Nov. 23, 1895^ 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



447 



jangle where deer abound and where "from three to a 

 dozen" can be seen "during a single drive." ("During" is 

 another good word.) 



He also stated that he had seen no fawns, and had also 

 noticed very few fawn tracks while out hunting in the 

 wilderness. "We ourselves had noted the fact that there 

 were no signs of any fawns having crossed at the runway. 



Our next information was obtained from a gentleman 

 who resided outside the southern boundary of the South 

 Side Club's preserve. To repeat his statement would be 

 unnecessary, as it was only a corroboration of those given 

 above. The gist of it was that deer in the immediate 

 vicinity of the preserve did do some little damage occa- 

 sionally, but nothing to speak of. Tbis, however, he said, 

 was not a new thing, but had been the case in all previous 

 years — last year, the year before that, and the year before 

 that again. 



The most important portion of our interview with this 

 gentleman was that which related to the probable cause 

 of all the newspaper talk: "One man told me that the 

 object of this agitation was to have the law changed at 

 Albany next winter so that deer could be killed on Long 

 Island the following fall." 



Several other interviews were had with persons well 

 qualified to judge of the situation, but as they were all in 

 the same strain as those we have already recounted it is 

 not worth while to occupy more space for the sake of 

 righting the base libels on the innocent inhabitants of the 

 jungles of Long Island. 



Thus is the ghost of the Long Island deer plague laid, 

 and the alarmist's cabbage head busted ! 



-~rr I The Summary. 



Sensationalism, press clippings and the grievances of 

 individuals who wish to kill deer regardless of the claims 

 of the people or of the next generation form poor author- 

 ity from which to thunder forth instructive editorials on 

 the game situation in Long Island or in the Island of Jal- 



"thk summary." 



abaloo, or anywhere else; that is, if gross exaggeration 

 and perverted fact can be called instructive editorials. 



The natural conclusion to be reached from the slaughter 

 of deer last fall is that the breeding stock being thereby 

 lessened, the increase in the supply of deer this year would 

 be lessened in like ratio. The complaints upon which the 

 editorial was based are, so far as we can ascertain, merely 

 cloaks to the real purpose, which is to kill the deer. 

 Moreover, in respect to these complaints, the conditions 

 in regard to damage by deer are in nowise different 

 from what they were in past years. B. Waters! 



Edwaed Banks. 



MR. ROOSEVELT'S SHOOTING. 



Thompson Falls, Mont., Oct. 30.— Editor Forest and 

 Stream: In reading a paper a few days ago I noticed an 

 attack upon Mr. Theodore Roosevelt by a Mr. Trude, of 

 Chicago, in regard to the way in which he killed game. 



I have accompanied Mr. Roosevelt on several hunting 

 trips, and I feel that I ca,n speak with some degree of ac- 

 curacy in regard to tbis matter. 



I was Mr. Roosevelt's guide when he killed his first 

 white goat, and can truthfully say that he made one of 

 the best shots I have ever seen made. At the time I 

 thought that it must have been a chance shot, but when 

 we got after the next band his shooting was such as any 

 'sportsman might feel proud of, especially his shot at a 

 goat running up a cliff at a distance of 225yds, , when he 

 broke the animal's neck. 



On our trip together to British Columbia I feel that his 

 coolness and nerve saved me from being torn by a bear, 

 as I had a heavy pack on my back and was unable to use 

 my gun. The bear had been wounded by Mr. Roosevelt, 

 who ran to where he last saw the bear. As the creek 

 made quite a noise, the bear was right on me before I 

 knew it, and was on his hindfeet, ready to strike me, 

 when Mr. Roosevelt ran up and shot him in the butt of 

 the ear and killed him. 



Three days later I saw him make a good shot at a cari- 

 bou, which he killed. There were five in the band and I 

 tried to get him to kill the entire band, but he said he 

 only wished those with good heads, and that under no 

 circumstances would he kill a doe or fawn, unless he was 

 compelled to for the meat. 



We went through more hardships to the Big Hole 

 Basin than on any of our other trips. As it was late in 

 the season and Mr. Roosevelt's time being limited, we 

 wished to cover as much ground as possible. 



We usually started from camp in the morning without 

 blankets and nothing but sour dough bread and salt, de- 

 pending on our rifles for our meat. On one occasion I 

 lost my reckoning and we did not find the camp for two 

 days. During this time we ran on to a band of goats, 

 and he could have killed the entire band, but only shot 

 the best specimens. He displayed great nerve and endur- 

 ance, and I do not think he ever lost his reckoning, but 

 we were both played out by the time we reached the 

 camp. 



