356 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[April 28, 1894. 



THE SOUTH JERSEY DEER DRIVE. 



A Belated Rejoinder. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Returning from a winter's wandering in the West In- 

 dies, Mexico, Yucatan and Florida, I find upon my return 

 to my home in South Jersey a bundle of Forest and 

 Streams, beginning with the issue of Jan. 20. Before 

 lea,ving home I had induced my friend Col. J. Howard 

 Willets, of my county, to contribute to the journal an 

 account of his most extraordinary deer chase of last 

 autumn, when by superior strategy and management he 

 was enabled to kill a deer by means of his pack of hounds 

 without the use of firearms. In my ignorance, I thought 

 this feat of sportsmanship, taking into consideration the 

 nature of the country and the inexperience of the dogs, 

 unique. I have known the neighboring deer country for 

 more than thirty years, and never before heard of an in- 

 stance of dogs killing an unwounded, full-grown deer, as 

 this was. This deer was fifty times during the chase 

 within a hundred yards of freedom, for had she recrossed 

 the railroad she would have been free; but the manage- 

 ment of the Colonel, who directed the hunt, in each 

 instance headed her off and turned her course back into 

 the river meadows and swamps. If the chase produced 

 no other valuable result, it at least converted a pack of 

 green rabbit and fox-pursuing dogs into experienced deer- 

 hounds. 



The mild criticism of O. H. Hampton is that of a gentle- 

 man, and is the sole occasion of this notice of the con- 

 troversy. I induced my friend to furnish the narration, 

 although not at all in sympathy myself with deer hunting. 

 The Colonel was a brave and distinguished soldier in the 

 war, and carries about his person some seven souvenirs of 

 rebel lead. At the same time, all little children love him, 

 and the disinterested dog's tail wags ever a welcome to 

 him. Cruelty is as foreign to his nature as truth and con- 

 siderate speech is to that of some contributors to respect- 

 able journals. He cannot take exception, however, to 

 the comment of 0. H. H., with which I sympathize, for 

 personally I do not like killing deer in States like New 

 Jersey at all; they are too pretty and rare to be molested. 

 For the past nine years I have had many opportunities to 

 kill deer in Florida, and have never availed myself of one 

 of them, But I can understand that others enjoy the 

 pursuit by hounds of foxes, jack rabbits or deer, and in 

 amusing themselves in this way, I do not presume to 

 criticise them, even amiably — certainly not with viru- 

 lence. 



It must be borne in mind, too, that still-hunting is 

 impossible in South Jersey, owing to the nature of 

 the country; the only method of killing a deer is by 

 having hounds chase it to the hunter; if the deer passes 

 the stand, it, and the hounds as well, are lost for the day. 



The assumption of all the critics, agreeable or other- 

 wise, on this subject, seems to be that a small doe was 

 turned into a barnyard, with a pack of ferocious blood- 

 hounds to pull her down. They are absolutely ignorant 

 of the topography of this region. Dogs, except in this 

 unique instance, never have taken an unwounded deer, 

 and that alone is sufficient raison d'etre for the contribu- 

 tion. 



There is no ground for the assertion that the chase in 

 this instance was "a little deer," for it was distinctly 

 stated that its weight was 901bs., dressed, which would 

 be that of a full grown buck in Florida, a region with 

 whose deer I am most familiar. Nor is it fair to assert, 

 as did one of the violent critics, that the doe was in an 

 improper condition for slaughter; this was untrue, and 

 would impugn the wisdom of the Legislature of New 

 Jersey, which has prescribed the six weeks' open season 

 in which the chase occurred. 



Hasty and inconsiderate attacks like the most which 

 this narrative has elicited, proceed from sportsmen of 

 limited experience who Jbelong to the mugwumps of the 

 guild, a class defined in politics by a prominent politician 

 as those who "never vote for any one, but always against 

 some one." They have the power to wound the sensitive, 

 and in this case, without justification, have, I doubt not, 

 annoyed a gentleman and thorough sportsman. 



F. S. J. C. 



DR. COOK'S EXPEDITION TO THE NORTH 



Willie and Clara, son and daughter of the frozen 

 North, whose Eskimo names are not so readily pro- 

 nounceable as the familiar English ones, by which they 

 have become acquainted in Brooklyn, will bid farewell to 

 American friends and American habits next June, and 

 return to their Labrador homes on the ship that carries 

 the summer excursion party to northern Greenland. 

 They do not say very much about their impressions of 

 America, its peoples, its institutions, because they are 

 able to talk only in broken English, but their expressive 

 looks when something new or odd comes within range, 

 denotes the curiosity, pleasure or admiration they feel. 

 The brother and sister have got along amazingly well 

 since landing in New York last autumn, have accustomed 

 themselves to civilized clothes and modes of living, and 

 do not grieve for the snow and ice, the seals and the black 

 bear of their Northern home. But I promised to return 

 them, and they will be restored to their parents' await- 

 ing arms, before the year is much older. Occasionally 

 the boy and girl experience fits of home sickness, but 

 these never continue long enough to be worth consider- 

 ing. Gentle Clara, with her lovable manners, who has 

 learned to follow American ways even more rapidly than 

 her brother, will not return eagerly to the Eskimo attire, 

 however glad she may be to find herself really at home. 

