96 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Fee. 1, 1896. 
AN ADIRONDACK TRAPPER. 
Mr. George L. Brown, of the Elizabethtown Post, 
sends us the following interesting account of the life of 
Elijah Simonds, one of the last of the line of historic 
pioneers and trappers of the Adirondacks: 
The Adirondack region is characterized by the numer- 
ous labyrinths of lakes and ponds that are scattered over 
it in every direction, divided from each other by moun- 
tainous ridges clothed to their summits (in many instances) 
with giant pine trees and the many varieties of hard 
woods peculiar to this latitude, originally not only giving 
beauty to the landscape, but affording food and shelter 
for every kind of Northern game. On the hillsides and 
extensive flat meadows that edge these lakes and ponds 
or form the margin of many of the numerous noble rivers 
in the hollows and ravines, the monster moose was found 
three-quarters of a century ago, his choice of quarters 
being regulated by the change of seasons. At that time 
the panther, the accepted monarch of the American 
wilderness, frequently intruded upon the homestead of 
the Adirondack settler. The howl of the wolf was then 
as common as the bark of the fox is to-day. Deer and 
bears were plenty. Otter "fished the streams" and beavers 
built their wonderful dams, thereby creating some of the 
best farming land that is tilled hereabouts to-day. 
Thinking that perhaps a narrative of some of the 
achievements of one who hunted and trapped when the 
''good old days were in full bloom" might prove interest- 
ing, we have decided to chronicle some of the events in 
the b*fe of a man who is the essence of modesty, but who 
is nevertheless as distinguished in his line as Napoleon 
Boneparte was in his. The subject of our article is none 
other than our venerable and well-known townsman, 
Elijah Simonds. He was born on Simonds Hill in this 
town Feb. 10, 1821. His father, Erastus Simonds, was one 
of the early settlers of Elizabethtown, his trade being that 
of a carpenter and joiner. The elder Simonds was fond of 
fishing, liked to "still-hunt deer," and occasionally caught 
a bear, but was not given to spending much time in the 
woods. However, the father of the subject of our sketch 
had three brothers who were passionately fond of hunting, 
fishing and trapping. Hence the instinct that led Elijah 
Simonds as a boy of 6 years to go down to the water, set 
a "wood trap" of that day and catch a mink. The same 
instinct led him to try for a fox, and when only 8 
years of age he was rewarded by catching his first "yel- 
low skin." When 10 years old his neighbor, Willis Gates, 
lost a horse. There were wolves on Simonds Hill, and 
young Elijah discovered signs in the vicinity of the dead 
horse. Again he tried his hand, catching a wolf the first 
night. When 11 years old he caught his first bear, 
an exploit over which many full-grown men would hasten 
to brag. He continued to trap around Elizabethtown 
until he was 17 years old, and then went West, going 
by canal from Whitehall to Buffalo. He went from 
Buffalo by way of the Great Lakes to Spring Harbor, 
Mich. There he worked as a carpenter and also made 
traps. Again his inclination led him to try his hand at 
trapping, even in a country which was, comparatively 
speaking, unknown to him. His operations were carried 
on at the head of the Kalamazoo River, there being no 
inhabitants in that section at the time except Indians, 
and he met with fair success, capturing several otter, 
mink, etc, After a while he started back East, and on 
his way home was commissioned captain of a lumber 
raft. 
Shortly after his return home from Michigan he caught 
his first and only silver gray fox. About 1840 the late 
Congressman Orlando Kellogg, of this village, sent word 
to Elijah that a black fox had been seen in the Bouquet 
Valhy and advised him to give chase. Accordingly 
Elijah got up early one clear, cold autumn morning and 
started out after the black fox. He had gone only a few 
rods when he heard footsteps behind him. It was then 
about 4 o'clock in the morning. He stopped and found 
that it was his brother William, afterward owner and pro- 
prietor of the Mansion House, who was following him. 
They came down into "the valley" together. Separating 
near where Robert Wood now resides, William went on 
the river side of the road and Elijah went up on the hill. 
Just as the first gray dawn appeared he discovered what 
looked like two foxes digging at the base of an old stump. 
He made a noise, imitating the "equeak" of a mouse. 
Immediately one of the foxes and, strange as it may seem, 
it proved to be the very black fox he was after, came up 
within a few feet of him. He discharged his pistol, kill- 
ing the fox instantly. The other fox, a large red one, 
hearing the noise and not knowing just where it 
'originated, ran up to where the black fox lay dead. 