A few days later we ran on a band of elk. Two of 

 them were fighting, and his description of this scene is 

 very accurate. I have never known him to shoot a cow 



or calf elk or caribou, and on no occasion did we ever 

 have any kind of a trap, but depended solely on his skill 

 with the rifle. 



I have read all the articles that he has written about 

 his hunting trips on which I accompanied him, and I 

 consider that he has underestimated rather than over- 

 estimated himself, as I think him one of the coolest and 

 best shots at game, and he endured as many hardships as 

 any man that I have ever known. Always in a good 

 humor in camp, which is something unusual, as hunting 

 will generally try a man's patience more than anything 

 else. 



I hope that you will give this letter space in your valu- 

 able paper. JOHN Willis. 



THE WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS FOX 

 CLUB HUNT. 



^-^-^ The eighth annual hunt of the West- 



V ern Massachusetts Fox Club was 



y^^N^X \ held at Westfield Nov. 13 and 14. 



Jihi*»< ^1^-' Toe ^ rst was a * 1 *kat heart could 



\1P\"^A wish. The weather was perfect and 



\j^S,a J@ the running good. Seven foxes 



'^^^fM were killed and accounted for, 



^^^Wify^ which, if we are not mistaken, is a 



^/$Miiy> record for tDe club - The second da y 



'ui opened cloudy and with indications 

 III ' /// ' °^ ram » which were verified later, 



"J-*^ Dut t,:ie trailing conditions were ex- 



1 type. cellent all day, and not enough rain 



fell to destroy the scent. Four foxes 

 were killed, which made the total for two days eleven, a 

 showing which is really remarkable when it is considered 

 that the hunting was all done in one locality, and that in 

 the immediate neighborhood of Westfield. 



The hunt was without question one of the most success- 

 ful ever held — not only in the annals of the Western 

 Massachusetts Fox Club, but of any similar organization 

 in New England. 



The occasion was notable not only on account of the 

 number of foxes bagged, but also for 'the large attendance 

 of visiting sportsmen. The unique features of the West- 

 field hunt are becoming more widely known each year, 

 and the fame of its hospitality and of its oratory are 

 reaching further and further. 



The Fox Club hunt has come to be a sort of civic affair 

 in Westfield. All the townspeople turn to to make it a 

 success. The lawyers and public men, the flower of 

 western Massachusetts oratory, lend their services to the 

 cause, with the result that the after-dinner speaking is 

 unsurpassed. 



Visiting Sportsmen. 



As has been remarked, the number of visiting sports- 

 men was unusually large. Worcester sent a delegation of 

 eleven, while other sportsmen came from Milbury, Spring- 

 field, Great Barrington, Ware, Monson and Boston, Mass. ; 

 Waterbury, Farmington and East Granby, Conn.; West- 

 port, Syracuse, Brooklyn and New York, N. Y. ; Portland, 

 Me. , and other places. The following list includes most 

 of the visiting sportsmen: 



Messrs. Walter W. and C. L, Holmes, of Waterbury, 

 Ct. ; Judge Hubert Clark, Willimantic, Ct, ; N. Wallace, 

 Farmington, Cfc. ; J. H. Willey and W. A. Darling, Boston; 

 L. Fisherdick and W. H. H. Perkins, Ware; W. J. Briggs, 

 Syracuse, N. Y.; A. B. Blynue, Westport, N. Y.; Frank 

 W. Whitlock, Great Barrington, Mass. ; A. D. Norcross 

 and L. C. Fiynt, Monson; R. D. Perry, Portland, Me,; C. 

 Van Deuzen, Melrose Highlands, Mass.; Ed. and Charles 

 Owens, East Granby, Ct. ; J. B. Hazleton, Brooklyn, N. Y. ; 

 L. B. Coe, Springfield, Mass.; M. L. Fuller, Chicopee 

 Falls; Jno. M. White and Dr. C. H. Hakes, Milbury; O. M. 

 Ball, Austin Esterbrook, A. B. F. Kinney, Jas. E. Fuller, 

 Jerome Marble, C. H. Howe, C. W. Walls, E. Sprague 

 Knowles, C. A. Hanson, Hon. Jno. R. Thayer, W. R. Dean 

 and Geo. Goddard, of Worcester. The last mentioned 

 gentlemen are all members of the Worcester Fur Com- 

 pany. Messrs. Owens, of East Granby, are members of 

 the Tunxis Gun Club. Messrs. Holmes, of Waterbury, 

 represent the recently organized Waterbury Fur Company] 



Most of these gentlemen arrived Tuesday night, in order 

 to be in season for the first day's hunt. At the Park 

 Square Hotel, which was headquarters for the hunters, 

 they were welcomed by President Roraback in the name 

 of the club. During the course of the evening Mr. 

