178 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Aua. 31, 18fl5. 



M Mp ar t stt t mt Mound. 



GAME NOTES WITH PENCIL AND 

 CAMERA. 



When Jock Darling was in New York at the time of the 

 Sportsmen's Exposition, as was natural for a good sports- 

 man he visited the office of Forest and Stream, and 

 while there he suggested an expedition to Maine for the 

 purpose of photographing deer and other wild game. 

 His proposition touched a responsive chord in the editor's 

 heart, for it has always been the policy of the paper not 

 only to look after the reading needs of the man who is 

 "Chained to Business," but also to place before him the 

 pictured life of the woods and waters, and it did not take 

 long to come to a decision. 



As a result Darling and the writer met at Patten, Me., 

 the latter part of July, provided with canoe, tent, photo- 

 graphic apparatus and provisions for a campaign of a 

 week or ten days in the woods. 



Patten is seven miles from its port of entry, Sherman, 

 a station on the Bangor & Aroostook R. R. It is delight- 

 fully situated and has a good hotel of its class. In the 

 immediate neighborhood are some of the finest mountain 

 views in the State. The great mass of Katahdin is dis- 

 tant less than twenty miles, while Sugar Loaf , the Trav- 

 eler and Chase Mountain are all nearer. Lesser mountains 

 and ridges stretch away in every direction to the horizon 

 line and give charm and variety to the outlook. 



At Patten we secured a canoe "rigging" and traveled 

 by wagon seventeen miles north and west to a point on 

 Hay Brook just above its juncture with Sebois Stream. 

 Here we pitched our first camp, intending to remain in 

 the neighborhood a few days, as we had good reason to 

 expect a sight of moose. 



Two years ago one of Darling's "sports" killed a large 

 bull near by that had come to Jock's seductive call; and 

 only a few weeks before he had seen another bull feeding 

 in the stream near the same spot. It was of this bull that 

 Darling wrote Forest and Stream, telling how he had 

 tried to scare him away, as he feared the place was not 

 safe. If this bull had gone for good there were abundant 

 chances for others, and we proposed to go over the 

 ground carefully. 



Incidentally it may be well to remark that this is the 

 real Hay Brook upon which we were encamped, and not 

 the stream shown upon some of the maps under that 

 name as emptying into Sebois Grand Lake. The correct 

 name for the latter is Warderley Brook. It runs its entire 

 course through bogs that grow nothing nearer hay than 

 pucker bushes and cranberries, while on the other hand 

 the real Hay Brook is bordered by fields of the genuine 

 article. 



We camped here from July 24 to 26, but the hardest 

 kind of hunting failed to reveal any description of living 

 game. The water was high, and at first we attributed 

 the absence of game to this cause, but gradually the real 

 reason forced itself upon us. As Jock expressed it, we 

 "smelled the reason." At several points our nostrils 

 were greeted in passing by unbefitting odors, while at 

 other places on the bottom of the stream we saw pieces 

 of deer skin and freshly cut leg bones, companion pieces 

 to the two unborn fawns that Darling had previously 

 found floating upon these same waters. 



The many signs bore unmistakable witness to a shock- 

 ing slaughter of unseasonable game, but through it all 

 as little by little the evidence unfolded, we clung to the 

 hope of finding our moose. J ock knew how difficult it was 

 to make la moose leave a section of Btream to which it has 

 taken a liking at this time of year, and it seemed reason- 

 able to believe that the animal was still in the same 

 neighborhood. It was. But we did not find it as we had 

 expected. 



The day we broke camp, paddling close along a beauti- 

 ful birch fringed shore, we noticed trodden grass and a 

 small tree from which the bark had recently been peeled. 

 The place was pervaded with an unpleasantly suggestive 

 odor, and influenced by these and other inferences we 

 made a landing. A short search confirmed our worst 

 fears. There, only a few rods from the river bank, lay 

 parts of a bull moose— head, legs, hide and entrails— taint- 

 ing the air, and furnishing an eloquent example of the 

 non-enforcement of the Maine game laws. 



We took a few photographs of the remains and then 

 sadly left the place. A magnificent game animal had 

 met an unworthy end at a time when it should have been 

 safe from attack. The evidence showed that its a<*sassins 

 were a mean and ignorant lot, and its capture could have 

 brought them little profit and less pleasure. The horns 

 were only about half grown and were slowly rotting 

 away. Later I shall have more to say about this moose 

 and a photograph of the head will be shown. 



