8 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



LJan. 29, 1885 



ADIRONDACK DEER HOUNDING. 



Editor Forest, and Stream: 



I wish to record my vote on the right side in this discus- 

 sion of game protection, particularly that of deer. 



It is about twenty-five years since I killed my first deer. 

 It was in October. 1 was trapping for mink and one day 

 my route lay past a little pODd. I stopped on its bank to 

 view it with an eye to business, when I caught sight of a 

 deer's head among the weeds, a couple of rods from shore 

 and perhaps five from where I stood. The "boy" didn't 

 have buck fever, didn't miss his mark, but went home (only 

 a mile) to tell his father and get. help to tote in the game". 

 Why was that deer hiding in the almost ice cold water? 

 That was what I wondered, and then I remembered that half 

 an hour before I reached the pond, I had heard hounds 

 partly in that direction. This explained it. Well, in those days 

 we used to kill a deer whenever we wanted it — if we could. 

 Hunters hunted in the fall for market, the best of them kill- 

 ing fifty to sixty during the season. That season being until 

 Jan. 1 with one month more in which to dispose of their 

 venison. And right here is where I want you to stick a peg. 

 The law allowed them to kill only until Jan. 1. See a 

 hunter Dec. 31 and ask him how many deer he had killed 

 and he would say, "Fifty, but I have only got thirty drawn 

 out of the woods, the rest are in beyond the Inlet and I have 

 to wait for it to freeze." That hunter would go back into 

 the woods and wait for the river to freeze, and if he could 

 kill twenty more deer during the month of January he would, 

 indeed, have the fifty first claimed. And the "peg" is this, 

 whatever time is given to dispose of venison, after Dec. 1, 

 will be used by most hunters to kill more. 



In those days, twenty to twenty five years ago, if a man 

 killed a deer in summer, his neighbors were likely to get a 

 large share of the meat. He was careful to kill only a buck, 

 and many a doe has gone free from under the muzzle of the 

 hunter's ride "because she might have fawns, you know." 



Then sportsmen came and hired these hunters for guides. 

 They paid liberally for services, and their guides tried to 

 please them. This was often by helping them kill more 

 game than was needed. So as the years passed by, as the 

 sportsmen became more numerous, the deer became less, 

 until it was necessary to "protect" them. 



We may here consider the relative destructiveness of the 

 different modes of hunting. First, still-hunting. This 

 method is very destructive at certain seasons with skilled hun- 

 ters on the trail. Confine hunting altogether to still-hunting 

 and less deer will be killed than now; but nine-tenths of them 

 will be killed by the backwoodsman and will be sold in mar- 

 ket. The sportsman may get the other tenth, but is not 

 likely to do so, as he will not care to be in the woods at the 

 season (after snowfalls) when suecess by this method is pos- 

 sible. 



Now we will ' 'float" for them. Deer are both wary and 

 stupid. I have been at a pond a mile long and half a mile 

 wide, where you could not open a light without having a 

 deer "blow" and run if anywhere near the water. Again I 

 have paddled a boat within twenty feet of one. Now a 

 person can't go floating any wherein the wood3, he must have 

 a body of water, a sluggish stream, a pond or lake, and one 

 frequented by deer. That obtained, he must manage to be 

 at a certaiu place at the same time the deer is. Now deer do 

 not come to water every night. There are but few real 

 good nights in the season for floating. Night number one 

 is cold, number two the moon shines, number three the wind 

 blows hard, number four a wolf or panther has been about, 

 number five — well, number five is all right, and if the hun- 

 ter is patient, careful, and a good shot, and his guide does 

 his part, there is venison in camp next morning. 



Taking everything into consideration, no method of hunt- 

 ing gives the deer so many chances for its life as floating. 



Now for hounding. No matter what the season, no 

 matter where the locality, no matter what the day, whether 

 hot or cold, wet or dry, when the hound is put out the deer 

 must go, and go it will for the nearest body of water, where 

 the sportsman or market-hunter is waiting for his victim. 

 Any one can kill the poor, tired creature then. If he can't 

 Bhoot well enough, his guide can row him up near enough 

 so he can beat its brains out with an oar. The victim stands 

 no chance whatever for its life. In still-hunting the hunter 

 may break a twig with his foot; a quick motion of the hand 

 or a puff of wind may give the deer its life at the last 

 moment. In floating, the paddle may strike the boat or 

 something in the water, or the boat may go rasping through 

 some rushes, the light may be dim or a dozen other things 

 account for the salt pork eaten in camp next morning. Only 

 the hound, with his keen scent and fleet limbs, is sure, for in 

 winter the deer will seek the open water of rapids, and often, 

 if the hunter is not waiting for him, will be drawn under the 

 ice by the current. 



Probably quite as many are killed by hounding that the 

 hunters do not get as by any other method. 



