HUNTING AND FISHING IN THE HIGHLANDS OF ONTARIO. 



H. R. CHARLTON. 



Each year, after the deer hunting season 

 in the Province of Ontario is over, a num- 

 ber of people resort to a newspaper con- 

 troversy on some question regarding the 

 laws that are in force for the protection of 

 these animals, and give suggestions for the 

 protection of the game and the betterment 

 of the hunters. One of the principal causes 

 of complaint after the season of 1902 seems 

 to have been that the season is too early, 

 and that, owing to the mild weather, it 

 should be extended from the first 2 

 weeks of November to the last 2 weeks 

 of the same month. Others have urged 

 that hunting with dogs be prohibited, or 

 that on a certain number of days in the 

 early part of the season hounding should 

 be allowed and the remainder of the open 

 season given over to the still hunter ; dur- 

 ing the latter period dogs absolutely pro- 

 hibited under a sufficient penalty. 



It has also been urged that nothing be 

 killed except carrying horns, for at least 

 2 years, this correspondent giving as his 

 reason that the killing of a doe is getting 

 at the base of life, and that a fawn should 

 be given a chance to grow into something 

 worth shooting. The killing of deer in the 

 water has also been under discussion. 



It is well known that the deer hunting 

 in the Province of Ontario is the best in 

 the world, and the natural advantages make 

 it possible to retain this great heritage and 

 revenue-producing attraction. The lines of 

 the Grand Trunk Railway system reach 

 probably the best red deer hunting grounds 

 of Northern Ontario, including the Lake 

 Nipissing and French River districts, the 

 many hunting camps reached through 

 Powassan, Trout creek, South river and 

 Sundridge, the exceptionally fine hunting 

 grounds on the Magnetaw r an river, the 

 Lake of Bays region, and the Muskoka 

 lakes district, not excepting the many 

 points on the Georgian bay. The railway 

 company is therefore taking particular in- 

 terest in the preservation and protection of 

 one of Canada's most lucrative attractions, 

 and a few remarks on this important sub- 

 ject will perhaps not be out of place in 

 this connection. 



The majority of hunters going into these 

 districts are transported over our North- 

 ern division. I have therefore had the op- 

 portunity of interviewing several sports- 

 men on the subjects mentioned in the fore- 

 going part of this paper. The consensus 

 of opinion seems to be that hunters do not 

 care to go up into these districts to shoot 

 in the winter. It is too cold to camp out 



after November 15, and the hardship would 

 more than offset the pleasure derived. 

 Again, navigation would be liable to be 

 closed and the majority of hunters depend 

 on that means of getting out of their 

 camps. Another objection to changing the 

 season to the last 2 weeks in November is 

 that the busy season for men in commer- 

 cial life commences about December 1, 

 and many camps would be obliged to break 

 up on or about November 25. 



The season of 1902 was exceptionally 

 mild, and no doubt many carcasses spoiled 

 from that cause ; but last November was 

 the warmest since 1848, and it may be 50 

 years more before we have another Novem- 

 ber with a similar temperature. For means 

 of comparison I have asked the navigation 

 companies that operate on the waters of 

 Northern Ontario the dates on which navi- 

 gation was closed for the past 5 years, and 

 elicited the following information : 



Muskoka Lakes — December 2, 1897 ; De- 

 cember 6, 1898; December 12, 1899; Decem- 

 ber 9, 1900; December 3, 1901 ; December 

 5, 1902. 



Magnetawan River — November 23, 1897 ; 

 November 25, 1898; December 3, 1899; 

 November 27, 1900; November 30, 1901 ; 

 November 29, 1902. 



Lake of Bays — November 28, 1897 ; No- 

 vember 29, 1898; December 5, 1899; No- 

 vember 27, 1900 ; November 2j, 1901 ; De- 

 cember 3, 1902. 



From these statistics it would not be ad- 

 visable to change the season to the last 15 

 days of November, as the probabilities 

 would be that during the last week of No- 

 vember navigation might be closed and 

 the difficulties of transport to the railway 

 line over practically impassable roads, if a 

 heavy snowfall should occur, would be in- 

 surmountable. 



If the Game Commission should decide 

 to change the open season, the end of the 

 time should not be later than November 20, 

 and I recommend that the season be made 

 November 5 to November 20. 



Though I consider hounding unsports- 

 manlike, it is probably a necessary evil un- 

 der the conditions that are found in the 

 localities in question, as probably 90 per 

 cent of the hunters would never see a deer 

 in the 15 days' open season without the aid 

 of a dog. Another point in its favor is the 

 minimum chance of mortality to the hunter. 

 Only the best hunters can get a shot by still 

 hunting. It is the most dangerous of all 

 methods, and more men are shot while still 

 hunting than when using any other meth- 



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