28 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Jan. 10, 1903. 
mountains all summer and driven into yards in the 
winter season. Fifteen of the buffaloes we sold to 
various zoological parks. A herd of twenty-five, how- 
ever, that we sent to Van Cortlandt Park all died of a 
disease, something akin to tuberculosis, I am told, 
caused by drinking stagnant water. 
"As a whole, the buffaloes are a well behaved lot, 
but occasionally a bull will get terribly vicious, and is 
consequently shot. An instance of this kind occurred 
not so long ago, when two of our men and a team of 
horses in their care narrowly escaped serious injury, 
if not death, by being tackled by one of these infuriated 
bulls. The men were engaged at the time in stocking 
one of the lakes with trout when they were charged by 
a mad buffalo and compelled to spring out into the 
water and swim for it to save their lives. The excited 
animal, thus baffled, turned on the horses standing 
nearby and would surely have killed them had they 
not succeeded in breaking their hitching Strap artd 
bolting wildly away. 1 arrived on the scene just at this 
moment and was chased by the old fellow for fully a 
half mile through the woods, it being a game of hide 
and seek about the stumps and trees that I did not at all 
relish at the time. Finally we lassoed him, however, 
and he was finally shipped out West. 
"Another exciting episode not so long ago was a 
terrific fight between one of the old bull buffaloes and 
a great bull elk whose temper had evidently gotten 
soured. The animals lunged away at one another in 
the most vicious manner for quite awhile, the struggle 
ending in the elk being badly licked and scampering 
away for dear life. 
"The biggest bull in the lot and the king of the herd 
is called Grover Cleveland. A season ago he killed 
his mate in a desperate battle and was then Set upon in 
turn by an ugly Galloway bull. Cleveland, weakened 
by his hard tussle with his mate, was rather easily 
routed by the Galloway and put to flight. After rest- 
ing in the woods out of sight for a couple of days, 
however, he sought out the Galloway and would surely 
have killed him had not the keepers interfered. 
"A herd of about fifty polled Angus cattle was the 
result of the importation of one bull and twelve cOWs 
from Aberdeen, Scotland, secured from the late Duke 
of Marlborough about eight years ago. It was ift- 
tended to cross these animals with the buffalo, but iib 
practical result was achieved. The bull buffaloes all 
took a fancy to the domestic cows, who were unable 
to bear their calves owing to their large size, and all 
the mothers and cah^s died in this way. We then 
gave up the experiment and sold all of our Scotch 
cattle. I understand that 'Buffalo Jones,' as he is 
known out West, has successfully raised quite a large 
herd of crossed stock, and that the bide of these ani- 
mals is highly prized for its fineness of texture. Our 
buffalo herd has for the last few years been increasing 
steadily at the rate of about twenty-five annually, and 
each year we are compelled to build new yards in or- 
der to accommodate their increasing numbers. 
"The moose on the estate have increased but slowly 
on account, it is thought, of the terribly severe winters. 
In the beginning twenty were turned loose in the pre- 
serve, and it is now estimated by the keepers that 
there are about seventy-live of these animals at large. 
They live high up on the mountain sides, and are sel- 
dom seen, Senator Proctor having succeeded in killing- 
the only one shot on the place. 
"Starting with only one hundred and thirty elk at 
first, they increased rapidly until in 1897 it \yas esti- 
mated that they had increased to a thousand ifi num- 
ber. The severity of the winter of that year, however, 
killed off about nine-tenths of them by starvation, only 
about one hundred surviving. 1 he snow was piled up 
everywhere several feet in depth and the elk, unable to 
reach the grass and shrubs beneath it, ate all the bark 
off the saplings as far us as they could reach, as well 
as the tender twigs and branches. They perished of 
hunger before anyone about the place was aware of it, 
and they were later on found dead almost everywhere, 
as many as twenty or thirty bodies being found in one 
spot. 
"In order to obviate such a happening again, how- 
ever — a calamity which was due also to the fact that 
there were too many animals on the preserve — men go 
about the woods every winter, and here and there chop 
down numbers of trees so that the elk will be enabled 
more easily to get at the tender twigs and bark and 
not be dependent on what thej' could otherwise get. 
"During that winter about threee hundred deer died 
from the cold and starvation, the number not being 
greater because these animals are native to the climate. 
