-■m, i 1899,1 
J^ORESt AND STREAM. 
iSB 
On the Pickerel Hills, 
I PUT in uiy twelfth season last Ml dfeei' hunting in 
iiarthern Ontario and my fourth among the rocky ridges 
througli which the Pickerel River runs and which the old 
settlers in that part of the Parry Sound District call the 
Pickerel Hills. 
The open season for M&i' itl Ontario lasts- only fifteen 
days, from Nov. i to 15, hoth days inclusive, and as I 
wanted a longer outing, being run down' by confinement 
in my office, I arranged to go up ahead of the other 
members of my party for some ruffed grouse shooting 
:uul to board at the house of Carl Lorcnze, a German 
.sender who lives six miles from our camping grotmd and 
is our nearest neighbor. We have stored the bulk of otir 
ramping outfit with him from season to season, and his 
wns have done our teaming. 
I left home on a Grand Trunk Railway train at 9 
A. M. on Oct. 17, reached Burk's Falls at 6 P. M., put 
up at a hotel over night, boarded a steamer at 7 next 
morning for a forty-mile trip down the Magnetawan 
River and across Lakes Cecebe and Ahmic to Ahmic tlar- 
bor. There I disembarked and found Bob Lorenze, one 
of the settler's sons, waiting for me v^rith a lumber 
wagon, in which, after dinner at a hotel, we journeyed 
seventeen miles to his home, which we I'eached about 
6:30 P. M. We did the last two or three miles through 
a heavy rain and pitchj'- darkness, the horses apparently 
finding their way by instinct. Those who have traveled 
the rocky roads of Muskoka and Parry Sotmd can imagine 
what a relief it was to see the lights in the Lorenze clear- 
ing and hear "the watch dog's honest bark."' We re- 
ceived a hearty welcome from the old couple, and the 
horses having been unhitched and stabled and quarters 
found for my pointer bitch, Spot, in a cow house, we sat 
down to tea in the settler's dwelling, a comfortable log 
building, kept A'^ery tidy by Fran Lorenze. I turned in 
early, sleeping German fashion between two feather ticks, 
and 1 slept like a top. 
The wea:ther was fine next morning, and I set out with 
Spot for the birds. I found them fairly plentiful, and 
though nearly always alone throughout the day, I en- 
joyed myself greatly up to the time when the other mem- 
bers of my party arrived. Spot's good work adding to my 
enjoyment. My largest bag for one day was twelve 
birds. I reached that figure twice, and my total was 
fif tjf-,seven, ^ which Avere hung up in a cool building to 
remain until I was ready to go home. 
In the evenings _ the old man entertained me with 
feminiscences of his career in the German army. Pie 
served in the rebellion of 1848, the Austro-Prussian war 
of 1866 and the Franco-German of 1870, In the last, as 
he Avas Avith the Landsturm, he did not smell powder, but 
in "saxty-sax" he did so with a vengeance, as he fought 
at Sadowa and Konnigratz. Though a particularly intelli- 
gent old man, and though eleven years in Canada, his 
English, on account of his home in the bush being so 
isolated, was very broken, and he and I comber sed under 
difficulties, except when Bob was present to interpret for 
I—. The old lady's English Avas equally defective, but her 
housekeeping was all right. She, her husband and son 
.spared no pains to make my stay with them agreeable, and 
they succeeded. I felt thoroughly at home, and con- 
sidered myself fortunate in being their guest. On Satur- 
day, Oct. 29, the other five members of my party landed 
at Ahmic Harbor, where Charley Lorenze, the old 
couple's eldest son, who is married and lives near his 
parents, met them with a team, and they joined me late in 
the evening. They were Ed Saunders, John Pirie, George 
Gastle, Fred Wales and my son Kenneth. The two first 
named had hunted Avith me during a good many seasons. 
Kenneth had been with us twice, and Wales once. Gastle 
was a new member, but an experienced hunter. The boys 
brought with them four beagles and an old foxhoimd no 
faster than a beagle. 
On Mondajr morning we were at our old quarters, a 
deserted lumber camp about a mile from the river, but 
finding the buildings all burnt down, we pitched our 
tent. This was large enough to accommodate us. but 
we decided to go in for something more com.modious and 
comfortable, and build ourselves a permanent log camp. 