 Roraback made a graceful speech of greeting, which was 

 responded to in behalf of the visitors by Hon. Jno. R. 

 Thayer. 



The First Day. 



Wednesday, Nov. 13, the hunter's horn sounded at 5 

 A, M. At 6, the hunters, having breakfasted, mounted 

 the buses and other vehicles that were in waiting, and 

 started for the scene of action. They left the town in a 

 northwesterly direction and headed toward Montgomery 

 Mountain. At the foot of the mountain in the Pochassic 

 lowlands the dogs were cast loose, and before 7 o'clock 

 three foxes were jumped and running races that each 

 ended at the muzzle of a shotgun." 



They were all started nearly at once, and the day's sport 

 began with a flourish. Fifty hounds were out; and if the 

 foxes did not hurry it was not their fault. 



I have already given the names of many of the sports- 

 men, but perhaps the hounds deserved mention first. 

 Prominent among the visitors was the Worcester delega- 

 tion. There was the Kinney- White pack, headed by the 

 celebrated Logan, who none will gainsay is a hustler. 

 He was ably seconded by Aggie, Fly, Ned, Jack and Dia- 

 mond K., of the same pack. Hon. John R. Thayer had 

 Gus, a pup that had never snielled a fox track previous to 

 last June, but who later in the day was in at the deaths 

 of two foxes, and who was still running after the hunters 

 had returned at night, in company with one of the Kin- 

 ney-White pack and one of the Holmes Brothers' dogs. 

 J. E, Fuller's Dick and Sprague Knowles's Dick Turpin 

 completed the list of Worcester dogs. 



The Holmes boys, of Waterbury, brought Tolland and 

 Ranger, as handsome a pair as were seen at the hunt, and 

 N. Wallace, of Farmington, had several good ones. Emil 

 Kidner also had two hounds. 



Of the local dogs one of the best known was Mr. Bert. 

 Holcomb's Prince. This dog proved himself to be in the 

 first rank by work in past years and ran a very pretty 

 race which ended in the catching of the fox after it had 

 been wounded the second day of the hunt. Mr. Holcomb 

 had also a number of other dogs that gave good accounts 

 of themselves. 



Mr. James Jeffers, a well-known breeder of hounds, 

 who is associated with Mr. Fred Shepard, ran the cele- 

 brated Southern-bred dog Commodore, which formerly 

 belonged to Roger Williams, and which he has at present 

 on probation, as well as several others. President Rora- 

 back had a couple of young hounds that have already 

 shown considerable promise. Benj. Babb had Jack, a 

 red dog that is at home in hot company. This dog had 

 the misfortune to be caught in a steel trap the first day of 

 the hunt, but was apparently none the worse for the ex- 

 perience the following day. 



John T. Way had a dog named Jake that is said to be a 

 good one, and Thomas Mount joy was also represented by 

 several hounds. 



Of the three foxes first started two were soon killed, 

 one falling to Benj. Babb about 7:15 A. M., but the third 

 ran nearly all day. This fox was pressed hard by Logan, 

 and the run was remarkable in more than one respect. 



In the afternoon the chase was in sight of a number of 

 hunters as the fox and hounds ran across some open 

 field in the north end of Montgomery. About 3 o'clock, 

 however, after the fox had circled back through some 

 woodland, he ventured too near Perry Otis, and lost his 

 life. Otis, who is a lucky fox hunter, occupied the same 

 stand where Mr. Kinney shot his foxes last year. 



About 10 A. M. Louis Pomeroy, of Westfield, killed the 

 fourth fox. Other foxes during the day fell to the guns of 

 F. H. Clapp, of Southampton; H. W. Stedman, Russell 

 Tyler and Jas. Lynch, of Westfield. The total for the 

 day was seven. 



The Supper. 