The Photographing Outfit 

 consisted of one large camera taking a 6ix8* plate and 

 a 5x7 Kodak. The Kodak was taken along to pick up 

 stray notes and to supplement the other, but all our hopes 

 were pinned on the big camera. This camera was fitted 

 with a lens capable of covering a plate nearly twice as 

 large as that used, and was of long focus, conditions cal- 

 culated to secure better pictures and at longer range than 

 could be obtained with an ordinary camera of the same 

 size. These were its advantages. 



Its disadvantages were that it was bulky and hard to 

 manipulate, and that its shutter was very noisv It 

 measured nearly 3ft. in length, which of necessity con- 

 fined its usefulness almost wholly to the canoe, and the 

 shutter could only be set from the front of the camera 

 and only when the sensitive plate was covered. 



The slowest "instantaneous" exposure within the range 

 of this shutter was also too quick for many of the condi- 

 tions of game photography. These defects, however 

 were only discovered in their entirety after the camera 

 was in practical operation. 



Our outfit included plates and film for the cameras 

 and also material for flash light photography. Unfortu- 

 nately we had no opportunity to test the latter, as we 

 had no good jacking weather while in the woods. A 

 night photograph of game is by no means an impossibil- 

 ity, though we believe it has never yet been secured. 



In Action. 



When in the neighborhood of game the large camera 

 was placed on a rough stand in the bow of the canoe with 

 shutter set and ready for instant use. The bulb by which 



the exposure was secured hung in position at the right 

 side of the camera, where it could easily be reached, and 

 the camera itself, with the exception of the neighborhood 

 of the lens, was screened by a blind of green boughs. 

 The canoe which we used for stalking was painted a shade 

 of gray matching very closely the color of dead trees, and 

 seen from the bow there was nothing obtrusive or calcu- 

 lated unduly to startle our game. O wing to the difficulty 

 of reloading and resetting the shutter, we had for all prac- 

 tical purposes but one shot at our command, and it was a 

 matter of nice judgment to reserve this for the best pos- 

 sible opportunity. 



It is the last fifty feet of the approach in game photog- 

 raphy that counts for most. At anything over 100ft. with 

 our equipment the game in the photograph did not come 

 out distinctly enough for practical use. The only pictures 

 considered worthy of reproduction with this article were 

 all taken short of this distance. In fact, from 50ft, to 



SUSPICIOUS. 



100ft. may be considered the range for successful game 

 photography in the East with a good camera such as ours, 

 and every foot inside the limit counts surprisingly in the 

 results. 



In the West, where the game is out in the open and 

 where they have the advantage of a perfect atmosphere 

 and solid ground to stand upon, pictures capable of repro- 

 duction can no doubt be secured at a considerably greater 

 distance. The size alone is of course not of so great 

 importance, if the game comes out in the photograph 

 perfectly sharp and standing out free from the under- 

 growth, for the photo can be enlarged. 



Difficulties. 



Game photography under any conditions is one of the 

 must difficult things in the world. Setting aside for the 

 moment the difficulties in the way of approaching your 

 game to the requisite short range, the difficulties of a 

 technical character are generally almost insurmountable. 

 When photographing from a boat, which is almost the 

 only practical way in the forest regions of the East, a 

 quick exposure is absolutely necessary. A boat will not 

 sit still enough for exposures of the "slow instantaneous" 

 kind, even though the game stands with statue-like 

 rigidity. This condition makes a good strong fight a prime 

 requisite, but unfortunately it is a requisite that is most 

 often absent. At the time best suited for photography tb e 

 game is off enjoying its siesta, and when it does appear 

 the chances are that it is sneaking close to shore in the 

 shadow of the trees or up to its ear in brush. 



White-tail deer especially seem to shun publicity, and 

 hate to see their pictures in the sporting press. 



Our experience with other game was very limited, but 

 personally I got the impression that caribou when found 

 would not be difficult to photograph, and Darling assured 

 me that moose also were easy of approach and had better 

 taste than deer in the selection of their surroundings from 

 a photographic standpoint. 



Having learned by experience all the difficulties of 

 game photography I shall henceforth have the most pro- 

 found admiration for any man who takes successful pic- 

 tures of the untamed denizens of the forest. The skillful 

 hunter who kills game alone is as a child compared to 

 the game photographer. It is only necessary for him to 

 break through the outermost circle of wild nature's pro- 

 tective environment to accomplish his object, while the 

 photographer must penetrate to the very center of things, 

 relying upon an infinitely greater patience and skill. 

 Most of the game included in the enumeration which 

 follows was within rifle shot of us, much within pistol 

 shot, yet very insignificant was the number within pho- 

 tographic range. 