Hounding is prohibited in St. Lawrence county and we 

 try to enforce "the law. We are aided by a State game 

 keeper who has several hundred miles of stream and lake 

 to look after and can't be everywhere at once. We need 

 two more on the north side of the woods. We are educat- 

 ing the people and building up a public sentiment in favor 

 of protection. Many members of our club were non-observ- 

 ers of the law a few years ago. Mauy more give us their 

 sympathy and money who never killed a deer and never ex- 

 pect to. They give it because they believe in this protection 

 for the public good, 



The law should prohibit hounding all over the State. The 

 law should be so worded as to make proof and therefore 

 conviction easier. You can hang a man on Circumstantial 

 evidence, but you can't so convict a man of violation of the 

 game law, be it ever so plain a case. As an example, I was 

 at Cranberry Lake early in September, '82. Our party (two 

 and guide) had been in the woods two weeks and had killed 

 one deer, and one dog caught in the act of running deer. 

 One afternoon while at Bishop's hotel the little steamer came 

 up from the foot of the lake and had on board a gentleman 

 (albeit that a violator of the laws of the land should be called 

 a gentleman), four or five guides and five hounds. On the 

 deck of the boat was a very large doe with a single bullet hole 

 in the back of the head. There was not one chance in a million 

 but that that deer was killed forward of the dogs on the 

 basin below the lake. Yet no court would convict on that 

 evidence. The matter was laid before the assistant district 

 attorney two days later, and though we could not hope to 

 convict we tried another scheme that worked pretty well. 

 We had the parties in court so often during the next month 

 that we broke up the gang. 



Again, one hunter will not go back on another. They re- 

 gard it as dishonorable to do so, and men who are members 

 of Christian churches will evade questions with the cheek 



and skill of old topers, when brought forward to convict for 

 violations of the excise law. A case in point. Two years 

 ago, two hunters were here at court, one for hounding deer, 

 the other for catching trout on the spawning bed. Both were 

 old men, old hunters who had run the woods for a quarter 

 of a century or more. They were more than indignant ; they 

 were boiling over with wrath to think they should be so 

 treated. The deer killer said (before trial) that whatever ex- 

 pense they made him he would pay in deer skins at twenty- 

 five cents each. The writer labored with him like amission- 

 ary. First he advised him not. to sell his deer skins at 

 twenty-five cents each, as they would undoubtedly bring 

 more, Then he told him that the St. Lawrence Game Club 

 had over 300 members and meant business. That when he 

 started out to lull all those deer they would send two men to 

 watch him. Next, that they were protecting those deer 

 much more for his interest than their own. That while no 

 member of the club was likely to hunt more than two weeks 

 at most in a season— and many of them would not at all— he 

 could and would spend most of four months in the woods, 

 either guiding at $3 per day (and where was his trade when 

 the game was all killed?) or hunting for market. Fiually, 

 that, being the case, they wanted him to help them protect 

 the game. They much preferred him as an ally rather than 

 an enemy ; but in any case they would try to enforce the law 

 against any and every violator. 



This brought out his companion, who "pitched into" the 

 writer rough shod, as he was leaving the dining room of 

 his hotel. He "went for" the game club, which was making 

 a poor backwoodsman cost and trouble while it winked at 

 its own members who killed deer out of season. The fol- 

 lowing dialogue took place : 



The Writer (taking out notebook and pencil)— "Please give 

 me the name of this member. I will place the matter in the 

 district-attorney's hands within an hour. We will make an 

 example of this man ; we will convict him on your testi- 

 mony." 



Woodsman — "Q-uess not. I know a gentleman when I 

 meet him, and I don't go back on him, either." 



Writer — "You have made the assertion that a member of the 

 club of which I am a member has violated the game law. I 

 do not know who you mean. Now I expect you to give me 

 his name, or I must believe you are not speaking the truth." 



By this time there was a crowd around, and seeing he. 

 must either tell or back down, he said, "Well, if you want 

 to know, it is Mr. of ." 



Writer — "When did he kill the deer?" 



Woodsman— "Last July." 



Writer — "What time in July?" 



Woodsman — "Oh, I couldn't tell." 



Writer— "You can surely tell whether it was the first, 

 middle, or last of the month?" 



Woodsman — "It was about the middle." 



Writer— "Where were they killed?" 



Woodsman— "On the Inlet." 



Writer — "Very well, I will place this in the hands of the 

 district-attorney immediately, and you will be expected to 

 testify in the case." 



Woodsman — "Oh, I don't know anything about it; you 

 can't prove anything by me." 



This conversation was repeated to Assistant District Attor- 

 ney Hale within an hour, and he interviewed the woodsman, 

 who stoutly denied knowing anything about the matter. 