Of the elk raised on the place about fifty have been 
sold to zoological gardens, and there are now esti- 
mated to be about three hundred at large. 
The deer have increased wonderfully, and starting 
with one hundred it is now estimated that their num- 
ber has increased to about two thousand. In fact, they 
are increasing so fast that action will have to be taken 
this season and the keepers told to shoot a good por- 
tion of them off for market. As many have been 
given to the State of New Hamp.'^hire as it cares to 
take, and about two hundred and fifty of them have 
been sold. About sixty bucks were shot by the club 
members last season, and the same number of does 
were sold to zoos, the total of one hundred and 
twenty not equaling the natural increase for that year. 
They are nearly all of the whitetail variety, with but 
few blacktails among them. 
"Thirty antelope were brought to" the park and a 
small herd of reindeer, but all died, the former by rea- 
son of severe and changing climate, and the latter be- 
cause of the lack of suitable food, there being in the 
forest but little moss, which is an essential article of 
their diet. 
"In i88g fifteen wild boar imported from the Black 
Forest in Germany were turned loose in the preserve. 
These animals have bred well and it is no\v estimated 
that there are about five hundred of these fierce ani- 
mals on the range. 
"Hunting the wild boar is generally consid(;red the 
most exciting sport the Blue Mountain forest affords. 
They are at all times difficult to get sight qf, ^rid are 
iff to th«ir haunts ^qcI (len.s at the slightest unusual 
noise or sight of dogs and men. They are surprisit\t.l-y 
neet of foot, and if given a fair start ill all Opeil field 
can maintain a pace almost equal to thfe fastest horse 
or hound for from fifteen to twenty minutes. When 
brought to bay they are savage and dangerous to en- 
counter, as they ehafge directly at a hofsej often cutting 
its shanks to the bone with their keen tusks, arid if 
the turn is not quickly nlade, the result may be dis- 
astrous, not only to the horse, but to the rider as well. 
The season for hunting the wild boar begirts itl Sep- 
tember and ends in December, if the inlfentidtl i.S 16. eat 
the animal when slain, as the flesh Is mt gOdd .ftir focid 
after that time. Before the club was. started the boars 
were hunted with dbfs, thg men following on horse- 
back-. Half a dozen Austfiah boarhounds were killed 
htnlting them ill this way; but now dogs are no longer 
used ill the chase, only still-hunting being permitted, 
"As an instance of their ferocity a young male boar 
was placed in a small inclosure, and a young Great 
Dane was let in to practice on it. The boar was fast 
killing the dog, when the keeper entering, fired at the 
boar, but missed his aim and killed the dog. The en- 
raged animal then rushed at the keeper, who fired six 
bullets into him before he lay hors de combat. They 
are left to care for themselves the year around, except 
that in the winter time corn is distributed from time to 
time from bins scattered over the mountainsides. 
"As a matter of fact, the country is entirely too 
rough to hunt them with horses and dogs, and the still- 
hunting indulged in now is much preferred to the other 
method. These animals are certainly about the tough- 
est and gamest creatures one would care to deal with. 
As an example of this, 1 shol dile last sunlmer, break- 
ing his foreleg-s. aild although sO badly wounded, I 
tracked him far three milfes by the great streak di blodd 
he left behind him before corning up Wfth hirn. Al- 
though he had lost almost every drdp df blodd frdni 
his body, he still had the strength and courage to 
chafge us when we uneKpeetedly came upon him, my 
companion narrowly escaping seriouS iiijiihy frbm his 
spear-like tusk.s-. 
"When President kSbseveit was on his New England 
trij) la§t Suninigr, he visited the park as the guest of 
Senator Proctor, and spent a day in hunting over the 
preserve. He was accompanied while hunting by sev- 
eral newspaper men and secret service agents, and the 
pace he set them was certainly a killing one. The Pres- 
ident apparently did not know what was the meaning 
of fatigue, for he walked up the entire side of a moun- 
tain and down on the other side without once stopping 
for a rest. When he did finally come to a halt he was 
apparently as fresh in body as when he had started out, 
while all his companions were almost dead with weari- 
ness. 
"The President finally came across a large boar in an 
apple orchard feeding on the fallen fruit, and killed him 
with a single shot. He appeared as elated as a school- 
boy over his achievement, and fairly danced about With 
joy. Mr. Roosevelt is certainly a mighty good huntif, 
and a very merry one. 
