September, 1919 
F O K E S T A N D S T R E A M 
511 
CONCERNING ACCIDENTS 
CAUTIONARY SUGGESTIONS TO THE HUNTER WHO 
CONTEMPLATES GOING OUT AFTER GAME THIS FALL 
By J. G. BROWN 
HE recent suggestion 
of a Nimrod that real 
experiences of fellow 
hunters who have 
had accidents or near- 
accidents, should elicit 
a wealth of publish- 
able material, even 
without taking account 
of the narratives of 
the “didn’t - know - it - 
was-loaded” kind. For 
what hunter, careful 
though he may be, has 
not made serious mistakes which have 
resulted, or almost resulted, in tragedy? 
In the course of over twenty years of 
hunting on two continents, under many 
different conditions, the writer has had 
enough experiences of this kind to fill a 
book, although he has had a scientific 
training and is generally regarded as a 
person of cautious and careful habits 
in field as well as in laboratory. 
Usually the most dangerous period 
in a hunter’s life is the beginning, when 
he is just finding out how easily an acci- 
dent may occur with a weapon as pow- 
erful as a gun. The writer’s first scare 
came in hunting rabbits in a newly- 
cleared field in Michigan. Bunnies were 
as plentiful as flies (they are so scarce 
now in the same region that they are 
protected) and the procedure was to 
climb on top of a brush heap, jump up 
I. and down and shoot as the game scam- 
( pered forth. A younger brother was the 
hunting companion, but his short, fat 
legs were ill-adapted to wading through 
loose brushwood, so the gun bearer, 
armed with an old, bored-out Harper’s 
Ferry musket, which for weight would 
put a Browning machine gun in the 
shade, was forced to act both as beater 
and shooter. Under the circumstances, 
accidental discharge of the gun was sure 
to occur sooner or later. Perched with 
both feet in loose brush amid the excite- 
ment caused by the scurrying game, over- 
balancing was easy and the fortunate 
thing was the missing of the younger 
boy’s head by a hair’s breadth. The les- 
t son was well-learned and thereafter 
someone else did the beating stunt. 
What might have proved a really seri- 
' ous affair once came into the experience 
of the writer while deer stalking in 
Northern Michigan. He had gone out on 
; a gray November day with an excellent 
companion, a skilled hunter. The snow 
was perfect tracking snow and the hunt- 
‘ ers soon found abundance of fresh sign 
L just where a cedar swamp skirted a hard 
maple ridge. It was decided that one 
, man should take the north side of the 
; ridge, the other the south side, proceed- 
) ing leisurely around to a common meet- 
' ing point Half an hour later the writer 
I heard two quick, consecutive shots fol- 
' lowed by silence and, knowing the prow- 
ess of his companion, he decided that ven- 
ison was probably to be dresseu. He 
therefore changed his course to cross the 
ridge, meanwhile keeping alert for game. 
Thus proceeding through an open, park- 
like forest of virgin maple, undergrown 
with the dark green, snow-laden “shin- 
tang” or ground hemlock, he pursued his 
way when suddenly there appeared about 
a hundred yards ahead a suspicious 
movement behind a large fallen hemlock. 
A cautious glance disclosed what ap- 
peared to be a grazing deer. Instantly 
the rifle barrel was brought to bear 
and the trigger finger was ready, but 
the deer remained with head down so 
long that suspicion was aroused. The 
puzzling situation was finally cleared 
when the “deer” stood erect. It was the 
other hunter who had stooped to dress 
the game which had fallen to his rifle. 
Was it surprising that the writer lost 
several good shots that day? He was 
really to be complimented on his coolness, 
perhaps. The fault lay chiefly with his 
partner in the hunt, for he had on a 
furze coat of a tan color to exactly match 
a deer’s coat. The writer suffered more 
intense misery that day than he has ever 
known from other causes on a hunting 
trip, and to this day he hates the sight 
of a tan coat on a deer hunter. Had he 
been a “paper target” sportsman, the 
chances are that his whole life would 
have been marred by a deplorable acci- 
dent, largely because of another’s lack 
of thought in the selection of a hunting 
jacket. 
A n old French-Canadian woodsman 
often used to repeat that an inex- 
perienced hunter was sure to lose 
some game and might lose his life by 
over-confidence. “Always re-load, even 
if your game looks as dead as a door- 
nail,” he would say. It took a demon- 
stration to impress the value of this bit 
I A Finest Scotch WooX So^’Vs in White* 
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with or without feet (with iuatep strap), g gQ jj 
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Complete line Golf, Tennis and Sport equipmenL Q 
Mail Orders given prompt attention. Sent 
prepaid, insured anywhere in U. S. A. ^ M 
E Stewart Sporting Sales Co, S 
Q 425 FIFTH AVE.,(at 38th St.,) N.Y. 
MARKET PLACE 
PHOTOGRi^PHY 
MAIL US 15c WITH ANY SIZE FILM FOR 
development and six velvet prints. Or send six 
negatives, any size, and 16c for six prints. Or 
send 35c for one 8 x 10 mounted enlargement. 
Prompt, perfect service. Roanoke Photo Finish- 
ing Co., 220 Bell Aye., Roanoke, Virginia. 
REAL ESTATE FOR SPORTSMEN 
$5,00 DOWN; $5.00 MONTHLY; SIX ACRE 
fruit, poultry, fur farm; river front; Ozarks; 
$100.00; hunting, fishing, trapping. 1973 Nortn 
Fifth, Kansas City, Kansas. 
520 ACRE GAME FARM, 28 HEAD OF DEER, 
will have about 20 fawns this season. Good hunt- 
ing: two fine living streams on place; fine chance 
for fish ponds; 110 acres in cultivation; balance 
fine young timber. This place will support 1,200 
head of deer. For profit and pleasure you can’t 
heat it. New log bungalow costing $3,900; water 
under pressure; two fireplaces; hot and cold water, 
toilet, bath. One thousand dollars worth of new 
furniture to go with place. A fine sporting head- 
quarters; mild climate: $50 per acre. Owner, 
G. I). Corns, Purdue, Oregon. 
SPORTSMEN, ATTENTION!— WE OFFER 
for sale a rare bargain, an island in Currituck 
Sound, N. C., easily accessible from the main 
land and unsurpassed as ducking grounds. The 
island contains 400 acres, a part of which is in 
cultivation, has one or two small buildings. -An 
ideal place for a gunning club. For further par- 
ticulars see or write R. S. Brooks, $7 Hadding- 
ton Bldg., Norfolk, Virginia. Phone 1363. 
TAXIDERMY 
SEND ME YOUR GAME TO BE MOUNTED; 
price-list free. Birds, animals, game beads and 
rugs beautifully mounted, for sale; moderate 
prices. M. J. Hofmann, Taxidermist, 1818 
Bleecker Street, Brooklyn, New York. 
WILD DUCK ATTRACTIONS ' 
WILD CELERY, WILD RICE, MUSKGRASS, 
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SPANIELS 
COCKER SPANIELS. HIGHEST QUALITY 
English and American strains: hunting, attractive 
auto and family dogs: puppies, males, $20; fe- 
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TERRIERS 
FOR SALE— A LITTER OF EXTRA WELL 
bred wire haired fox terrier puppies. Registered. 
Geo. W. Lovell, Tel. 29-M, Middleboro, Mass. 