There was a salt lick at the ' old lumber camp, formed 
by the emptying of brine from salt meat into a slough, and 
there were similar licks at two other old camps, one two 
and the other four miles away, on the cadge road which 
connected the three. All were great resorts for deer 
earlier in the season, and the Lorenze brothers informed 
us were Adsited from time to time evei'y sum-mer in quest 
of deer by Italian settlers who lived ten miles away on 
the other side of the river, and who, apparently, had 
burnt down the buildings, perhaps accidentally, or just as 
likely to prcA'ent us from occupying them. The Italians 
seldom or never left the roads and camps on their summer 
hunting trips, according to the boys, and the latter ad- 
vised us to build our camp in the thick bush where the 
Dagoes Avould not be likely to see it. We soon found a 
suitable site, about half a mile from the old camn and 
close by a log road running from it to the river. There 
were plenty of spruce and hemlock trees to conceal it and 
timber- to build it, including cedar for the roof. 
The four foundation logs inclosed a space of 12 by 
14ft., and the walls completed Ave put on a roof of cedar 
troughs. Cedar logs, aA'eraging about a foot in diameter 
or nerhaps a little less, Avere split into halves, scooped out 
to form troughs, one lot laid scooped side no and another 
scooped side doAvn, the crack between each pair of the 
former being covered by one of the latter. The roof, when 
completed, was solid, durable and watertight. All chinks 
In it and in the aa'sIIs Avere filled Avith swamp moss, 
i^im.med in as tightly as possible. Three double bunks 
were put up against one wall, a dining table made of 
boards carried from the old camp, a cupboard out of pack- 
ing boxes, and our sheet iron stove w:as moved from 
the tent and put up. 
The_ result Avas a big improvement on our tent. One 
obiection to a tent in the deer hunt season is the diffi- 
cultv about hanging up wet clothes to dry, which one 
needs to do nearty cA^ery night. There Avaa plenty of 
room on our shanty walls for clothes, cooking utensils and 
anything else that we wanted to hang up. 
, Though our building operations eticr cached on the two 
first days of the hunting season, we stuck to them until 
everything was satisfactorA'', for we knew that there 
were plenty of deer, were confident of killing our allow- 
ance, and wc looked forward to having comfortable 
quarters and less camp work during future seasons. 
We began to hunt on Thursday, Nov, 3, when we let 
loose a couple of beagles, but we had no luck, getting no 
chances except at fawns, which are always exempt in our 
party. Friday morning was a repetition of Thursday, and 
in the evening I struck out alone for a still-hunt, which 
I greatly prefer to hounding. I made for a large beaver 
meadow about two miles from our camp and close to the 
cadge road, and on reaching it began to circle around it. 
The conditions were favorable. There was no snow, but 
recent rains had moistened the fallen leaves, and I was 
able to move pretty noiselessly. 
Just as the light began to fail I climbed a high ridge 
overlooking a narrow neck of shallow water and beaver 
grass Avhich opened into the main meadow some distance 
beyond. I followed the top of the ridge some distance 
toward the meadow, stopping every few yards and 
watching. My experience in still-hunting has been that I 
have got most of my best chances when standing, and that 
the great majority of the deer that I have , sighted when 
moving have showed me nothing but their flags. 
In this case, while I was standing, a huge buck ap- 
peared, walking across the neck about looyds. away. I 
aimed behind his shoulder and fired. Though I Avas 
pretty certain that I had held straight, he did not make 
the plunge that I expected if I hit him. Neither did he 
stand as he might have done if I had missed him, but he 
moved olf, straight away and not very fast. I fired a 
second shot and he stopped. I felt pretty sure that he 
would not go much further, but to make sure of him 
and spoil as little meat as possible, I fired at the back 
of his neck and he dropped without a kick, falling on his 
belly with his flag still erect. On going up to him I 
found that my first ball had struck where I aimed, my 
second had broken one of his hind legs at the gambrel 
and my third had gone into the back of his big bull 
neck, but though my rifle was a .45-90 Winchester, had 
not gone through. He Aveighed 22ilbs. dressed, and he 
had a grand head, for though his antlers had only eight 
points they we're particularly large, heavy and sym- 
metrical. I found it impossible to hang him up unaided, 
but after removing his iuAvards I raised his hindquarters 
as high as I could with the aid of a bent sapling, and as 
I intended to go back to him with help that same evening, 
I blazed my way out to the road and made for camp. It 
Avas very dark when I got there and tea was just ready, but 
after the meal Pirie, Wales, Kenneth and I went back 
with a lantern, found and managed to folloAV the blaze, 
hung up the buck and were in camp again by 10 o'clock. 
Next day, Saturday, it rained hard, and Ave all went 
still-hunting. The luck was wdth me again. I Avas stand- 
ing on the edge of a swamp, looking into it, Avhen a spike 
horn buck Avalked into view about 40yds. away, and I 
dropped him with a ball through his shoulders. 
