March 8, 1902] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
187 
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Proprietors of shooting resorts will find it profitable to advertise 
them m Forkst and Stream. 
The Strenuous Life. 
Morgantown, W. Va.— Editor Forest and Stream: In 
no pursuit of life can disappointment be recalled, the 
recollection of which can be termed a pleasure, except 
that of a sportsman. Disappointments of sportsmen are 
anything but pleasurable for the time being; but who 
cannot recall, now that it is all past, instances of exces- 
sive toil, long tramps after dark through rough woods to 
reach camp, or perchance hugging a little smouldering 
fire all night in the woods to keep from freezing when 
camp could not be reached, and the scores of disappoint- 
ments and blank days, and take a certain pleasure in 
thinking and telling it all over, even as we do of our 
successes. The experience of any who have lived much 
of their life in the woods, and hunted the inhabitants 
therein, if written out in full, would show a surprising 
proportion of its pages dealing with that which passed 
at the time as disappointments and failures, but which 
in reality were not such, inasmuch as they furnish us food 
for pleasant reverie, long years after they are past. 
Naturally the idea comes to the uniniatiated that there 
is a certainty of getting game at some stage of the hunt, 
the reason for this natural belief being that in nearly all 
accounts of hunts, whether written or told, it is the suc- 
cessful days which are recorded at length, while the 
unsuccessful ones, which far outnumber those bringing 
success (referring to big-game hunting) are scarcely men- 
tioned. A man goes off for a two weeks' hunt (or a 
woman either, if she chooses) and perhaps hunts ten 
days, nine of which are blanks so far as concerns killing 
anything; but no mention is made of them, save passing 
over them lightly, like the preacher who announced to his 
flock that he wished to preach to them on the world, the 
flesh and the devil, and began by saying: "As I desire 
to be brief, I will dwell for a very short time on the 
world, pass lightly over the flesh and hasten on to the 
devil." The one day, the bright day of the trip, fur- 
nishes the material for the story. Thus the inexperienced 
are always having the bright side dished up to them, from 
which they must form incorrect ideas which are only 
corrected by hard personal experience. 
Trite, the rough and trying parts of camp life are often 
set forth vividly by narrators, but notice that almost in- 
variably the supreme moment at last arrives which brings 
compensation — that is, when we read it' — for how rarely 
are accounts written of hunting trips in which absolutely 
no game was secured; but how many hundreds go out 
each year for big game and come home without having 
so much as seen any? 
In the Dec. 14 issue of Forest and Stream we have 
a grateful departure from the general rule of hunting 
experiences by "H." in "My Vacation for 19.01," and by 
C. M. Stark in "New Hampshire Deer Hunting," in each 
pi which we have the refreshing novelty of reading hunt- 
ing experiences in which the writers killed nothing during 
the *etltire trip. I say refreshing, because it harmonizes 
so well with many of the trips which we may have made 
ourselves with the same result, and helps us to see some 
of the pleasures which may be.obta'ntd from such a trip, 
even if we do come home without trophies. 
Human nature is averse to exposing its failures to 
the public or even to friends; especially where the fail- 
ure has come through carelessness or inability of their 
own; and it has been my fiendish delight to spend many 
an hour shadowing such unfortunates, just for fun, to 
see how their report would correspond with the facts. 
I had been out for an hour's hunt one evening, trying 
to get some meat, and was coming home empty. Just as 
the last rays of the sun had ceased to shine on the moun- 
tain tops, I emerged from the woods at the upper end of 
my meadow, and naturally stopped just before coming 
out into the open to look over the meadow. I saw my 
near neighbor, "Old Elick," coming stealthily out on to 
a high rocky point, half a mile away, overlooking some 
meadow land, where he had built himself a little cover 
of pine'boughs, where he could hide and watch for deer. 
I settled myself to watch his performance, as he was gen- 
erally one of the unlucky sort. 
He crawled into his blind, and was scarcely out of sight 
when I saw a deer coming out of the woods about 100 
rods from him, and go directly toward him. 
It went right along without much delay, but stopping 
every few rods to look and listen. It finally got within 
about 75 yards of 'him and directly opposite him and 
stopped; being broadside to him and standing perfectly 
still, it offered an easy mark. A puff of smoke shot out 
from the blind, and after it there came to me the report of 
the gun, but the deer never moved. Directly another puff 
of smoke and the deer made a wild jump and started back 
for the timber, and I could see that one fore leg was 
broken. Old Elick jumped out of his blind and started 
after it, running and shooting. 