 She is extremely fond of her new style of dress, and when 

 on occasions I have desired her to don the old habit and 

 appear in her skin suit before an audience listening to a 

 lecture, it has been with much reluctance that she con- 

 sented. She has acquired the art of housekeeping fairly 

 well; and strange to say has made firm resolutions to 

 hereafter wash herself at least once a day, so fortunate 

 indeed will be the Eskimo gallant who wins the accom- 

 plished Clara for a wife. Willie, besides finding out how 

 to beat the neighboring boys at their favorite games, has 

 become a useful individual about the house, and in taking 

 care of my pack of Eskimo wolf dogs. A number of the 

 latter have been lost by death, but this was not Willie's 

 fault. The boy, who is yet only sixteen, will take back 



to his native heath a fund of juvenile information cal- 

 culated to astonish the younger element, and the old ones 

 too, of his tribe, and he will have enough tales of wonder- 

 ful happenings and strange sights to entertain them for 

 at least several of their four months long seasons of con- 

 stant night. Willie and Clara, Mikok and Kahlahkatak, 



MISS liAHLAHEATAK. 



as they are known at home, in years to come may cease 

 to think of friends who have gone before, but they are 

 not likely to tire of reverting to their American exper- 

 iences and the sciences which to them were nothing less 

 than marvellous. 



The story of how this interesting couple were "cap- 

 tured," is easily told. I merely "borrowed" them from 

 their parents, and am soon to' return them their loan. 

 Both were anxious to come, and I am rather pleased to be 

 able to say they are not so anxious to go back. The girl, 

 who is two years older than her brother, has by her 

 quickness in learning proved herself the brighter of the 

 two, though I have never seen smarter or more active 

 Eskimos in either Labrador or Greenland, than Clara and 

 Willie. During my two previous visits to the far North, 

 I made a special study of these odd people, and I intend 

 this summer to continue the work, which has proved ex- 

 tremely interesting and instructive. I may not have 

 another opportunity to carry off the contents of an 

 isolated Eskimo graveyard to add to my present collec- 

 tion of decaying homes, but there is ample material 

 among the living representatives of a most curious race to 

 occupy the entire attention of a diligent student. 



This summer "s trip, though, is not to be wholly given up 

 to scipntific pursuits. The excursion party to sail from 

 New York late in June for Labrador and northern Green- 

 land, will include a number of men and perhaps a few 

 ladies, who would not join the expedition were it not for 

 the facilities, exceptional facilities too. it will afford for 



MIKOK AND THE DOG CHIHO. 



hunting and fishing. They are going to enjoy the 

 pleasures that ardent sportsmen can extract from the chase 

 for big game, in which the countries to be visited abound. 

 Superb indeed is the sport to be found among the drifting 

 Arctic ice-floes, and our hunters when they return will 

 have tales of rare adventures to unfold. Ice*" that moves 

 slowly along the Greenland coast, is the home of the bear 

 and walrus, and I have been an eager participant in 

 a score of hunting excursions after these immense brutes. 

 They are quite easy prey, but there is plenty of fun and 

 excitement for a bear-killing or walrus-spearing party, 

 and those who go North this year, say they intend to 

 secure as much of it as possible. Mr. Walter S. Sinn 

 proposes to decorate his theater office next winter with 

 trophies, and I have no doubt he will be able to satisfy \ 

 his hopes. The wooded wilderness of Labrador and the I 

 snowy wastes of Greenland, are ideal regions for the en- 

 thusiastic sportsmen. In the former we find the black ' 



bear, caribou, timber wolf, lynx, the red, blue and gray 

 fox, otter, mink and other fur-bearing animals, the snow- 

 goose, eider duck, guillemot, great northern diver, auk-^ 

 and partridge. In Greenland or on its ice-bound northern 

 coast, besides the polar bear, walrus, whale, narwhal and 

 seal, are found reindeer in great numbers, and many of 

 the varieties of animals and birds with which Labrador 

 abounds. The Labrador streams and Greenland fjords 

 teem with salmon and trout, those to be caught in south- 

 ern Greenland being of rare size. Northwestern Canada 

 and .Alaska are described as possessing strong attractions 

 for the hunters and fishers, but the inducement they hold 

 forth to the sportsmen cannot rival those possessed by 

 Greenland and Labrador. 



The excursionists will be away from the United States 

 something less than three months. Starting before the 

 end of June, we go first to Labrador, where a scien- . 

 tific party of ten from the University of Pennsylvania 

 are to be landed. After spending as long a time as is 

 worth while, on this coast, we cross to southern Green- 

 land, and then proceed leisurely northward, making 

 numerous stoppages, until Inglefield Gulf is reached. 

 Some of the party will land at different points, to be * 

 picked up on the return trip. These will be provisioned 

 and equipped for hunting, fishing and journeys over land. 