On Monday morning we put out a couple of dogs, and 
Gastle shot a doe ahead of them. After the run Avas 
over, Saundei-s Avent for a still-hunt near Avhere I had 
shot the spike horn buck. As he Avas crossing the swamp 
he stopped for a look and saw a very large" buck about 
8oyds. aAvay, Avalking straight toward him. and settled 
him Avith one shot, the bah striking at the base of the 
neck and ranging back. This buck was, as neatly as 
possible, a mate for mine, being only a fcAV pounds 
lighter and having an eight-point head and very heavy 
antlers, but unfortunately the symmetry of the latter 
had been spoiled by the breaking off of one point, prob- 
ably in a fight. 
On Tuesday m'ornitig Ave had a hunt with a pair of 
beagles in the neighborhood of Saundens' buck, having 
arranged to wind up by carrying it out to the cadge road, 
Gastle increased our contract by killing another buck, 
weighing about i5oIbs., which was scared into his vicinity 
by the dogs as they Avere running a faAvn, Avhich Avas al- 
lowed to escape. Gastle's first shot broke the buck's back 
close behind the shoulders and paralyzed the hindquarters,: 
but another shot through the head Avas necessary to put 
the anim_al out of pain. The rem.ainder of the day was 
spent in carrjang the deer out on handbarroAvs of poles 
and ropes and hanging them up along the road ready for 
'■ollection by the Lorenze boys with their lumber wagon. 
We never bring any deer into our Pickerel River camp 
unless they are killed close to it. They are quite safe 
anyAvhere as long as the ravens keep away from them, 
and if there appears to be any danger of them, they are 
easily kep* aAvay by making small flags with pocket hand- 
kerchiefs and placing them above the deer. This has 
never failed with us, no matter how numerous the ravens 
have been, and there are aUvays plenty of them in the 
Parry Sound and Muskoka bush. 
Saunders scored again next morning, when he made 
what he called the biggest fluke on record. He was stand- 
ing at one end of the beaver meadoAV which I have 
mentioned, when a doe crossed the opposite end abottt 
.'50 to 400yds. away. She Avas not going fast, and five 
shots which Ed fired at her did not appear to hurry her. 
He had just refilled his magazine, AA^hen he saAv a buck 
following the doe's track and .going at a good speed. Ed 
fired three shots at him. holding well above and ahead 
of him, and Avas astonished to see him drop after going 
about 40 or 50yds. The ball had passed through behind 
the shoulders. This buck weighed i6olbs. dressed. 
^ Isext day Ave crossed the river for a stilLhunt around 
the edges of a burnt area covering several square miles, 
but the frost of the night had been too hard, the walking 
was noisy, and though Ave saAv no less than twenty-tAvo 
deer among us, in nearly e^-ery case we merelv saw their 
flags, and we got none of them. Kenneth fired at a doe 
Avhich was running about 150yds. away on the burnt 
rocks and Avounded her, but though she bled a good deal 
and he and I folloA\'ed her for an hour or tAvo, we never 
sighted her. 
On Thursday Wales shot a buck about the same size 
as Gastle's, and in very much the same Avay, and two 
more does were bagged by the end of the week. 
On Monday the conditions Avere not favorable, and we 
had no luck. 
Tuesday was our last day of the season, and Ave were 
three deer short of our limit of tAvo each. We crossed 
the river, bringing a brace of beagles with us. Kenneth, who 
had not killed a deer so far and was somewhat dis- 
couraged, struck luck at last. He followed the edge of the 
burnt area, and as the dogs had gone in another direction 
took to still-hunting. He climbed to the top of a high 
burnt ridge and lay down on u flat rock, from which he 
could see a long way up a gully through which a small 
creek ran, and in which the trees had escaped the fire. He 
had not been there long when he saw a large deer feeding 
about 20oyds. away in the edge of the green bush. He 
could not, on account of the distance, see whether it had, 
horns or not, but as the deer's side was toward hira and 
he had practically a dead rest, the chance was a good 
one, and he aimed just above the shoulder and fired. The 
deer staggered off and went about 50yds. before it fell, the 
boy firing six more shots as it went. Gastle and I 
heard the shooting, followed by shouting, and concluding 
that a large deer had been killed and that help was 
wanted, we made for the spot. Sure enough, Kenneth had 
a fine buck, the third largest of the hunt, weigliing iSslbs. 
dressed, and having a fine eight-point head. Kenneth's 
first shot had gone through the base of the neck, another 
through a foreleg, a little'above the knee, and a third had 
grazed the brisket. The other four had missed. 
