A DEER HUNT ON THE GUALALA. 



BY CHARLES H. SAWYER. 



Since the present deer law of California 

 went into effect, forbidding the killing of 

 does and fawns at any time, and prohibiting 

 the sale of venison, it certainly seems as 

 though some portions of the State had be- 

 come veritable deer parks, so plentiful have 

 these beautiful animals become. 



A favorite hunting ground of mine is 

 along the Gualala river, in the Northwest 

 corner of Sonoma county, in the heart of 

 the redwood country, and many a buck 



Russian fur post of Fort Ross, once a 

 stockaded fort with block houses at the 

 corners, and a picturesque old church, that 

 reminds one of the Greek church at Sitka. 

 But the glory of the place as a fur post de- 

 parted years ago with the Russians; the 

 stockade has entirely disappeared; the 

 church is used as a barn; and I found pigs 

 quartered in one of the block houses, the 

 only one left worth photographing. A 2 

 days' drive, including my short stay at Fort 



AMATEfR PHOTO BY C. H. SAWYER. 



AN OLD BLOCK HOUSE AT FORT ROSS. 



have I killed in that beautiful region, in 

 quiet stalks along the old roads cut by the 

 lumbermen. My last hunt on the Gualala 

 was in the late summer, and I expected to 

 combine trout fishing with shooting; deer 

 and small game I was sure of, and there was 

 the possibility of a bear or a panther. 



From my starting point, the town of 

 Santa Rosa, the road was almost entirely 

 through the redwoods, skirting the ocean 

 for many miles, passing on the way the old 



Ross, brought me to my destination, and 

 ascending the South Fork a mile or so, I 

 pitched camp on a sand bar in the river bed, 

 along the edge of the timber. 



Early the next morning I started to fish 

 up the South Fork, finding plenty of fish 

 and succeeded in getting a fair mess. The 

 dews had been very heavy the night before, 

 and I had made up my mind the deer would 

 not feed until the wild oats (in many places 

 as high as my waist) had dried a little. 



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