"There are a great many stjuirrels In the pafk, arid 
chestnut trees have been planted td, ericourafe them to 
remain.^ The wild boar is also fbiid df these nuts, and 
it is said that a liberal chestnut diet, accompanied by 
acorns and beech huts, is what gives the flesh of the 
wild boar its superior excellence over that of the 
ddWesticated pig. 
"Formerly we had a commodious and well arranged 
kennel, occupied hy dogs of many breeds, including 
English foxhounds, trained for deer and elk; French 
boarhounds. Great Danes, a pack of bloodhounds, 
trained for wild boar, and fox, rabbit and bird dogs of 
numerous breeds. 
'These, with few exceptions, have now all been sold, 
given away or dispersed in other ways. The pack of 
foxhounds was sold to Mr. P. F. Collier, and many of 
the boarhounds died of diseases contracted at the 
various dog shows in which they were exhibited. As 
I stated before, only still-hunting is now permitted on 
the estate, and there is little or no use now for sport- 
ing dogs of any kind. 
"Since the foxes are not now trapped, or hunted with 
dogs, they have increased rapidly, and played havoc 
with the wild turkeys, ruffed grouse and woodcock 
which formerly were so plentiful. The club members, 
however, prefer to shoot foxes rather than birds, as 
they declare there is more sport in it. The estate is 
located too far north for the propagation of quail, and 
most of those turned out died from the rigorous west- 
ern climate. 
"It is estimated that there are now about five hun- 
dred foxes in the park. Formerly frequent excursions 
were made through the park for ' the sole purpose of 
establishing by force of arms a more fitting percentage 
of foxes to game birds, and on such occasions the local 
sportsmen were frequently aft'orded opportunities for 
the enjoyment of a 'fox hunt.' Lynx are seen now and 
then in the park, and occasionally there is seen a puma 
or mountain lion. 
"The beaver, which were introduced in one of the 
streams, have all departed, leaving the ruins of their 
dam behind them. Beaver are rather shy of the pres- 
ence of men, and it is thought that the near proximity 
of men working in the fields scared them away. At 
all events, they dug their way out under the fence, and 
are now enjoying life in a stream in a neighboring 
township, where they are protected by the authorities. 
"There are several ponds within the park well stocked 
with bass, which have multiplied wonderfully, and about 
fiftj^ miles of trout brooks, the latter running out at 
different points along the boundary, affording those 
who may not be privileged to fish inside the confines 
admirable opportunities to catch the speckled beau- 
ties, as they venture forth from their asylum home." 
The lease of the fishing and. shooting privileges on 
the property by the Blue Mountain Forest Game Club, 
which was taken for five years, expires next September. 
Mr. Corbin and the members of his family do not know 
The Maine License Plan. 
Nashua, De'c. 30.— Editor Forest and Stream: As 
a regular reader of Forest and Stream, may I be per- 
mitted to advance an idea in connection with the pro- 
posed Maine legislation requiring non-resident aportc- 
men to pay a license fee to hunt in that State. 
Those of u§ who . sorrt^times hunt there ai^e naturally 
inlei'egted Ih preserving the supply of game, and if more 
money i§ necessary to enforce their laws, it should be 
raised— even if a, license fee does help to kill the goose 
that lays the golden egg. But if the advocates of a li- 
cense are honest in their contentions, let them go fur- 
ther, and, figuratively speaking, have a general house 
cleaning while the subject is fresh. Let them, first of all, 
appoint a board of fish and game commissioners who 
will enforce the Maine laws as they find them, and not 
with mental reservations and winking at their violations— 
which I sincerely believe is at the root of the Avholesale 
slaughter that is carried on in Maine, both in and out of 
season, not only by visiting sportsmen, but by residents 
—and largely by residents. It is a- well-known fact that 
venison is served in close season on the tables of a large 
share of the Maine sporting camps— sometimes as early 
as June. 
This is done, so I have been informed by guides awl 
camp keepers, by the tacit consent of the commissionei ^ 
who can put a stop to this whenever they see fit, and 
without levying a contribution on, men like myself, who 
tf.y t& reSpeet theii" laws and who leave among them 
some $ico on each trip to the woods in payment fdr 
transportation, guide and board. 