 The Grand Jury had adjourned for the term, else we would 

 have handed him over to it at once. Then we decided to 

 try to get enough out of him to base a complaint upon and 

 bring the matter before a justice. To that end the writer 

 questioned him again, but he would tell nothing. Then we 

 told him that unless he would give us the desired informa- 

 tion we would surety bring him before the next Grand Jury. 

 As he lived over thirty miles away, this was not pleasant. 



Then he took it all back, said he didn't know as Mr 



was a member of the club, and didn't know as he had ever 

 killed a deer. In fact, the person named was not a member 

 of the club. We believe he did kill deer (two), and that the 

 woodsman knew it. Now, this long-winded story has been 

 written to show how hard it is to convict in most cases, and 

 that of all amendments needed to the game laws, such a one 

 as will enable us to convict on such evidence as would be 

 taken as proof iu any other matter is the one most needed. 



There have been tnany convictions in St. Lawrence county 

 during the past two years and many more have been kept 

 from violating the law through fear. Our assistant district 

 attorney, Mr. L. P. Hale, has worked faithfully, and much 

 of our success is due to his able efforts. But one game 

 keeper and a few men who have little time to spare and 

 whose only remuneration is the feeling that they have saved 

 a few deer, for some city sportsman perhaps, cannot guard 

 several hundred miles of wilderness so well but what some 

 game will be killed out of season, or by hounding. 



Again, some things that are legal strike us unpleasantly. 

 For instance, a gentleman living in au Eastern city leased 

 last year, a mile square, covering a certain lake some forty 

 miles from here. His guide looked after it to some extent 

 early in the season, and while the party was in the woods on 

 their annual hunt the guide (?) sent a considerable quantity 

 of jerked venison out and sold it. The party killed all they 

 could use, all they could carry home, and some to sell and 

 help pay expenses, while many residents of St. Lawrence 

 county who have spent both time and money to protect the 

 game had only salt pork in camp. Still we will continue to 

 do our duty and hope the time will come when by proper 

 amendment to the law a resident of another State will have 

 to take his chances with the rest of us. 



A Tktjstee of the St. Lawkence Game Club. 



Uantom, N, Y. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I was very glad to see the editorial in relation to the preser- 

 vation of the deer in the Adirondack woods which appeared 

 in your last week's issue. There doubtless will be opposition 

 to the measure, to meet which we must consider the subject 

 practically in its effects upon the parties most interested— 

 the sportsmen's guides aud resident population. The feel- 

 ings of the deer hogs are not worthy of consideration. Their 

 instincts are so cruel, their appetitss so brutal, they can only 

 be restrained by the strong arm of the law. 



The sportsmen visit the woods for health and recreation, 

 and the presence of game is the strong attraction. That re- 

 moved, they will seek other grounds. The guides aud resi- 

 dents depend upon, the sportsmen for their livelihood, and 

 will be the greatest sufferers if the tide of travel turns in 

 other directions. No one will dispute these statements. It 

 all hinges, therefore, on the presence of game, which is grow- 

 ing less and less every year. Netting, night lines and fish- 

 ing on the spawning beds are destroying the fish, and hound- 



ing is rapidly thinning out the deer, and it is folly to refuse 

 to see it. 



Old visitors to the woods, old residents and guides, have 

 all told me that it was a common sight at any time to see 

 deer feeding on the sloughs and water courses opening upon 

 any of the well-known lakes. A sunset shot was always ob- 

 tainable as the deer came to water. Such a thing is now un- 

 heard of except in some parts of St. Lawrence county, where 

 hounding has been prohibited for several years. The Sara- 

 nac Lake country formerly abounded in deer and the waters 

 in fish. The river between the lower lake and Pound Lake 

 was a choice spot. You might hunt there now until the 

 crack oi doom without success unless you have dogs out. 

 The shores of llaquette River were thought to be deep in 

 the woods, aud it was not necessary to go so far to get game. 

 Now you will never see a deer on the river unless it has been 

 driven there by dogs. Each year the deer seem to be further 

 back, and long, tedious journeys are required to reach the 

 supposed desirable spots, and even then success is not assured. 

 The only reason for this is the iucessant hounding. Stop 

 that, and the whole region will be as before— a sportsmen's 

 paradise. To prove this I will relate the following incident; 

 A certain portion of the woods not far distant from one of 

 the large hotels, had been abandoned by hunting parties for 

 several years, as the deer had been either killed or driven 

 away, and a dog had not been through there for a eoocl 

 while. Last year a guide went in and found any number of 

 deer, which were slaughtered in the usual way. 



Guides who understand their work rarely hunt the same 

 grouud steadily for several days. They change it, and in- 

 variably find that the quiet has encouraged the deer to come 

 back. Think what the result would be if a hound's voice 

 was never heard. Under the present practice fawns are as 

 liable to be driven as large deer, in fact more so, as their 

 restlessness gives the dog more chances of striking a trail. 

