invalid? Have 

 the trout forsaken the streams, or the stal- 

 wart buck and timid doe the forest ? 



No. Each year finds more people in the 

 mountains than the preceding one found. 

 An army of these come here purely for rec- 

 reation and diversion. Official reports show 

 that 5,083 deer were killed in the Adiron- 

 dacks during the open season of 1896. 



In this section there are more than 200 

 guides pledged to support and to aid in 

 the enforcement of the forest and game 

 laws of the state. The law allows each 

 individual but 2 deer, and this provision 

 has not been noticeably violated. Allow- 

 ing to each man this number it appears 

 that more than 2,500 sportsmen visited 

 these mountains during the months of Sep- 

 tember and October last. 



Within that period I had the pleasure 

 of being one of a party of 5 which killed, 

 by hounding, 5 deer in 3 days. Several 

 other parties, in nearby camps, had even 

 better success; while tourists and sports- 

 men frequently saw 5 to 20 deer in a single 



day, proving that deer are as plentiful in 

 the Adirondacks as ever. 



I consider the custom of butchering deer, 

 by driving them into the water with dogs, 

 unsportsmanlike, and it should be prohib- 

 ited. 



The reports regarding the fishing are not 

 less flattering than are those of the hunt- 

 ing; for, in addition to the natural pro- 

 duction, millions of trout fry are put into 

 Adirondack waters annually. 



The Adirondack Guides' Association, 

 consisting of 250 of the best guides, repre- 

 senting every section of the Adirondack 

 region, and nearly 100 honorary members, 

 among whom are statesmen, bankers, brok- 

 ers, lawyers, editors and hotel-men, has 

 done a great deal toward enforcing the for- 

 est and game laws of the state, in preserv- 

 ing the fish and game of the Adirondacks, 

 and in encouraging tourists and sportsmen 

 to visit what Governor Hill aptly calls, 

 " The Nation's Play-ground." 



With its thousands of acres of forests, 

 filled with game; its innumerable lakes, 

 rivers and brooks, filled with speckled 

 trout and black bass, and with the enact- 

 ment and enforcement of wise and prac- 

 tical forest, fish and game laws, the Adiron- 

 dack region will continue a popular resort 

 for sportsmen, for many years to come. 



WING SHOOTING. 



R. C. BEECROFT. 



In a recent number of Recreation D. T. 

 R. asked for hints on wing-shooting. 

 Having hunted quails, woodcock, plover, 

 snipe, teal, canvasback, wood-ducks, prairie 

 chickens and ruffed grouse, I will give 

 some ideas gained through observation 

 and experience. 



For game not larger than woodcock, or 

 bobwhites, use number 9 shot. For wood- 

 ducks, prairie chickens, grouse, teal, etc., 

 early in the season, use 7's. Later, when 

 the birds are old, number 6 are better. 

 For large water fowl and wild turkeys, 4's 

 are large enough. 



In shooting at -a flying bird, the aim 

 should not be directly at it, unless it is fly- 

 ing straight away and about the height 

 of the eye. 



When a bird has a rising flight, the aim 

 should be a little above. If it is flying on 

 a level, straight away and above the line of 

 the eye, the aim- should be a little below. 

 When a bird flies to the left or right, hold 

 ahead. 



Always move the gun in the direction 

 of the bird's flight, but do not " poke " or 

 follow. Cover the object by a quick, 

 steady motion; press the trigger at once. 

 Some say to shoot with both eyes open. 

 Others, to shoot the way that is most nat- 

 ural. I believe in the Jatter. If one can 

 shoot better by closing one eye, do so; but 