I always had. a horror of seeing wounded game get 
away, and would sacrifice any amount of time and labor 
to prevent it. There was an open, rocky knoll nearly a 
half mile from me, which I believed it would cross, after 
first going through a belt of green timber, and I felt 
sure that the only hope of getting it was for me to out- 
run it and get there in time to intercept it, as a deer with 
a broken leg, when it once gets beyond reach, where it 
has to be trailed, is about the hardset wounded game 
there is to capture. Between me and that point flowed 
a good sized creek, with a thick growth of willows spread 
out on either side of nearly a hundred yards in width. 
When I started, the deer had scarcely two-thirds of the 
distance to go that I had to reach the objective point, 
but I judged it would slacken its speed when once in the 
woods, if Elick didn't chase it too hard. I started on the 
race as if the prize was a hundred, and a gold medal. I 
found an open spot through the willows to approach the 
creek, dashed into the ice-cold water up to the knees, 
and raced through, but unfortunately struck a dense 
growth of willows on the other side; there was no time 
for hunting a better place, and by just throwing myself 
asrainst them, I forced my way oyer and through them., 
not being able to see a step ahead. During a freshet, or 
rather a high water from melting snows, which was the 
only source of high waters there, the water would spread 
out through these willows, and in places would wash out 
deep holes. Well, there was one such directly on my 
course, and there was such a dense growth of willows 
up to its very brink that I had not the slightest chance 
to escape it. Madly bursting my way through the tangled 
mass of willows, I plunged headlong into this hole, which, 
was about four feet deep with two feet of water in it. Of 
course there was no half-way business about it; I just 
went in all over, and the only thing left dry was my rifle, 
which I instinctively held up in one hand. 
Coming up spouting like a whale I tarried not, but 
rushed on out into and across the open meadow, and 
with a mighty effort reached the foot of the knoll just 
as the deer was passing through a little open space on 
the knoll, about 40 yards ahead. I shot toward it, hardly 
knowing where I might hit, so "tuckered out" was I. 
Seeing and hearing nothing after the shot, except some 
comanche yells from Old Elick, I made my way up as 
fast as I could, and was well rewarded by finding the deer 
lying dead where I had shot it. 
I just tumbled on the ground and lay there till Elick 
came up and dressed the deer, then we slung it between 
us on a pole and packed it to his house; but not for 
several hours afterward did I feel in normal condition 
again. Emerson Carney. 
Camp-Fire Stories from Canadian 
Woods* 
VII.— Deer Hunting on the Madawaska. 
The lumber depot is the headquarters for all operations 
upon the limit, and is, in its way, a small village. First, 
there is the farmhouse or dwelling for the agent and' 
farm foreman and his family. Second, dormitory for the 
men as they come and go to the various lumber camps. 
Third, the office and store, in the latter of which all man- 
ner of supplies connected with the business are kept in 
stock, from a box of pills to a jobber's outfit. Fourth, 
there are several large storehouses. Fifth, blacksmith's 
shop. Sixth, carpenter's shop, and lastly, vast barns and 
stables and other outbuildings of an extensive character. 
The depot farm consists generally of from five to seven 
hundred acres of cleared land, cultivated where practica- 
ble. From seventy to eighty Percheron and Clydesdale 
horses are pastured over the summer, and in the fall are 
fitted for work in the various camps, and drawing sup- 
plies. Also, about one hundred head of cattle, of which 
there are a number of milch cows, the remainder being 
"stockers" growing into beef for the winter's use. It is 
the object of the foreman to grow large quantities of 
hay and oats, and other supplies for lumbermen's use. 
The agent is a "Czar" in a way on the limits over 
which he is sent to manage. Generally, the discerning 
eyes of the proprietors select a young man of promise 
at headquarters, who, after an apprenticeship under the 
eyes of his superiors, is sent out to the depot as clerk or 
bookkeeper, and, after years of training, is advanced to 
the agency of the limit. It is the duty of the agent to 
look after the purchase and distribution of supplies, and 
generally to supervise all the work going on in the 
various camps. In the spring he must look after all the 
different drives of logs on their way to their destination. 