It was between White Horse and Snowshoe lakes that 

 we came upon our first deer. Jock was working hard 



with the setting pole lifting the canoe over the lower rap- 

 ids on the stream, when suddenly something caught my 

 eye in the swift water above. It was a glimpse of color 

 and of motion, and though seen in an unexpected place 

 the explanation was apparent. I signaled to Jock, and 

 the canoe dropped back out of sight. But before we were 

 wholly concealed we had seen, one after another, six deer 

 enter the water. It was a beautiful bit of nature. The red 

 deer,the white water,and the dark green woods that framed 

 it, made a picture that will long linger in memory. Un- 

 fortunately the deer were out of camera range, being 

 more than a hundred yards distant. We did not notice 

 any bucks among them, the deer seeming to be all does or 

 fawns. 



As soon as we were down behind the bend I jumped out 

 of the canoe, and, armed with the small camera attempted 

 to stalk the game. From the concealment of the cedars 

 that fringed the bank I saw them leisurely wade through 

 the shallowest water, and then just as leisurely disappear 

 in the woods on the other side. They were scarcely 

 70yd8. away, but too far for the 5x7 Kodak. These were 

 the first deer that we had seen, and made a correspond- 

 ing impression. It was an unusual opportunity to get a 

 number of individuals on the same plate, and an oppor- 

 tunity that was not duplicated. Out of the six dozen and 

 odd deer we saw during the next six days, the largest group 

 that came to our knowledge consisted of but three individ- 

 uals — a doe and two fawns. It was common to see three 

 or four or even six feeding within a few hundred yards of 

 the same spot; but these deer were not in any sense 

 banded, and it was only chance that threw them together. 

 Aside from the does and fawns, the deer we saw all seemed 

 to be unattached. 



We reached Sebois Grand Lake without seeing any 

 more game, and at once directed our course for the 

 "Thoroughfare," where we intended to camp that 

 night. On the way we sighted our seventh deer. 



As we shot across the mouth of a deep cove we saw a 

 doe feeding among the lilypads near shore. I looked 

 directly at this deer for some time without seeing her, 

 and had turned my attention to a different part of the 

 shore when Jack pointed her out. The wind was blow- 

 ing full in the cove, and it was useless to attempt a photo- 

 graph, so we contented ourselves with a good look at the 

 deer and continued our way to camp. 



Sebois Grand Lake is eight miles long and of very 

 irregular shape. In its widest places it is possibly two 

 •miles across, but at the "Thoroughfare," near the center 

 of the lake, it narrows to as many hundred yards. Here 

 two hardwood ridges terminate, one on the east side of 

 the lake and the other on the west. Near the west side 

 there is also a small wooded island, and the ridges approach 

 each other so closely that they appear to cut the lake in 

 two, and one not familiar with the country might come 

 very close to the connecting channel without suspecting 

 the presence of the complementary body of water. 



This is a great place for game to cros3. Last fall a 

 party camping near by killed a bear in the water, and 

 deer frequently make the passage. During the close 

 season last year Darling saw a caribou swim the channel, 

 and later members of his party fired a number of unsuc- 

 cessful shots at one on the point across from where they 

 were camped. Deer were so plenty along the shore in 

 this neighborhood a year ago that the camp was given 

 the name of "Deer Town." This year, however, they 

 have changed their range, and we saw only one near the 

 "Thoroughfare." 



Later in the day we paddled over to a beach at the 

 north end of the lake and examined on the sand a curious 

 chirography of deer tracks. The deer seemed to appreciate 

 the smooth footing afforded by the beach, and as the evi- 

 dence showed had come there to play. We could see 

 where they had jumped and cavorted, striking the ground 

 with toes spread and legs so crooked that the dew-claws 

 left their mark. The accompanying photograph will tell 

 it all much more graphically than words. 



As we left the shore we saw a buck that had just come 

 out of the woods above us, but he almost immediately 

 disappeared, having no doubt winded us. 



We landed a second time to visit an old lumber camp 

 which is situated a little distance back from the lake. 

 The clearing around the camp has all grown up to wild 

 raspberries, and Jock and I regaled ourselves with the 

 fruit. As we approached the fast mouldering buildings 

 we heard a raucus gnawing within, and Jock senten- 

 tiously remarked, "Hedgehog." The door of the main 

 camp was closed, but a broken window explained the 

 presence of the porcupine on the inside. Jock opened 

 the door and went in, and presently I saw the monkey 

 face of the bad-smelling rodent appear at the window. 

 It was a comically expressive face, and betokened lack of 

 decision and uncertainty. The porcupine had run up 



FOOT-PRINTS OF JUMPING DEER. 