Elijah took advantage of the situation, loaded his pistol, 
putting down a ball without any patch, and shot the fox 
dead within 6ft. of the first one. 
About this time he decided to go to Salmon River and 
trap otter. He went there and caught eight of the "sleek 
fellows." 
He next went to Long Lake, being accompanied by his 
brother William. There was at that time no road into 
that section. 
He visited Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake for the first 
time in 1842, being accompanied by his brother William 
and our venerable neighbor and friend, A. McD. Finney, 
who will be 80 years old the 20th day of next month. 
They went fishing and were rewarded by catching a bar- 
rel of trout, four of which weighed lOOlbs. 
Elijah's father died in 1842 and the next year he again 
decided to go away from home to trap. He wended his 
way to Blue Mountain Lake, the forests around which 
were then in their thrifty prime, not having been dis- 
turbed by the hand of the white man. Moose were then 
plenty in that region, and he often heard them tramping 
on the ridges above where he was attending to otter traps, 
etc. He also went to Little Tupper Lake, where he 
caught several otter. 
He caught his first panther near Ampersand Pond in 
1850. The second panther that fell a victim to his prowess 
was caught near Moose Pond, between North Elba and 
Preston Ponds. The last-named panther had "kits," one 
of which, a spotted little fellow, was sent to that greatest 
of modern naturalists, the late Spencer F. Baird, and the 
specimen is, if we are rightly informed, still on exhibition 
in the Smithsonian Institution at Washington. 
Elijah visited Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa 
in 1853, but shortly returned East and went to trapping in 
the Boreas region. 
It was at this period of his career that Elijah shot and 
killed six deer without moving from his tracks, a feat sel- 
dom if ever performed before or since. He hunted for 
the New York market several years. He once took 102 
deer (saddles) to New York at one time, all having been 
killed by him. 
He visited Michigan again in 1860. This time he trapped 
in Michigan waters for beaver, catching twenty-six. He 
visited Michigan a few years since, but found that the ad- 
vance of civilization had been so rapid that wild game 
bad disappeared almost entirely from the regions which 
had been his favorite trapping grounds nearly half a cen- 
tury before and therefore he came back East and decided 
to spend the evening of his life under the shadow of 
Mount Raven in Elizabethtown. 
Elijah, now on the eve of celebrating his 75th birth- 
day, is remarkably active for a man of his years, espe- 
cially when we stop to consider the hardship and privation 
to which he has been subjected during his long hunting 
and trapping career. On Tuesday of this week he walked 
from his residence on the east side of Mount Raven to the 
office of the Post, a distance of four miles, and did not 
seem a bit the worse for wear. As of old he was neatly 
dressed, his white starched shirt and collar being notice- 
able, as few of the old time hunters don such habiliments 
even upon extraordinary occasions. His clean shaven 
face, high forehead and iron gray hair surmount a form 
which is slightly bent with advancing age, but the eye is 
still as bright and the propensity for enjoying a good joke 
is just as prominent as ever. 
Venerable and much respected friend, the last survivor 
of a family who loved the woods dearly, the record of 
your life is the reflection of forms and conditions which 
nave ceased, in great measure, to exist! It mirrors the 
image of an irrevocable past. Last Tuesday we felt the 
friendly pressure of that right hand and looked into those 
venerable but bright eyes, and decided that the man who 
had killed 3,000 deer, 3,000 foxes, 150 bears, 7 panthers 
and 12 wolves, and who had without any reasonable doubt 
whatever caught more mink and marten than any other 
man living, deserved to have some of his achievements 
chronicled. It was nothing for you in your palmy days 
to kill three bears in a day, to catch two foxes in one trap 
between sunset and sunrise, or to kill four partridges at a 
single shot, and yet you are the only man living who is 
known to have performed the last named feat. 
MAINE GAME CONDITIONS. 
Boston, Jan. 24. — Reports from the Maine big game 
are unusually good for the time of the year. At present 
there is very little snow in northern Maine, nor has there 
been Bince the close season begun. This is a condition 
particularly favorable for moose, deer and caribou. Not 
only does it allow these animals to move around freely 
and get at the best feeding grounds, but it also absolutely 
precludes crust hunting. I have heard from several of 
the best guides, and they express satisfaction that the 
chances are so good for the big game. Edgar Smith, of 
Round Mountain Lake fame, has been in Boston on a 
visit, and he says that it has so far been a particularly 
favorable close season for the big game, as well as the 
partridges. His idea is if the winter continues open the 
partridges will winter admirably. These birds are lost 
in great numbers when the snow is deep, especially 
from being "crusted under." Mr. Smith thinks that 
there are a great many more birds now in the woods for 
breeding stock than a year ago. 
