Dec. 22, 1894. J 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
669 
Rulison, of Naples, N. Y. He has been in the woods of 
Michigan each season for about fifteen years. He is a 
deer hunter and a great rifle shot, and has used the .32cal. 
for nearly ten years, with satisfaction. He wants the 
meat, and the small caliber does not injure the meat as 
much as a large caliber. He and bis party shot seven deer 
this season, mostly doe and fawns. He begins his hunt- 
ing in upper Michigan, and when the season closes there 
he comes into the lower country, and gets another pull at 
the deer. This is a custom followed by many deer hunters 
in Michigan, and by most professionals who come into 
our State from other States. Mr. Lewis, of Lansing, has 
been the hunting partner of Mr. Rulison for many years. 
But death closed the hunting experience of Mr. Lewis 
last summer, and as Mr. Rulison never takes kindly to 
new things or strange people, he seems to be lost and un- 
settled about his future hunting trips. 
One point, however, he never gets rattled about, and 
that is — his rifle sights. He uses the Lyman patent ivory 
hunting front sight and the Lyman patent folding leaf 
rear sight. He likes the folding sight very much, and he 
uses the bar part of the sight altogether. The crotch part 
of the sight he has no use for. The combination Lyman 
sight is not to be placed in the same class with the folding 
sight, according to his notion. He is, like all old hunters, 
something of a crank on guns and sights and shooting; 
but as he is governed entirely in his choice by many years 
of successful hunting experience, he is justly entitled to 
his opinion. The man behind the gun is the part of the 
apparatus that he bets on regardless of guns or sights. 
One shot is about all that a deer needs to settle him when 
Mr. Rulison steers the projectile. 
One thing I noticed in his experience this year, and the 
same thing has happened for some years past, and that is, 
that the great majority of deer killed were does and 
fawns! If there is any argument needed to induce our 
Legislature to enact a law protecting does and fawns, it is 
just this fact. Every market in our city handles deer, 
quail, partridge, rabbits, and every bird or animal that 
can by any possible way be classed as game. With two 
exceptions, all deer that I have seen offered for sale this 
season have been does. Every hunter knows well what 
the slaughter of so many does will do toward wiping out 
the deer in Michigan. 
Very little of the game that is purchased here is sold in 
our home markets, but ultimately it finds its way to some 
cold storage establishment. To prohibit the sale of game, 
and strictly adhere to the non-export law, is the only 
way to prevent a speedy, almost total annihilation of 
game in Michigan. One more quite as important matter 
is shooting of duck from steam launches. Humiliating 
as the fact may be, our most excellent deputy game 
warden, Mr. J. E. Nichols, an accomplished attorney, 
has stood with folded hands and blood in his eye, and 
had continued positive evidence that hunting parties 
were following ducks, day after day, on the waters of our 
home inland lakes, with all of the tireless energy that a 
stern propeller steam launch could- bring to bear — with 
no law against it in Michigan. Julian. 
DUCKS ON BROADWATER BAY. 
Perhaps it will be of interest to readers of your valu- 
able paper who reside in this vicinity to learn where 
good duck shooting may be had for a small outlay. The 
writer's experience on one of his trips will give an idea 
of what may be expected and the necessary expense for 
such an outing. 
The Saturday before Thanksgiving Day, 1893, a party 
of four, including myself, with all the necessary "traps" 
for a few days' shooting, left Philadelphia at 11:16 P. M. 
on the Philadelphia & Norfolk R. R., for Nassawadox, 
Va. Although there was a sleeping car attached to the 
train we preferred the ' 'smoker," where we could smoke, 
"talk duck shooting" or doze as we felt inclined. Nassa- 
wadox station was reached a little after 5 on Sunday 
morning, where we found a man with a double team in 
readiness to take us over to Marionville, a distance of 
four miles. At this point we were met by "Captain 
Bill" Taylor in his little sailboat, who transferred us down 
a creek some two miles to O. F. Taylor's house, which is 
situated on the shore of Broadwater Bay. 
While on the boat Capt. Bill called out, "There is a 
flock of brant." I looked about the sky, but failed to 
locate them, and told him so. "Well," said he, "do you 
see the long, narrow cloud off there toward Hog Island?" 
"O, yes, of course," I respond. "Well, them's brant." 
We reached Mr. Taylor's hospitable roof at 7 o'clock, 
ready and willing to partake of a hearty breakfast. 