The Fox Club made an innovation this year and 

 changed the scene of the banquet from the Town Hall, 

 which has heretofore witnessed this function, to Beethoven 

 Hall. The usual feast of good things was spread before 

 the hungry sportsmen, who, with proverbial hunters' ap- 

 petites, rapidly disposed of everything edible. Then the 

 chairs were pushed back from the tables that ran the 

 length of the hall in four unbroken ranks to the upper 

 end, where the speaker's table was placed at right angles, 

 and 200 sportsmen at peace with all the world settled at 

 their ease. As the clouds of fragrant tobacco smoke 

 arose, Mr. William H. Foote, of Westfield, the toastmas- 

 ter, introduced Robert H. Kneil, the first speaker of the 

 evening. He was followed by A. B. F. Kinney, ex-Presi- 

 dent of the Worcester Fur Company. The other speakers 

 were Judge Hubert Clark, of Willimantic, Conn, ; F. W. 

 Whitlock, Great Barrington, Mass. ; H. W. Ely, the silver- 

 tongued orator of the Woronoco Valley; Rev. S. L. 

 Gracey, of Westfield, ex-United States Consul at Foo-Chow, 

 China; Charles L. Holmes, of Waterbury. Conn., Presi- 

 dent of the recently organized fox club; ex- Representa- 

 tive Jas. H. Bryan, of Westfield; Hon. John R. Thayer, 

 President Worcester Fur Company; ex-Selectman L. F. 

 Thayer, of Westfield; Hon. George D. Elbridge, West- 

 field; J. B. Burnham, of Forest and Stream; E. Sprague 

 Knowles, Secretary Worcester Fur Company; W. J. 

 Briggs, of Syracuse, N. Y., and George C. Parker, the 

 Chauncey M. Depew of Westfield. An amusing feature 

 of the evening was the presentation by H. W. Ely to 

 John T. Way, one of the popular members of the club, of 

 a kodak enlargement of three foxes with the statement 

 that they were the only foxes he would ever get. Mr. 

 Way has consistently attended the hunts for a number of 

 years without securing a fox. 



After the banquet a business meeting was held and the 

 old board of officers re-elected. This re-election was a 

 foregone conclusion, and is following a precedent estab- 

 lished of recent years. As long as President George W. 

 Roraback lives no one will think of substituting another 

 name for his. Mr. Roraback occupies a unique position. 

 He is a popular dictator, made such by the loving esteem 

 in which he is held by all who know him, and he will not 

 be permitted to abdicate. Possibly it would be for the 

 good of the club to make changes in some of the other 

 offices, for most growing organizations profit by new 

 blood, and stagnation of any kind is to be avoided, but 

 this is only a suggestion. 



The Second Day. 



Like St. Patrick's Day, it always rains on the occasion 

 of the Fox Club meet. And the Eighth Annual Hunt 

 was no exception. Fortunately, the elements were as 

 kind as they could be under the circumstances to the 

 hunters. It was an absolute necessity that it should rain, 

 but it rained with moderation — just enough to conform 

 to precedent, and not enough to bother sportsmen or dogs. 



As on the first day, the hunters drove directly to Wm. 

 Moore's house in Pochassic, at the foot of Montgomery 

 Mountain, which was constituted headquarters. 



The selection of this place was due to the fact that a 

 number of the hounds had not turned up the night before, 

 and it was thought advisable to hunt the same locality in 

 order to pick them up. 



The section is extremely prolific of foxes, and there was 

 no question but that some would be found. 



The hounds were cast loose in all directions; some on 

 the Pochassic lowlands, while others were taken up the 

 mountain to start, and the air was soon resonant with the 

 music that the fox hunter loves. 



Many of the hunters climbed the mountain, while a few 

 penetrated as far as Grindstone, but all these were disap- 

 pointed. The running was all in the lowlands, to the 

 eastward. 



Shots could be heard from time to time in this direc- 

 tion, and once the air quivered with a volley as one of 

 the hunters emptied a repeating shotgun at a fox, with- 

 out effect, however. 



During the forenoon the hunters began straggling back 

 to Moore's and each had some interesting piece of news to 

 tell. 



John M. Lane had started a fox with Logan, and had 

 headed the chase on a certain runway. He saw the fox 

 coming, and prepared to shoot just as the fox ran behind 

 a pine tree ten rods distant. Mr. White drew a mental 

 picture of how he would paralyze that fox when he came 

 from behind that tree, and in his mind's eye saw him 

 stretched out limp as a dish rag, cold in death; but the 

 pretty picture never materialized. The fox knew a thing 

 or two, and when he came out from behind the pine tree 

 he was half way down the mountain. 



Mr. Bert Holcomb started a fox and shot at it twice. 

 The fox ran along the foot of the mountain and crossed 

 the main road where a piece of woodland borders ijb on 

 the west, a quarter of a mile above Moore's house. Here 

 Mr. J. B. Hazleton, of Brooklyn, was waiting with blood 