Another feature of much interest to the lovers of the 
gun is the fact that there is so little venison coming to 
Boston this winter. From the trade in the markets there 
goes up a wail of venison very scarce. Not only are the 
Maine deer not coming, but the usual "rafts" of Min- 
nesota deer are not coming here this year. There is also 
a complaint that they are not to be had even in Chicago. 
A prominent marketman told me the other day that his 
partner was in Chicago with a view of buying venison 
to bring to this market, but that the scarcity was so great 
that the prices were beyond what this market would bear. 
But occasionally there is a sight in the Boston markets 
that makes the hunter's blood boil with indignation. 
The head and skin of the neck of a big bull moose was 
carried from a Faneuil Hall Market stall yesterday, to 
be put into cold btorage till it could be sold. The skin 
was fresh and could not have been taken off many days. 
It had come by some underground railroad out of Maine; 
for there are no moose in any other near State. 
Fish and Game Commissioner Henry O, Stanley, of 
Maine, was in Boston yesterday. Right here it may be 
stated that he has been reappointed for three more years 
by the Governor of that State, in spite of a rather vigor- 
ous fight made by one or two other men who desired the 
office. Butt the endorsement by prominent sportsmen 
was too great, and the work he is doing too import- 
ant, for him to be set aside at this time. A num- 
ber of good letters were written to the Governor of Maine 
in his favor, by prominent Boston spcrtsmen. I know of 
three Boston merchants, interested in fishing and shoot- 
ing in Maine, and owning camps and cottages there, who 
have worked earnestly for Mr. Stanley's reappointment. 
Commissioner Oaks, who is also Commissioner of For- 
estry, has been reappointed. 
Commissioner Stanley, who is a fox hunter, as well as 
a lover of the rod and line, says that he has been into the 
woods on several occasions and that he is perfectly sur- 
prised at the number of partridges that are wintering 
over; there being almost no snow whatever to trouble 
them. He also has a good many reports from his war- 
dens and men in other sections of the state, all indicating 
a great number of ruffed grouse that are sure to winter 
provided deep and dangerous snows do not come later in 
the season. The deer also are wintering in great num- 
bers. Mr. Stanley calculates that the deer are now far 
more numerous than they were a year ago. They have 
not yarded at all, but are ranging around just as freely 
as in the early winter. This he regards in a very favor- 
able light for hunting prospects next season. Concern- 
ing the moose he is not quite as hopeful, though he says 
that he has reports of a good many moose still alive, 
since the hunting season closed; largely cows, however. 
He says that caribou have not been as numerous at any 
time the past season as moose. 
The Maine Fish and Game Commissioners have care- 
fully prepared estimates which show that fully 4,000 deer 
have been killed in that State the past season by hunters, 
with over 200 moose, and not quite 200 caribou. 
What a sporting record! All this has also been without 
perceptible injury to the breeding stock. It is safe to con- 
clude that their estimate is not too high, for there have 
been transported over the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad I 
alone, according to express Company's returns, over 1500 
deer, 112 moose and 130 caribou. The commissioners 
and the railroad officials are daily in receipt of letters 
asking for information concerning the hunting and fish- 1 
ing in Maine. These letters are some of them from the 
South, some from the West, and some even from the 
countries Of Europe, each indicating a desire to hunt big 
game in Maine. What the next season in that State will 
show remains to be seen. Thousands of hunters have 
been into that State the past season, thejnumber promising 
to be greater next. Special. ' 
NEW ENGLANDERS DOWN SOUTH. 
Boston. — Mr. Fred Rollins will leave for a two months' 
stay in Florida and will devote the time to the pleasures 
of rod and gun. J. K. Souther and S. A. Carleton are 
preparing to go to Altamonte Springs, Fla. Mr. Souther 
has been there for several years in succession, and de- 
lights in the excellent black bass fishing to be found. 
He gets a great many of them running to large size and 
fishes day after day, apparently never tiring of the 
sport. 
Quail shooting in Georgia is the plan outlined by Mr. 
G. L. Bailey, and he will soon leave for a month's vaca- 
tion in that State. 
A party consisting of A. M. Tucker, John F. Hutchin- 
son and Alfred Pierce, of Lexington; N. L. Chaffin, of 
Arlington ;M. E. Tucker, of Lynn; Capt. Harrison Aldrich, 
of Somerville, and probably two or three others whose 
names are unknown to me, will leave soon for a week's 
trip to Salisbury, N. C. This is the tenth consecutive 
year that the party have made this trip, and as they have 
always had good shooting in the past their expectations 
for the coming event are running pretty high. Last year 
they had very cold weather during their stay in the South, 
but are hoping for better weather conditions this time. 
