196 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[March 7, 1896. 
ADIRONDACK DEER AND GUIDES. 
Schroon Lake, N. Y. — Editor Forest and Stream: As 
to the number of deer killed being placed at 5,000, one 
writer with a great deal of discernment suggests: "The 
truth of these statements should be weighed with due 
regard to the motives which actuate them, when legisla- 
tion is contemplated. It is obviously to the advantage of 
both hotel keepers and guides, wherever located, to sound 
the praises of their immediate section of the hunter's par- 
adise. It is their common and not reprehensible object to 
lure the tenderfoot to their locality and induce him to leave 
as much cash as possible. For this reason it is good busi- 
ness policy to convey the impression that deer are lurking 
almost within sight of the hostelry, patiently waiting to be 
killed: hence the temptation to swell the number killed in 
that particular locality." 
What is most favored by the guides is a restriction on 
hounding from Oct. 10 to Nov. 10, making jack-hunting 
illegal, and giving until Nov. 15 to dispose of all venison. 
By this arrangement, you see, all still-hunting is done 
away with, and the reason for it shows the honesty of 
the guides advocating the change. 
Hounding goes on for the full open season, the con- 
scienceless guides of a certain class using what they call 
"still hounds," or dogs that run the trail without barking. 
These guides hunt for market. Pass a law prohibiting 
sale of venison under any circumstances, and by putting 
the whole season into hounding give the honest hunters a 
chance with the dishonest or the former will soon follow 
in the steps of the latter. 
The guides almost universally oppose killing deer in the 
water and call the slayer a club hunter, a name originat- 
ing from a time when the hunters waited on bodies of 
water, and rowing up to the deer catch him by the tail 
and club him into insensibility; as one guide puts it, "If 
a man can't kill a loping deer on a runway he'd better 
shoot sheep." 
The statement that deer are decreasing in the Adiron- 
dacks, whether there were 5,000 killed last fall or no, is 
essentially erroneous; the very fact that so many were 
killed shows that they are on the increase. I have asked 
innumerable club land-owners, residents and guides, and 
they vary from simply more to 5 to 1 more deer in their 
particular locality than there were five years ago. 
The law is all right to-day, but if any changes are made 
it should be in the line of prohibiting all sale of venison, 
putting the season later, restricting it to thirty days, with 
rive days more to dispose of the venison, do away with 
jack-hunting and the period of still-hunting, which gives 
dishonest hunters a chance to run their silent hounds, 
stop killing deer in the water and you will have a law 
which can be enforced; its very simplicity will be its 
recommendation, and it will receive in its enforcement 
the hearty co-operation of every resident and guide of 
the Adirondacks. In the end all will come to see that on 
the conscience of the guide depends the fate of the 
Adirondack deer; and despite his maligners he is 
a business man; his stock in trade is Adirondack 
game; he is a hard-headed business man and 
realizes the situation as well as another, and he will 
preserve the deer at all cost. But he says that when deer 
are so plentiful that 5,000 can be killed in a fall (on paper 
at least), and that when the wolves are returning to the 
Adirondacks because of the increase of deer, and when 
feed is not any too plentiful to support what deer there 
are now, he won't worry about their being enough deer 
to start his pup after for many a year. 
In regard to the report of the number of deer killed, a 
veteran guide says: "I have known nearly as many as 
that number (5,000) killed around the bar-room stove in 
one night, besides b'ar and fisbercats without number. 
At that time I rather doubted the truth of the reports of 
the different hunters, but when these same hunters are 
answering questions asked by a game commissioner who 
has previously primed the hunters for the occasion with a 
great many rounds of f red-eye,' their awe for that great 
and mighty representative of the whole world of tender- 
foots would be so great that they would break all previous 
records." 
Whether the breaking of records would be in the line 
of telling the truth or otherwise I leave the reader to 
infer. p. s. R. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
In your issue of Feb. 15 one of your correspondents de- 
plored a possible change in the existing deer law, except- 
ing the repealing of that portion relating to hounding and 
jacking, for the reason that teachers and parents will be 
denied the opportunity of hunting deer, should the open- 
ing of the season be put off to Sept. 1. Surely this is a mat- 
ter to cause much regret, but would it not be better to 
delay the opening of the school season for two or three 
weeks also, or even forego the pleasures of the chase, 
rather than permit poor does to be shot down at the time 
they are weaning their fawns, and while their meat is 
still unfit for use, leaving their young to die the slow 
death of starvation? I mention does for the reason that a 
buck can rarely be found during the last two weeks of 
August in the Adirondack Mountains, as everyone famil- 
iar with this animal's habits and customs at this time will 
acknowledge; but the does, feeding with their fawns on 
the lowlands of the, mountains, are not a very difficult 
P re y- John E. Forbes. 