In fact, he is the one man responsible for the carrying 
on of all lumbering operations upon his limit until the 
logs are safely secured within the booms at the great 
mills. 
The foreman of a camp is selected for his ability to plan 
his work methodically and handle men. He must ex- 
plore and blaze out all log-roads with a view to their 
facility and distance. A camp in full operation consists 
of from sixty to one hundred men, and it requires no 
small ability and forethought to make the proper requisi- 
tion for supplies upon the depot authorities, and see 
that every man and team perform their proper share of 
duties, and that those duties are assigned and carried 
out to the best advantage. On another occasion the lum- 
ber camp will be described as well as the life and charac- 
teristics of the typical lumberman. 
The "Egan Estate" depot buildings had been reared 
out of the monarchs of the forest which stood upon the 
spot. The skillful hewers had performed their work well, 
and the walls displayed the evenness and regularity of 
master workmen. Miles from any mill where lumber 
could be manufactured, all boards had been made in the 
primitive ways of our ancestors. Four upright posts with 
cross pieces and platform on top upon which are two 
bed pieces to hold the log in its place, and upon which 
the log is rolled and fastened; then a man at each end of 
the saw, one above and the other below, supply the mo- 
tive power. With this appliance two men will saw from 
two to three hundred feet per day. 
Prior to the building of the railway, all supplies were 
brought in by sleighs during the winter season, and a 
sufficient store conserved to last until sleighing again. 
In summer the depot is deserted, with the exception of 
the farm hands, but during the winter season the arrival 
of teams with supplies from without, the departure of 
others distributing them to the various camps, the in- 
coming of the men and their dispersion to the different 
shanties, form a lively scene among these eternal soli- 
tudes. 
The depot is situated in the township of Murchison, 
upon the upper Madawaska, and is owned by Mr. John 
R. Booth, the lumber king of Ottawa. Mr. Booth is a 
self-made man, and worked in some of the mills at Ot- 
tawa as millwright. Many lumber millionaires have risen 
from the ranks of the ordinary workingman. Quite a few 
have walked into camps with their ax on their shoulders 
and left millions to their families. 
From the depot the valley of the Madawaska, circling 
in majestic sweep to the south and east and expanding 
into the waters of Bark Lake, some twenty miles away, 
affords a fine panorama of mountain and vale. To the 
north lie the hills of Victoria Lake, while a little to the 
northwest giant hills rear their smoky heads miles away 
in the direction of the Great Opeongo. The plateau upon 
which the depot is situated, rising by a gentle slope for 
_som# two or thrge miles from the river bed, and about 
fifteen hundred feet above the same, forms a vast amphi- 
theatre in which one would imagine giants of old were 
wont to meet in grand conclave. 
This limit was originally taken up by Mr. Egan, a 
wealthy lumberman of Aylmer, near Ottawa, in the early 
fifties, and a large part of the buildings were erected by 
him. Considerable clearings (now grown up to bush) 
were made, with a view of growing supplies for the lum- 
ber camp. In those days everything had to be brought 
by team from Ottawa, a distance of nearly one hundred 
and fifty miles. Some idea of the difficulties and expense 
of transportation may be had from the prices of supplies 
in those days. Hay was $60 per ton; oats, $2 per bushel; 
flour, $30, and pork, $50 per barrel. 
An attempt was made to grow wheat; a small flour 
mill was built a few miles west of the depot, the ruins 
of which at this time, along with some broken machinery, 
might have been seen. Considerable flour was made here, 
and Mr. Egan, who was very enterprising, with a view 
of advertising the capabilities of this north land, sent 
several barrels of the same to the Inter-Colonial Exhibi- 
tion held in London in 1862. But this whole region was 
never intended by nature for an agricultural country, and 
never can be made so by the hand of man. 
E, B. Fraleck 
Some Iowa Facts and Notions* 
Marshalltown, Feb. 27.— -If the recent crusted snow 
and cold weather does not destroy too many, Iowa's „ 
quail shooting for the next season* will break the record 
for excellence. When the season closed, Jan. 1, there 
were coveys that had never been disturbed by hunters, and 
the seed left over was sufficient to stock the next year's 
coveys bountifully. This, together with the strenuous 
effort now making to perfect or improve the game laws, 
give hope that the game supply in Iowa may be kept up. 