 At Inglefield Gulf, we will meet Peary and his party of 

 observers. Here I will take charge of a sledge trip to the 

 interior, which is intended to occupy two or three days, 

 those who accompany me being given a realistic taste of 

 the experiences of Arctic explorers, in traveling over 

 snow and ice, sleeping in skinbags in the open air and 

 cooking our pemican by the heat of an oil stove, just as 

 the Arctic explorer does it. If possible, we are going a 

 little further north to Verhocff Glacier, but time or the 

 weather or ice may prevent this. 



The plans laid out, and here briefly outlined, are calcu- 

 lated to make the expedition as interesting to the summer 

 tourist as it will be attractive to the knowledge-seeking 

 scientist, or adventurous and exciting to the bloodthirsty 

 huntsmen. The coast and inland scenery is incompar- 

 able in its unique beauty, the marvelous glacial phenom- * 

 ena is worth journeying thousands of miles to gaze upon, 

 and the majestic icebergs as they sweep grandly by in 

 the Arctic currents, give us an impressive lesson of 

 the wonderous mysteries of Northern nature. Those 

 who accompany the steamer to the northernmost point, 

 Will be within a few hundred miles of the long sought 

 Pole, and almost as close to it as man has ever penetrated. 

 But they will not be as far away from New York as they 

 would be in San Francisco, and the clothing they would 

 wear at home in the months of spring will most times be 

 quite sufficient for comfort within the Arctic circle. Fori 

 the season of constant day in the North, the time we are 

 to visit it, is a season of warmth and balmy breezes with- 

 out malaria or mosquitoes. Frederick A. Cook, M.D. 



15 Hart Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. 



MOOSE IN NORTHERN MAINE. 



Every sportsman enjoys a description of a successful 

 hunt, especially if it contains information that will enable 

 him to go to the same locality and have the same success.: 

 Sportsmen are the subject of so much slander in respect 

 to their reputation for truth and veracity that amateurs! 

 hardly dare to let then- friends know they are going on a 

 hunt." If on their return they have been unsuccessful, 

 they are guyed, and life is made a burden. If they bring 

 home big game they are always accused of having bought 

 it or hired some one to shoot it. A truthful story of how 

 two amateurs shot moose, with only such assistance from: 1 

 the guides as any sportsman can accept with honor, may 

 be of interest. 



On Dec. 9 last the writer and another amateur, both of 

 Caribou, started out on a hunt for large game. It was: 

 moose we wanted, and it was moose we intended to get; 

 and in the face of jeers and derogatory remarks from in- 

 terested friends we started. Our destination was some' 

 point on the headwaters of the Aroostook River. Our firsts 

 day's journey took us to Oxbow Plantation, which is 

 situated on the Aroostook River, and on the border of: 

 the immense wilderness of northern Maine, forty milesi 

 from Caribou. Here we engaged Clarence Peavy and) 

 Miles Arbo as guides, they having been recommended toi 

 us by an old hunter. Just here a little advice to amateur, 

 sportsmen about guides. If you are going into a strange 

 country, place yourself unreservedly in the hands of your 

 guides. Tell them what you want and trust them. Some 

 are dishonest and will take advantage of you; but these 

 are the exceptions. A good guide has a reputation to sus- 

 tain; and if put on his honor will seldom go back on you. 

 Don't blame him for what he cannot help; be considerate,, 

 especially when disappointed, and you will get good* 

 service, and game, if it is in his power to find it. We told] 

 our guides that we wanted moose, and left them to make] 

 all arrangements, select the locality to be visited and take ' 

 us to it. They selected Smith Brook Camp, a small 

 branch of the Mooselick stream, which is a branch of the^ 

 Aroostook River. It is thirty miles from Oxbow, and we] 

 arrived at the camp the second morning from home. 



The next morning we started at daylight, taking differ-J 

 ent directions. The snow was about a foot deep and 

 traveling was tiresome. We gave out before noon andij 

 returned to camp, much to the disgust of the guides. 



We traveled about eight miles that day, and at no time] 

 were we over 3£ miles from camp. We held a consulta-] 

 tion in camp that night and decided to send the guides out I 

 to find moose signs while we rested. The guides started] 

 at daylight the next day, taking different directions.)] 

 Arbo got back about 3 o'clock. He had found two bull] 

 moose, but had frightened them, and it was no use to' I 

 chase them. Peavy got in about 5 o'clock. He had found] 

 three bull moose and had not disturbed them; they were;] 

 about five miles from camp and were feeding. He had| 

 taken a circle of about eighteen miles before he found 

 them. 



The next morning we started at daylight all together. I 

 The guides broke down the snow, and we followed. On ] 

 we tramped. We saw deer and caribou on the way. 

 The thermometer marked 10° below zero. The windJ 

 blew a gale. It was a perfect day for still-hunting.] 

 There was no crust to make a noise, and the cracking of 

 the trees by the wind drowned all noise we made. Sud- ] 

 denly, directly in front of us an enormous cow moose and 

 two calves got up from the snow, not 50yds. away. 

 "Don't shoot," cried Peavy, "you want horns, don't you?" 

 It was a trying time, to let this enormous animal, weigh-, 

 ing at least l.SOOlbs., go away unharnied, This cow was 