201 West Fifty-fifth street. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Your last issue contains an article from J. M. Graves, 
Potsdam, N. Y., and I am fully in accord with his ideas 
that to protect our deer and stop the decrease both hound- 
ing and jacking should be prohibited by law. But in his 
statement of "greatest good to the greatest number" as a 
reason that the open season should include, as it now does, 
part of August, that it may accommodate teachers, 
parents and others who are obliged to report at home 
Sept. 1, it seems to my mind his idea for fair play exceeds 
his judgment, or at leaBt is contrary to what should be if 
we are sincere as to protection for the deer as against our 
own pleasure and dates to gratify it. 
I believe that no deer should be killed in August in any 
manner whatsoever, because the bucks at that date, by 
reason of horn maturing, are not often seen, and the kill- 
ing in August is nearly all of does, which is of itself bad 
if we are sincere in our ideas for the increase. But there 
is yet another bad feature: all fawns born in the Adiron- 
dacks must have the nourishment of the mother the en- 
tire month of August, and the death of does then means 
death to the fawns at that time, not in every case, but in 
the majority; and those fawns that do not actually die by 
being deprived of the mother's nourishment mature in a 
stunted manner, and as yearlings can be easily known. 
Either a small, poor male or a barren doe are the results 
of the mother's death in August. 
Let our friend reconsider the harm done in August by 
lawful killing of does, and it will outweigh more than his 
argument to accommodate persons who cannot by reason 
of business give time to deer hunting at a later date. I 
go to the Adirondacks annually, and business requires it 
in May and June, but I do not want an open season just 
because I cannot go in September, for my principle is for 
deer protection and not for my own accommodation nor 
that of any man or set of men. But killing a doe in 
August is often as fatal to the fawn, as explained, as 
though my early dates of going to the woods allowed 
killing at that time before the fawns are born. 
Both results would be about the same practically, and 
the increase of deer lessened by more than the death of 
the doe at any date before September. I am not in favor 
of supervisors' laws, or special waters excepted, etc., etc., 
nor constant dickering with game laws, but both hound- 
ing and jacking should be prohibited, August entirely cut 
out, and- possibly all deer killing stopped for five years; 
but I do not advocate the last measure, as there are bad 
features to it, one of which would make it an invitation 
that would be accepted by a horde from other States to 
come at the end of the closed period to the Adirondacks, 
and great would be the slaughter and bad would be the 
effects. 
I do not believe with some that more deer are killed out 
of season than in season. While some are no doubt 
killed when season is closed, I believe the number far less, 
and there is no question that the law protects, yet would 
be better if better enforced. S. E. Stanton. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
Minnesota Protection. 
Chicago, 111., Feb. 28.— A late decision of the Minnesota 
Supreme Court, which was duly mentioned in Forest 
and Stream, has attracted much attention, as it was 
thought to open the way of Minnesota game dealers to en- 
large their traffic in the game of other States, and thus 
incidentally to endanger the game of Minnesota. Mr. S. F. 
Fullerton, executive agent of the Minnesota Board of 
Game and Fish Commissioners, has been interviewed by 
mail by Forest and Stream, and it develops that he does 
not share the general belief that the Minnesota law has 
gone to pieces. Mr. Fullerton says the game dealers made 
a great hurrah over this decision, which allowed them to 
bring in game from Dakota, in spite of the clause forbid- 
ding possession of game between certain dates in Minne- 
sota. (The decision, it will be remembered, was merely 
technical, and held the Minnesota statute to apply only to 
Minnesota game, because its title was "An Act for the 
Preservation of the Game of Minnesota.") So sure were 
the dealers that they could walk through the Minnesota 
law that they at once flooded Dakota with circulars and 
began bringing illegal game into Minnesota. 
And in spite of the Supreme Court, Warden Fullerton 
went right on seizing all such illegal game. 
That would appear to be a pretty good kind of warden 
to have in the family. 