Having hung up the buck, we separated, managing to 
meet again at 3 P. M., and carry him out. Shortly after- 
ward John Perie, who had also been in hard luck, jumped a 
fair sized buck with a six-point head and fired at him as 
he Avas runnig straight aAvay about soyds. off. The ball 
struck at the root of the deer's tail and ran some distance 
up his spine, and there was no need for a second shot. 
Saunders was within hail and helped to hang up the car- 
cass. 
Nothing more happened mitil Gastle, Kenneth and I 
met as arranged at 3 P. M., to bring out Kenneth's buck, 
Pirie and Saunders having undertaken to look after the 
other one. We took the deer down and had dragged it 
about 200yds. along the low ground by the creek, when we 
heard the dogs coming, dropped the rope and separated, 
but had not time to get far apart when a A'ery large 
doe, followed by two fawns, ran along the top of a rock 
not more than 20yds. from Kenneth, who fired twice, his 
first ball going thi'ough behind the shoulders and his 
second entering the head from the back of the neck, drop- 
ping the doe in her tracks. We had her hung up within a 
short time, and found that we had our hands full, for it 
Avas some distance to the road and still further to the 
river. However, we rigged up a handbarrow and Pirie 
and Wales coming to- our assistance after about an hour or 
so, we had the buck across the river before dark. Wales 
and Kenneth carried out the doe early next morning. 
The Lorenze boys, who had come a few days before with 
their lumber Avagon and had taken a load of our deer 
to Ahmic Harbor, turned up again in the forenoon. A 
couple of the members of our party helped tfiem to collect 
the balance of our deer, while the rest packed up our 
camping outfit, which Avas loaded on the wagon after 
dinner. We reached Lorenze clearing before dark, put 
up there for the night, left 'before daylight next morning 
for Ahmic Harbor, got there before dinner time, took the 
boat a little later, arrived at Burk's Falls in due time, 
boarded a G. T. R. train, traveled all night and reached 
home next morning. P. 
Potomac Reed Birds and Sora. 
Washington, D. C— Congress at its last session passed 
an amendment to the game laws which, among other 
things, provided that the season open in the District of 
Columbia for these birds on Aug. 20 instead of Sept. 
T. as heretofore, and that shooting should be legal only 
on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays during the open 
season. 
_ As the 20th fell on Sunday, Tuesday, the 22d, was open- 
ing day, and the Eastern Branch Marsh had its usual 
complement of hunters, some who never miss a first day 
and some who had never been before. It is almost use- 
less for a tyro to attempt to use a gunning skiff on these 
marshes at the beginning of the season. It takes a pro- 
fessional to judge the tide, to know the likelv places and 
to pole a boat through the tangle of wild 'oats cattail 
and sedge the first time. The oats stand high above the 
gunner s head m many places, and until they are broken 
down by winds and tides, by birds and boats, it is no 
joke to get the boat through. 
There Avere not many birds as yet, though for tAvo 
weeks before they could be heard passing over every 
night. The small return for the hard work and expense 
has led to some grumbling among the unthinking against 
the neAV law, as opening the season too early, but the 
complaint- is groundless, and the chances are it will not 
be changed without further trial. Heretofore the open- 
ing A-vas considered too late, as poachers were supposed 
to play havoc before the law-abiding citizen had any 
chance. This Avas not true last year, thanks to the 
precautions of Chief of Police Sylvester, the warden of 
the Game and Fish Protective Association of the District ■ 
Init if the birds do not arrive till after Aug. 20 legitimate 
sportsmen will be sure to have equal opportunity with 
the poachers, and it will not be more destructive to the 
.qame if the game is not here. 
But the responsibility for no shooting this year on 
opening day rests elsewhere than with the law, and that 
IS Avith St. Swithm. It rained on his day, July 15 Avhicli 
IS supposed to bring forty days and nights of deluge 
It has not been quite so bad as promised, but it has 
been an unusual season of showers for this localitv and 
Without the August drotfth. The consequence is the Avild . 
oats on which the birds feed is still very green and 
tney can get no good of it, and they will not come in 
any great numbers till they can. Another season with 
the oats ripened early the birds will be here all' rmht 
on the first day. There are practically no birds yet on 
the Virginia marshes, but a week's sunshine and one 
cold night will bring them in plenty. 
_ The law is all right, and the alternate days Avill be good 
lor both birds and hunters. Henky Talbott 
P&tttidgc and Woodcock. 
Smith viLLK Flats N. Y.-Partridge and woodcock 
are more numerous this year than they have been for 1 
dozen years. A man acquainted with the country can put 
up from fifty to one hundred, bir^s in a day's hunt. 
G. P, FlNNIG^VN. 