The arrest and subsequent fining to the full extent of a 
Cedar Falls poacher is matter for congratulation to every 
sportsman and advocate of game protection in Iowa In 
this case, which was tried last week before a Black Hawk 
county justice, the delinquent had been caught in flagrante 
delictu. He had been seen in the act of killing, and was 
in possession of six quail, prima facie evidence of guilt. 
His attorney set up a plea for special privilege, claiming 
the violator of the law to be a taxidermist, and that the 
six quail were killed for scientific purposes. He failed to 
make good before the very sensible court, however, and 
his client was mulcted $131 in costs and penalties. The 
case will be appealed. 
If by mistake there is law in Iowa to allow for any 
purposes the killing of protected birds during the close 
season, such law is bad and should be repealed. Pro- 
fessional taxidermists are taxidermists because there is 
money. in it, and the zone of demarcation between the 
professional taxidermist and the market-shooter grows 
narrow when each sees cash in perspective over the gun 
barrel. Whether the birds are to be killed for the scien- 
tific purpose of being stuck up out of all proportion m a 
dusty glass case, or that other scientific purpose of adorn- 
ing an Easter hat, comes to the same thing. Both work 
havoc among the birds. And when a quasi taxidermist 
who has shot game birds in January, when the previous 
two months are an open season with the- birds in full 
plumage and splendid condition, puts up a plea of special 
privilege, it is most refreshing to find a justice who calmly 
metes out the fines and trimmings provided ior Such dere- 
lictions. . . 
Speaking of special privileges, some fellow up in 
northwestern Iowa is asking permisison to trap quail. He 
wants to capture a dozen and rear in captivity multitudes 
of their progeny. It is to be hoped that all requests of 
this nature may be firmly and decidedly sat upon. A law 
permitting the trapping of game birds would be a cala- 
mity. Traps designed for the capture of quail for pur- 
poses of domestication would multiply and quail _ grow 
correspondingly scarce in the covers, and plenty in the 
meat markets and country kitchens. There is but one 
method of protecting game, and that is to make the game 
laws water tight against privileges that are susceptible of 
abuse. Stop the capture of game birds in every way but 
by shooting. Absolutely prohibit their sale in or out the 
close season. Hire and pay the warden under bond to 
prosecute all violations of such provisions, and game 
birds will increase in Iowa against the gun. 
The trouble is at present as much with the warden as 
with the poacher. While many of them are capable, 
honest and perhaps commendably efficient, most of them 
are notablv deaf to the shooting going on by their neigh- 
bors through August. In fact, many of the wardens 
themselves rest under the imputation of being rank 
poachers— and deserve it. If a stranger with a dog shows 
up in town a day or two previous to the opening, this 
sort of warden becomes active and vigilant to a degree. 
I once had one follow me thirty miles from Burt to 
Dolliver on the 29th of August, in hope of a $xo fee. 
paying his railroad fare and beine: sadly disappointed and 
out of pocket in the outcome. This fellow at home had 
the reputation of a poacher, and it was said by the owner 
of thV farm he lived on that he cleaned out every covey 
in reach by August 15. It is hard to get a reputable and 
efficient man to take the position under the present sys- 
tem. If wardens were made State officers under salaries 
from August 1 to Jan. 1, and obliged to give sufficient 
bond to investigate and prosecute violators, a better class 
of wardens might be obtainable and better results secured. 
The office of State warden should not be a reward for 
political services, and the salary thus indirectly made to 
swell the campaign fund of any partisan political organ- 
ization. 
The idea of a $1 gun license, while it will be favored 
by city sportsmen, will meet with determined opposition 
in the country. The farmer with a half dozen boys who 
hunt on rainy days and at other times when a day off 
from farm duties may be secured will not take kindly to 
a law requiring payment for the privilege of hunting on 
his own or neighbors' premises. The license fee of $1 
will multiply in his case to a $5 bill, and the average 
farmer does not part with these in any reckless and un- 
thinking manner. Then it would have no effect in cut- 
ting down the undesirable class of shooters. The ability 
to pay a license fee, whether it is_ $1 or $100, does not 
constitute a sportsman,, |n fact, it sometimes acts the 
opposite way. _ _ 