Warden Fullerton says, "We didn't care if the game 
came from Honolulu, we have kept right on seizing it." 
He bases his action on a section of the law which states 
specifically that the possession of any game or fish out of 
season is prima facie evidence that it is the property of 
the State, to disprove which assumption it is necessary for 
the party holding such game to produce the evidence of 
the party who actually caught or'killed it, It is a poor law 
which can't squint two ways, and it is a matter of con- 
gratulation that Warden Fullerton has succeeded in 
catching a wink from the other eye of justice. Of the 
success of his plan he says, "I am glad to say it has had 
a wonderful effect." 
So we may believe that all is not yet lost in Minnesota. 
Interstate Assistance. 
Another interesting phase of protective work is brought 
up by Mr. Fullerton in his mention of the assistance 
rendered mutually by the wardens of Minnesota, Dakota 
and Wisconsin. Mr. Fullerton states emphatically the 
advantages of such co-operation. He says, "When illegal 
game is shipped out of Minnesota into any one of these 
States, the Minnesota Commission is furnished with the 
names of the shippers; we are then in a position to prose- 
cute. The same way in Wisconsin and Dakota. When 
we find out the names of shippers, we furnish them to 
the authorities, and they in turn make it warm for the 
offenders. We consider this to be a most vital q»estion, 
and we believe that if these States and a few others near 
by which have still some game left would co-operate and 
combine to regulate the laws regarding shipments of 
game from one State to another, the game law question 
would be solved for the Northwest. 
Sportsmen will Fight It. 
The Illinois State Sportsmen's Association will back the 
prosecution of the case against H. Clay Merritt, the 
Kewaunee cold storage man who won the suit against him 
last week in the Circuit Court, as reported in Forest and 
Stream. The State Association will furnish what funds 
it can to prosecute tiae afjpeal to the next higher tribunal, 
the Appellate Court, and gun clubs will be asked to aid 
liberally as they can in fighting this case, so extremely 
important to the sportsmen of Illinois and the entire 
West. The case will probably come up at the May term 
of court, the same session in which Merritt's appeal will 
be heard. This will leave time to get into the Supreme 
Court by September or October, and the whole affair 
ehould be settled before next winter, so that the sports- 
men can if defeated ask for a better law in the next legis- 
lature. 
At the Seat of War. 
At the seat of war some interesting Ithings are to be 
learned regarding the complications in this singularly 
involved case. Mention was made last week of the fact 
that State's Attorney Emory A. Graves had filed libel 
suits against Warden Blow and two Chicago dailies. This 
action dates back to last summer, when Attorney Graves 
brought the criminal prosecution against Merritt which 
resulted in the fining of the latter $805, and which had 
the further result of acting as a bar in the suit in rem, 
which failed last week. It was an absurd thing to allege 
improper motives to Attorney Graves, though the action 
could not have been better to insure his popularity at i 
home, where the city sportsmen have not been popular. 
As a matter of fact, it was the duty of the State's Attor- 
ney to prosecute Merritt, and, as he explains now, he had 
only three months within which to prosecute under 
the statutes. He therefore could not wait for 
the city sportsmen, and went ahead. In his bill 
he had over 37,000 counts, one charge for each 
bird Merritt had in possession. The document he pre- 
pared was therefore a most unique one in the history of 
criminal law. It made a mass of closely written type- 
written manuscript over 18in. thick. This was bound to- 
gether by iron rods fastened with nuts, and the whole 
made a tidy weight of over 601bs. The country jury to 
whom this was submitted knew they did not dare fine 
Merritt even the lowest amount on each count, for that 
would mean the ruin of a fellow-citizen. Thej fined him 
$5 each for the 161 birds he was proved to have sold out 
of season, and as to the rest they decided they would not 
impose any fine. Merritt appealed this case, and the rest 
as to the suit over the birds left in the freezer is now 
ancient history. It may have been possible that Warden 
Blow feared the result which came last week, and so was 
hasty in charging Mr. Graves with acts and motives en- 
tirely foreign to his mind. Mr. Graves acted clearly as 
his duty dictated, and if Merritt eventually goes clear it 
will not have been his fault. There is a rumor that Mr. 
Graves will not push these suits, having only thought 
them necessary to vindicate his character. But so the 
war goes on merrily enough. The end of it we shall 
hardly see before next fall, but when it comes down from 
the Supreme Court there is every likelihood of a victory 
for the sportsmen, as we have one or two decisions al- 
ready of record in this State which cover much the same 
point as that at issue. 