A comfortable hotel at Salisbury is their stopping place, 
and the plan is to drive off a few miles in the surround- 
ing country for the shooting. 
H, B. Stowell, of Boston, accompanied by a friend, will 
leave in a few days for California. They expect to be 
gone most of the winter and will visit principally the 
Southern Coast, going also to the island of Santa Cat- 
alina. Fishing and shooting will be the features of the 
trip, and they are looking for royal entertainment in that 
line. 
Chas. Schworer, of Boston, and W. B. Farmer, of 
Arlington, returned about Jan. 1 from a two days' hunt 
in the vicinity of Ashby, where they killed eighteen 
birds. They found them very plenty indeed. William 
Leverett, of Dedham, has also had good luck with the 
birds in that region, coming back with an excellent score 
after a short hunt not very far from his home. 
Hackle. 
HUNTING THE WILDCAT IN SOUTH- ! 
ERN CALIFORNIA. 
We admit that the highest enjoyment the field can | 
afford is reached in hunting the red fox of New England. 1 
There are no red foxes in Southern California, hence there l 
is one defect and only one to make this paradise imper- 
fect. If I had my Connecticut hounds as good as they 
were when I bade them a sad farewell eight years ago, 
I would feed them on porterhouse steak every day and I 
let them sleep in the drawing room at night. How home- 
sick I have been for the fox-hunting of other days and 
yet there was first-class sport at my very door, of which I 
have been as unconscious as I was of the gold of Lead- 
ville when I walked over its present site twenty-three 
years ago. Eight years is a long, long time to be deprived 
of the music, to have only in "memory bright" those per- 
fect November mornings when Sport and Rex had rey- 
nard well warmed up by sunrise and 10 o'clock found 
him trying in vain to discover some material, stone wall, 
rail fence or traveled road, on which he could lightly 
tread and not leave the tell-tale scent. 
But the longest night is ended by the dawn and those 
who have examined into the matter say "that it is a long 
lane which has no turn." 
At last one beautiful morning in March who should 
ride into the yard but that litterateur, linguist and prince 
of good fellows Mr. Arturo Bandini, with his celebrated 
pack of foxhounds. 
One melodious blast of his bugle and I had nearly up- 
set the breakfast table, and as the dogs responded with 
their eager bay all the hunting blood of thirty years' 
standing began coursing through my veins like a mill- 
race. Quick work to saddle, a short gallop and we were 
in the cafion of the Arroyo Seco. It was the morning of 
a perfect day. Can I describe the beginning of such a 
day in Southern California? No more can I "paint the 
lily." Not only the sky, the air, the trees, the grass and 
flowers were full of harmony and color, but the very 
ground was in just that perfect condition to make the 
scent lie fresh and warm. 
Pilot headed the pack, a black and tan with a fund of 
information in his line as complete and up to date as the 
standard dictionary in two volumes. There is not a wild- 
cat or coyote in Los Angeles county who admires the sound 
of his mighty voice. Besides when the cat (Lynx macit- 
lata) takes refuge in a live oak, with great limbs low on 
the trunk, he has a habit of climbing the tree very an- 
noying to its occupant. We had gone slowly down the 
bed of the cafion perhaps a mile, when high up on the 
hillside a clear, prolonged, pure note rang out, That is 
Pilot. Yes, now look well to your saddle cinch, th9 cur- 
tain is about to rise for the opening scene. Yes, there 
sounds Chump and Ranger and Turk and Trilby and the 
rest. "Look!" shouted Mr. Bandini, "there he is, a great 
big red cat," and I saw him for an instant as he crawled 
across the face of an almost perpendicular ledge of rock 
and disappeared in the tall bushes. 
Away go the dogs in a sweet confusion of sound echo- 
ing up and down the cafion and ringing out in the morn- 
ing air like a chime of bells. You forget brush, holes 
and steep banks, and rushing your horse into some con- 
venient cattle trail away you go. 
Soon we come to a hilltop, and from this vantage 
ground we sat in our saddles maybe half an hour while 
the battle raged below us. Round and round they go, at 
each turn adding some new and rare notes to their choir. 
Ranger with his basso prof undo, Trilby the prima donna 
soprano assoluto, and Turk the tenor. 
We are on the hills of the San Rafael Ranch direotly 