Second— Let these commiSsibnefs Mfovte their laws By 
allowing each jivint^F. to. take 6ut only the deer and 
moD«e_ a^tnally killed by him, personally, without asslst- 
aiice, in sho.bting. .by the guide he employs. Personallv, 
i do not believe that nlore than two-thirds of the deer 
brought out of the State of Maine are actually killed by 
the persons claiming them at Bangor. Some guides I 
have talked with say that the sportsmen do not shoot 25 
per cent of the deer claimed by them, the balance be- 
ing killed by guides in their employ. 
That this is done by tacit consent of the commissioners 
I have no doubt — my evidence being the general "under- 
standing" of guides and camp keepers, and conversa- 
tion on the subject with commissioners themselves. The 
transaction is "winked at," and the merry slaughter goes 
on— when an honest effort to restrict it and to compel 
(if necessary) all sportsmen to take oath that the game 
claimed by them was killed by them and not by some 
one else, would put a stop to a large part of it Though 
It would sadly reduce the boasted "record" of Maine 
game killed each season, used to advertise the State— 
and railroads— it would also lead successful sportsmen 
to be congratulated, or envied, instead of being objects 
ot suspicion, as is now often tlie ease. 
Inefficiencyj or personal construction of law; on the 
part of bfhgefs whb. arg . supposed to enforte laws; and 
not niake then!, will. Breed lawlesS.neSs .on tile part of peo- 
ple; Wh^thgr in jMaine of . any other State. 
Let thi| much .vaunted board- of commissioners en- 
force the laws of Maine as they find them on the statute 
books, impartially, and without attempt to interpret them 
as they may think the environment requires. Then, if 
more money is necessary let them pass the hat to all 
sportsrnen, both resident and non-resident, and I believe 
they will more cheerfully contribute than they will un- 
der existing conditions. Meanwhile, why tax visiting 
sportsmen only for lack in enforcement of the laws, by 
residents of Maine? As a resident of New Hampshire, I 
perhaps ought not to "kick," as we can offer deer and 
irout in quantities sufficient to satisfy any reasonable 
sportsmen. We exact no license fee from any one, and 
1 hope never will. Canada is too near, and license fee 
here would drive many (like the writer) out into Can- 
ada — just as it will from Maine, if this .license law is 
passed. ' W. H. B: 
License as a Remedy, 
Gansevoort, N. Y., Jan. 1.— Editor Forest and Stream: 
I wish to indorse the views of L. A. J. as expressed in 
Forest and Stream, page 512. His strictures on the high 
license idea, and the legitimate object of the license sys- 
tem are clean cut and to the point The reason why 
lumbermen and local hunters are allowed to violate the 
law with impunity is not only clearly pointed out, but the 
remedy is also suggested. That the laws are constantly 
violated in the way he describes is a fact that cannot 
be disproved. During my recent hunt in the Adirondacks 
the wagons which conveyed our party and camp equip- 
age were overhauled by a zealous game warden in search 
of concealed deer hounds long before we had reached our 
hunting grounds, and our camp was visited by this war- 
den and others, three times during our short hunt. 
One would naturally infer from this that these war- 
dens were enforcing the law. We were visiting sports- 
men who did not employ local guides. How was it in 
the case of local hunters and guides and the sportsmen 
v/hom they were guiding? We heard dogs running deer 
nearly every day we were in camp. It happened that one 
of the hounds was missing after it had run its race, and 
the owner called at our camp in search of it saying it 
was a valuable animal, had already earned him $40 this 
season, and that he disliked to lose it. I suggested that 
quite likely the warden who had overhauled our wagons 
had shot the hound, as he was known to be in that local- 
ity, and it being his duty to kill hounds found at large in 
deer forests. "Oh, no," said this guide, "he would not 
shoot that dog, for he knows that it belongs to me. 
Wh}'," said he, "that dog has lain on tliat warden's feet 
iii my camp, etc," 
This was the zealous warden who overhauls the 
wagons of visiting sportsmen in search of hidden dogs, 
long before they reach the deer forests. The reason 
why this warden was too good a warden in the one case 
and no warden whatever in the other, was made plain 
to me by the fact that he lived near our huuting grounds 
and was acquainted with the local guides and hunters. 
If there is any other reason it is suggested by the fol- 
lowing short dialogue , which occurred between this same 
warden and a noted local hunter in Aiden Lair Lodge 