Sunday was spent quietly, turning in early in order to 
be ready for the early morning start. ' By 5 o'clock Mon- . 
day we were suddenly awakened by loud raps upon our 
door and the order, "Get ready for breakfast." Before 7 
we were in the boats and on our way to the blinds, O. F. 
Taylor taking two with him and an assistant the other 
two. 
Each man carried a gun. An assortment of shells 
ranging from No. 1 to No. 4, were put in a box and 
placed in the middle of the boat where it could be easily 
reached by all. The blinds are scattered about in the bay 
about one-third of a mile apart and are built of small fir 
trees driven into the mud. These are arranged somewhat 
like a horseshoe and the boat is propelled into it and 
thus shaded from view. 
At low tide one can wade about with hip boots on and 
Eick up the "cripples," and the gunner can stand in the 
oat without fear of being seen over the blind, but at high 
tide he must study to learn how to get himself under 
cover. Sometimes the three men (especially if they are 
long) get a good deal tangled in the bottom of the boat, 
having been obliged to occupy a space intended for but 
one. 
Wild celery grows abundantly about, affording excellent 
feeding for the fowl, and they were there in immense 
numbers. A good shot need not fear of a thin game 
bag. We had hardly placed our decoys out and pulled 
into the blind when we could see them about us. The 
word "lay low, they are coming" was often spoken, and 
many a broadbill, black duck, redhead and brant made 
the fatal mistake of settling to the decoys. 
Capt. Bill would sail about in the outer edge of the bay 
and drive the birds into the gunners even without put- 
ting them to flight. I have seen him drive a flock of 
brant for several miles without getting them to leave the 
water, by careful tacking forward and back two or three 
gunshots off. We remained with Mr. Taylor until Wed- 
nesday night, having three days' grand sport and brought 
home with us 174 ducks, 
We have taken this trip several seasons and have never 
been disappointed in getting game or in being well treated. 
The 8th of December next is our date for this year when 
we expect the usual good time. The expense from Phila- 
delphia for a four days' trip including car fare, board, 
guide and incidentals need not exceed $25. 
A. J. Mabston. 
Philadelphia, Pa. 
THE ADIRONDACK DEER. 
New York, Dec. 18.— Editor Forest and Stream: We 
agree so well on all sporting matters except the question 
of hounding in the Adirondacks, and we are so far apart 
-on that question, that I take advantage of your offer to 
open your columns for a discussion. 
I take it that what we both want is a law which will 
furnish the maximum of sport, be easy to enforce and 
insure that there shall always be as many deer in the 
woods as the country will feed. 
I have spent a month or two in the Adirondacks every 
summer for the past fourteen years and have done more 
or less deer hunting each year. I have had experience 
of the law in all its various stages and am inclined to 
think the present deer law of the State a great improve- 
ment over anything that has preceded it, and I am very 
confident that for the last three or four years the deer 
have been increasing very rapidly. This I attribute to 
the provision against transportation, which practically 
prevents hunting for market. I think, however, that the 
close season ought to last until the end of August. I 
believe that a few fawns starve and a great deal of meat 
is spoiled as a result of August hunting. From Sept. 1 
until still-hunting begins I would allow hounding, and 
after that still-hunting only, and I would not allow the 
killing of deer except by hounding or still- hunting at any 
time. 
Every hunter has known wounded deer to travel long 
distances before they dropped. I have now in my 
pocket a bullet which was flattened in breaking a deer's 
rib, then went through the heart, completely pulverizing 
the lower half of it, and lodged under the skin on the 
other side. The deer, a buck weighing less than 2001bs., 
with this and two other mortal wounds, traveled over an 
eighth of a mile before he fell, and the underbrush being 
thick and his bleeding being almost altogether internal 
he would never have been found except for the dog. 
This was in broad daylight, and it will be readily seen 
that a deer wounded at night may very easily be fatally 
injured and yet be found only by accident. 
It is not uncommon after the jacking season to find 
dead deer in the woods near a lake. I believe that 
counting such cases and counting the meat spoiled in 
warm weather, half the deer killed in August are 
wasted. In hounding, on the other hand, it is practically 
certain that a deer will either escape altogether or will 
be killed and carried home; and it is also reasonably cer- 
tain that a party of good hunters can safely go into the 
woods relying on the chase for their meat supply, which 
they cannot count on before the middle of October by 
still-hunting, nor often in September by jacking. The 
latter process means the killing of perhaps two deer for 
every one hung up. 
