THE WILD LIFE OF LAKE SUPERIOR 



129 



buck. Had a humanitarian witnessed the 

 scene it might have looked like contrition 

 over the destruction of a beautiful and 

 innocent creature, but the time had not 

 yet come when the camera was to be sub- 

 stituted for the gun in my big-game 

 hunting. 



After recovering somewhat, an exami- 

 nation showed that nine buckshot had 

 passed entirely through the body, pierc- 

 ing both heart and lungs, thus giving an 

 illustration of how far a deer will occa- 

 sionally run when mortally wounded. 

 But unknown then was the fact that most 

 deer indicate by their actions the effect 

 of a shot ; for when missed they bound 

 away gracefully, with the head erect and 

 the white tail aloft, as though giving a 

 farewell salute to the disappointed hunter, 

 whereas on receiving a deadly wound 

 they usually run rapidly instead of 

 bounding, with the head lowered and the 

 tail down, wringing it spasmodically from 

 side to side. To the inexperienced hunter 

 it is, therefore, of prime importance that 

 he note carefully the action of the animal 

 after a shot. 



In dragging my deer through the bushes 

 the stiffened limbs caught, and a heavier 

 pull landed the hunter and the animal in 

 the deep mud, making it a difficult task 

 to get the bedraggled trophy aboard. 



On nearing the end of the lake, my 

 triumphant shouts aroused the sleepers, 

 who hurried down the hill in the belief 

 that the strangely absent member had 

 gotten into some kind of trouble. But 

 the sight of the dugout and its muddy 

 occupants told the story of the clandestine 

 and successful trip. 



THE DEER MEAT WAS CAREFULEY CURED 



During the day the meat of the two 

 deer was partly dried in strips before a 

 hardwood fire, and the day following this 

 task was completed, so reducing the 

 weight of the carcasses that all the edible 

 portions were carried home — a lesson in 

 conservation never lost. In later years I 

 was to witness millions of pounds of meat 

 left in the woods each fall by wasteful 

 market hunters, who shipped out only the 

 saddles, leaving the remainder to rot. 



During the succeeding ten years, this 

 trip was repeated often, being made each 

 way in a single day, extra packers ac- 

 companying the hunters, so no meat would 



GROUSE DOZING IN THE SUN 



Crop rilled with mountain-ash berries. A 

 two-years' closed season, 1918-19, increased 

 these birds beyond any previous numbers (see 

 page 150). 



Photographs by George Shiras, 3d 



GROUSE IN MOUNTAIN-ASH TREE 



On October 1, 1920, the opening day of the 

 hunting season, several grouse were seen feed- 

 ing on mountain-ash berries and their pictures 

 were taken before a hunter appeared. 