Nebraska Soortsmen. 
The Nebraska Sportsmen's Protective Association is 
engaged in organizing a mutual protective league against 
dog thieves, and is sending out cards soliciting member- 
ship at the nominal fee of twenty-five cents to cover 
printing and record expenses. The members pledge 
themselves to aid in the search for any dog reported lost, 
strayed or stolen. When a dog is lost by a member he at 
once notifies all other members by postal card, giving 
description of the dog, time of loss, etc. This plan is 
still young, but is expected to develop into a movement 
of great utility to owners of dogs. Good results are 
already obtained and the idea seems to be bound to 
spread. There are members in every county of the State. 
Mr. John H. Mooney, Arapahoe, Neb. , is secretary of the 
association and should be addressed. 
The game laws of Nebraska are inefficient and poorly 
observed, and the State has no warden. One of the pur- 
poses of the Sportsmen's Protective Association is to try 
to get a good warden and some better laws. 
And they Cry Out even In Montana. 
Even in far Montana they begin to realize that the 
game is going and that swift measures must be taken if it 
is to be retained. Mr, H. Percy Kennett, chairman of 
the State Board of Game and Fish Commissioners, at 
Helena. Mont., is in receipt of a letter from Mr. Sidney M. 
Logan, of Kalispell, Mont. , which recounts a sad state of 
affairs in the great Flathead game country, and asks help 
from the State gun clubs to put in an active game warden 
in Flathead county during the four months when most of 
the game butchery is done. Mr. Logan says compara- 
tively few elk and deer are killed until the snow has 
driven them in great bands out of the mountains into the 
lower lands in search of food. He paints a sad picture of 
what happens then : 
"During the winter," he says, "when the snow is deep 
and the feed scarce in the mountains, these animals move 
down into the valleys in the neighborhood of settlements 
and are slaughtered by the hundreds. I could tell you of 
a great many instances where one or two hunters have 
killed from 80 to 300 deer in a single winter. The fact 
is, that during the deep snows all that is necessary for a 
man to do in the neighborhood of Tobacco Plains, Still- 
water, Whitefish, Swan Lake, Liberty, Troy and North 
and South Forks of the Flathead River, is to cut down a 
few fir trees, and the deer will gather around for the pur- 
pose of eating the moss. It is no trouble, at such times, to 
kill as many deer as a person wants. It is simply a mat- 
ter or question of ammunition. 
"The ease with which deer are killed in the winter time 
encourages a great many persons to kill them for their 
hides alone. Last winter, within twenty miles of this 
place, two men killed over eighty deer with the view of 
shipping them to Eastern markets; but the officers were 
on the alert, and they found no opportunity of making 
the shipment. The consequence was that the carcasses 
were thrown into the Stillwater Eiver, and the hides sold 
for 30 or 40 cents apiece. 
"As I stated, it is impossible to secure sufficient protec- 
tion from the county authorities alone. The county is a 
large one, is in debt, the expenses are heavy, a very small 
proportion of the land in this county is taxable, and the 
result is the Commissioners do not feel justified in going 
to the expense of maintaining the office of game war- 
den. 
"If you feel that the gun club will do anything toward 
adopting this suggestion, kindly advise me at once, and I 
will bring the matter before our club, of which I am a 
member." 
In the above Mr. Logan unwittingly brings into view 
some of the principles involved in Warden Fullerton's 
opinions on interstate assistance. The idea is the same, 
though the field iB narrower. The other portions of Mon- 
tana are asked to help a good game country, which iB too 
poor to help itself. It is a question of thick and thin. 
To-day the game is thick only in regions where the popu- 
lation is thin. Where the population is thin the people 
cannot afford to take care of their game. Since the 
regions of thick population have so great and direct an 
interest in the game of the thin regions, does it after all 
seem unreasonable they should be willing to help in pre- 
serving the game which they are willing to treat as 
though it belonged to them? So far from such help being 
a generous act, it is only one of thoughtful selfishness, 
and as such it ehould appeal to the bulk of shooters, they 
being made up of average humanity. It is the right 
thing for the thick country to help the thin. Unless this 
be the case, our game is as sure to disappear as that th e 
night will come after the day. The artificial lines of State 