The greatest need of the greatest number seems to re- 
quire that deer hunting should be obtainable at a season 
when the hard-worked business or professional man can 
go into the woods, and that means that there must be 
hounding in September. 
A really "sportsmanlike" way of killing deer is hard to 
find. The fault is really with the deer. He is such a 
meek and inoffensive creature' that anybody can kill him 
if they can get near enough. I have known of deer being 
killed with clubs on land as well as in water. And I 
have seen much hunting on runways and small lakes 
where the deer had a better chance for his Jife than he 
often gets in still-hunting. There are men who ought not 
to be allowed to hunt deerjat all, and their hoggishness 
shows itself in hounding just as it does in jacking or 
trout fishing, or anywhere else; but it seems hardly fair 
that the whole community should suffer on their account. 
If hounding is prohibited those "game hogs" are the 
very men who still kill their deer with traps or salt hicks, 
and the guides of the same type will have each spring a 
large collection of hides, but the pleasure of the honest 
sportsman and the revenue of the honest guide will be 
cut off. 
In this connection I want to emphatically indorse your 
correspondent of a few weeks ago, who said that in 
Hamilton and Herkimer counties the game law was 
useful merely to lend an additional spice to hunting out 
of season. The remark is erroneous only in its limitation 
to two counties. What the Adirondacks need is a game 
police under a responsible central management with a 
backbone. That would be worth more than any number 
of amendments to the game law. Herbert M. Lloyd. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Your editorial on "The Water-Killing of Deer" in your 
issue of Dec. 15 has opened a subject which should bring 
you many instructive letters on the Adirondack deer 
question. It is also a subject which has interested me 
greatly for the past ten or twelve years, and the few facts 
that I shall give you came under my personal observation. 
I am strongly opposed to water-killing, (1) because it 
has tended to decrease the deer supply, (a) it is unsports- 
manlike and (3) because venison obtained that way is 
often almost ruined on account of the fierce beating race 
the animal has run before it plunges into the icy water 
of a lake. 
To satisfy myself whether there were more deer killed 
by hounding or jack shooting in 1887 I made a special 
study of the subject. To my surprise, more deer were 
killed in the first four days of hounding, which in the 
part of the Adirondacks 1 was in means "water-killing," 
than in the preceeding fifteen days of jack-shooting and 
still-hunting. In the first fifteen days of hounding there 
were six deer killed by that method to one by any other 
way in the first thirty days of the hunting season. 
Other years have shown about the same result, but in 
1887 I kept a careful record. 
A few years ago I was one day with my father rowing 
up one of the Fulton Chain lakes. We heard the baying 
of hounds and saw a doe come bounding into the water. 
It started to swim across the lake, when two boats put 
out after it. In one of the boats was a guide by the 
name, I think, of Jones, in the other a prominent clergy- 
man from one of our Western cities, with his daughter, 
a girl of perhaps sixteen years of age. Both boats were 
. rowed up to within a few feet of the doe; we heard the 
clergyman and his guide talking and wondered why they 
did not shoot. The poor frightened doe swam up near 
our boat, when the guide suddenly rowed up to it, took 
hold of its tail, lifted it slightly out of the water and 
jabbed a large salmon hook into it. It was allowed to 
swim off a few feet, the guide paying out the fine. Then 
he shot it and as its head sank into the water I heard 
the girl laugh. I shall never forget that laugh, which to 
me sounded as though coming from a demon. And yet 
her father, who permitted his guide to commit this 
crime against humanity and sport, considers himself a 
sportsman and, perhaps, a Christain gentleman. Yet to 
some people this is nothing, and it has been done time 
and time again in the Adirondacks. 
On another occasion I saw a doe driven into the water. 
A boat was rowed after it and it was driven to within two 
or three rods of an island. A young girl was there wait- 
ing for it. She was excited and fired no less than 25 shots. 
When it would get out of range her father, who was in 
the boat, would drive it back to the island, and the bom- 
bardment would commence again. After the girl had 
exhausted all her cartridges her father "tailed" it and did 
the butchering himself. Such scenes have so disgusted 
me that I have stopped going to the Adirondacks, although 
I am passionately fond of hunting. 