 If fortunate enough to throw the dog off and also escape the 

 bullet of his master, it is likely to die of exhaustion. Wet 

 does are driven from their fawns, and after long runs, 

 thoroughly heated, take to water to meet their death, if not 

 by the hands of man, in the sudden chill to their lacteal 

 glands; and thus the voice of the hound becomes as fatal a8 

 the rifle of the hunter. By killing the does and fawns the 

 source of supply is destroyed, and the end comes very 

 quickly. 



The'true sportsman cannot bear the present method, it is 

 only tolerated because, while it ,exists, nothing else can be 

 done. Some of us endeavor to be as decent about it as pos- 

 sible, and refuse to shoot at a less distance than seventy-five 

 or one hundred yards, preferring to let the deer go if we 

 can't hit it at that distance. This, however, does not palli- 

 ate the viciousness of the method, it only soothes the con- 

 science of the individual. We will be more than glad to 

 co-operate in securing the passage of the law prohibiting 

 hounding, and in the enforcement of it afterward. 



The guides will themselves support such a law, as there 

 are but a few who uphold the use of dogs, and as a rule they 

 are but little account. The dog is expensive to buy, expen- 

 sive to keep, a burden to transport and a constant cause of 

 anxiety, if he does not return at night after a hunt. They 

 arc constantly being lost or stolen, or somethiug else is hap- 

 pening to them which renders them a nuisance. If a man 

 loses his dog he spends several days iu search of him, which 

 is necessarily a loss either to the employer or the employed. 

 A guide without a eood dog- in the? fall of the year would 

 find it difficult, I might say impossible, to obtain employ- 

 ment. Think of it, a first-class woodsman cannot make his 

 knowledge avail him anything unless he has a dog, and then 

 he is only on an equality with a less desirable man who has 

 perhaps a better dog. Dispense with the hounds, and a 

 guide's knowledge of woodcraft becomes his stock in trade, 

 he who has the most secures the largest custom. From what 

 I know I believe there will not be any more earnest sup- 

 porters of the measure than the guides. 



Suppose the present conditions changed, and for two or 

 three years a dog has not been seen. The does and fawns, 

 unworried by dogs and spared by man, have multiplied and 

 grown. Take your rifle, you need not go far, your success 

 now depends on your prowess, every sense must be on the 

 alert, the eye must cover every object, the ear be alive to 

 every sound, and the feet must learn where to tread. Your 

 quarry has the best of it, as he sees and hears further than 

 you, and besides has his wonderful nose to warn him of your 

 approach. As the sportsman should, you are giving him a 

 chance to use the powers that nature has endowed him with. 

 It is pitting your skill against his iustincts, each having the 

 fullest swing. How great your pride, then, if you can drop 

 him as he bounds away, startled out of his bed, which you 

 have approached within easy rifle shot. Is it not more manly 

 than potting the poor creature as you would a calf in a pen? 

 The recollections of such an experience are lived over and 

 over, and the thrill of pleasure which filled every moment 

 will cause your blood to tingle for years afterward. 



H. I. W. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In the name of every sportsman who visits the Adiron- 

 dacks for deer hunting I protest against any such backward 

 movement. Of course most of the venison sold in New 

 York comes from the West, but only those who live on the 

 railroads that run back into the woods, as I do, know how 

 many deer are sent to the markets from the Adirondacks. 

 The Jaw that none shall be killed in December is a dead 

 letter as long as hunters have that month to dispose of them 

 in. The day before Christmas seven large deer were taken 

 through this village. They showed every evidence of hav- 

 ing been killed during the previous week. Our ganre pro- 

 tective association was powerless in the matter, and dared 

 not swear out a warrant, because the proof that the deer 

 were killed this month would be well-nigh impossible to 

 obtain. . 



Parties who were in the woods around here during 

 Christmas week tell me that in swamps and among ever- 

 greens the snow was nearly waist deep, and personally 

 showing how much deeper the snow north of Lake Pleas- 

 ant is than here, I fully believe that those deer were yarded 

 after the rain and crust of the 20th, butchered and marketed 

 under the law that professedly was forever to stop winter 

 killing. The secretary of our game protective associ- 

 ation has written to all the game clubs we can learn of 

 around the Adirondacks, asking them to combine with 

 us in getting a chaugeinthe law, so that while the cities can 

 have their Western venison for the holidays, the temptation 

 of crust-killing will be removed from our guides by a law 

 that forbids the carcasses of any deer killed in this State 

 being neld in possession after Dec. 1. Such a law would 

 arm every sportsman around the, Adirondacks, and stop 

 what [this year has proved a veritable slaughter, as I 