In 1880 when I made my first trip to Brown's Tract, 
deer were plentiful. Since then their numbers have 
steadily diminished. To be sure, some of the guides and 
hotel keepers greet you year after year with, "Deer were 
never as thick as tbey are to-day." If it is so they don't 
travel around now, for where it used to be no trouble at 
all to get deer by still-hunting or jacking, now it is neces- 
sary to have hounds to drive them out. In localities they 
may be increasing, for example, on the property of the 
Adirondack League Club, Adirondack Reserve and other 
large parks where hunting is restricted. 
Look at Maine; deer are increasing there. Why? 
Because hounding was stopped by law, and where hound- 
ing is stopped, so is the brutal, unsportsmanlike "water- 
killing." Some men are too lazy to hunt for the deer 
themselves. They prefer to have some^ one else do the 
work and thinking for them. They simply want to kill. 
By what means they care not. Stop hounding, and teach 
men to be sportsmen. They will then have to learn, or 
else give up shooting, and few who have had a taste of it 
will do that. Perctval Chrystie. 
High Bridge, N. J. 
Binghamton, N. Y., Dec. 14. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
I understand that there is a movement on foot to pass a 
law this winter making it illegal to use dogs at any season 
of the year in the pursuit of deer. Permit me to add my 
voice to that of many other sportsmen in favor of such a 
measure, knowing something of the methods and results 
of several parties who went into the North Woods this 
year during the hounding season. I must say, it seems to 
me more like butchery than sportsmanship. Why not 
follow the lead of St. Lawrence county in this matter? 
W. G. T. 
WANTON DESTRUCTION OF GAME. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Your Dec. 15 issue speaks of the wanton butchery of a 
number of bull elk whose flesh was left to rot on the 
ground, The perpetrators of this alleged outrage were a • 
party of Germans, camped eighteen months ago, on 
Atlantic Creek, Wyoming, south of Yellowstone Park. 
I was in that vicinity two months during the fall of 1893 
and met the members of the party in question. I have 
strong reasons for believing that the story of their whole- 
sale slaughter is erroneous, and is based only on the fairy 
tales of the shooters, themselves, and furthermore I was 
credibly informed at the time that they did not kill even 
one head of big game. 
All game is rapidly disappearing in most localities in 
our country, and seems destined to follow the bison, wild 
pigeon and salmon. So far as my observation goes only a 
small percentage of the destruction is due to men who 
shoot for pleasure, be they native or foreign sportsmen. 
The market-hunter, the man who shoots for profit, is the 
great exterminator. The future of game coi iservation in 
our country, if it has a future, will, in my opinion, depend 
upon public and private preserves, and the clearly estab- 
lished right of the landowner to all game in season, on 
his own premises, with severe penalties enacted and 
enforced against trespassing, poaching, so called. Public 
opinion does not favor such regulation at present, and the 
trend of legislation is in the opposite direction. 
Doubtless there has been, is, and will be much wanton 
destruction of game by alleged sportsmen. In America, 
game laws are seldom enforced and little regarded, and 
the compensation of wardens is not sufficient to invariably 
secure the services of competent men. On several occa- 
sions, viewing evidence of brutal wanton slaughter, I 
have been in perfect accord with the sentiments so well 
expressed by your correspondent. Some autumns ago, 
canoeing on a little known northern river, seldom traveled 
except by long-haired, painted Indians, and occasional 
explorers for ore or timber, during a long trip, I saw 
many signs of much useless killing, and in one favorable 
summer game country, I counted in four days paddling 
on the main stream and tributaries, the rotten carcasses 
of eleven moose, all cows and calves save one, none of 
them were skinned, and so far as I or my Indians could 
judge, none of the meat taken for use. In such a remote 
place no one could form an idea as to who was the 
butcher. Probably two explorers drifting silently in their 
canoe, and shooting mothers and calves in the edges of 
the stream, where they were seeking refuge from 
mosquitoes and flies. How many wounded escaped to 
die in the forest and infect the air beyond the range of 
human scent? It was not Indian work, for there was no 
sign of a permanent encampment, and food is too scare 
and too valuable for the Indian to waste, and the instinct 
of a market-hunter would scarcely permit him to kill 
game with no possibility of a market. 
Edward E. Flint. 
The Forest and Stream is put to press each week on Tues- 
day. Corres23ondence intended for publication should reach 
Us at the latest by Monday, andas much earlier as practicab le 
