614 
FOREST AND STREAM 
Kings of The Wilderness 
Moose, Deer and Elk at Home on October Mountain 
By W. W. Sargood, Game Warden. 
U P among the grand old Berkshire hills, 
towering in all the beauty of its primitive 
grandeur, October Mountain rears itself 
aloft, the home of the moose, the deer and the 
elk. Here is furnished sanctuary for 'the wild 
game of the Berskshires, comprising almost every¬ 
thing that roams the forest and mountains; bear, 
wild cat, lynx, partridge, squirrel, pheasant, 
deer, moose, elk, all are found within the confines 
of October Mountain, the great game preserve of 
the Whitney estate. Some idea of the extent of 
this game paradise may be had when I tell you 
that the moose pasture alone has ten miles of 
wire fencing around it, nine feet high. 
Aside from the ten moose now known to be 
within this enclosure, five are known to be at 
large upon the mountain side, and these wander 
wild wherever their inclination wills, ranging as 
far south as Mount Everett, in the small township 
of Mt. Washington, and not long ago a female 
moose was seen browsing in a pasture in Lee. 
The moose, by a special law of Massachusetts, are 
protected against hunters, and it is expected that 
in due time they will have so multiplied that the 
mountains of Berkshire will be well stocked with 
these kings of the wilderness. October Mountain 
has over two hundred posters placed at conspic¬ 
uous points, put up by myself, warning all persons 
against hunting or shooting or trapping wild ani¬ 
mals or birds found there. 
In the latter part of March, Cornelius Vander¬ 
bilt Whitney, James Burden and W. D. Burden, 
cousins of Mr. Whitney, came up into the moun¬ 
tains to search for the moose, the elk and the 
deer, to see how they were getting on and to have 
the opportunity of examining the big game in its 
natural paradise—for such is October Mountain. 
It was my pleasure to guide the party, and a right 
merry group of young fellows they were, freed 
from the cares and restrictions of city life, out to 
study nature at close range, and they did study it, 
and they enjoyed every moment of the outing. 
There was snow on the ground, but what of it? 
The boys had snow shoes and they used them with 
the skill of experts. Through that wilderness we 
tramped, many a weary mile, and the sights we 
saw were well worth seeing. Up from snow 
banked thickets flocks of partridge whirred. Now 
and then unexpectedly, a deer sprang into sight, 
turned for an instant to view us as we poached 
upon its domains, and then, with a flirt of its 
white flag, it leaped away, and disappeared as 
suddenly as it came. 
We were fortunate in getting near enough to 
snap a small group of deer, the photo of which 
herewith appears. We were startled by a mighty 
crash among the underbrush and a trampling in 
the snow, as though a locomotive had come 
among us, and we saw an instant darting of dark 
forms through the underbrush, with here and 
there a sudden glimpse, and then silence. A herd 
of moose had passed us, with that lumbering, 
crashing rush for which the big game is peculiar. 
Only once did we get within camera distance of 
a huge bull, whose spreading antlers made him a 
formidable looking object, and one we felt like 
giving a wide berth. The picture shown gives a 
good idea as to its size and the spread of its ant¬ 
lers. In the course of our tramp we came upon 
a number of elk, and were fortunate enough to 
get a snap-shot of some of them. 
Apparently all the big game on October Moun¬ 
tain has wintered well. Some of the bull moose 
have shed their antlers, and they present a queer 
spectacle without them. Buried probably beneath 
six feet of snow, these antlers will lie until the 
summer heat shall have melted the snow, when 
some of them may be found, while others will 
doubtless remain undiscovered for years to come, 
as few visitors are found on October Mountain. 
The property is owned by Harry Payne Whit¬ 
ney. There he built, some years ago, “The 
Antlers,” a hunting lodge, and for a season at 
least he spent his time there, as near to nature’s 
heart as man could ask to be. While on the es¬ 
tate we passed a short season of rest in “Honey¬ 
moon Cottage,” where Harry Payne Whitney first 
took his bride on their wedding tour into the 
Berkshires. 
October Mountain is as near a primeval forest 
as it is possible to find in the East. Mile after 
mile of rolling mountain land is covered with 
thick forest growth, and it is in this great natural 
preserve that all sorts of wild game runs almost 
at large. It is protected by a few game keepers, 
and the game wardens of the commonwealth look 
after it occasionally, to see that vandal hands do 
not slaughter the wild life which there abounds. 
The five moose that are known to be at large in 
the Berkshires came from this preserve. Some 
depredator cut the wire fence which had kept 
them from straying, and, before it was discovered 
and repaired, these five animals had made their 
escape. Quite often bear have been seen on the 
mountain, and numerous wild cats have from time 
to time been encountered, but so far as known the 
big game has thus far escaped slaughter by any 
of their wild animal foes. The deer and the elk 
have bred several times since they have been on 
the mountain, and there are several young moose 
which were born in this big game sanctuary. 
Although the game keepers have placed hay 
for the moose at various parts of this wilderness 
preserve, strange to say the moose have for the 
most part ignored it, and have lived throughout 
the winter on moss torn by them from the ground, 
when bared of snow, and from the sides of some 
of the old moss-grown trees. In addition to this 
they have found plenty of browse on the trees, so 
that their condition, as we saw them on our hike, 
was not notably thin, but on the contrary they 
were in quite good condition. 
Notwithstanding that the moose have been kept 
in this preserve for a number of years, it is hard 
to familiarize them with the sight of man. They 
are practically as wild as they were the day when 
they were turned loose upon the mountain. At 
best, one in searching for them can get but a flit¬ 
ting shadow of their forms as the huge, dusky 
creatures go lumbering by amid the forest tan¬ 
gles, and it is pure chance when the opportunity 
is offered to make a successful snap-shot at a 
huge hull. On our trip we sighted several, but 
it was only in this solitary instance that we were 
able to make a snap-shot that came out satisfac¬ 
torily. 
We tried calling them, and, while we were 
able to get an occasional response, the call was 
for the most part unheeded. It was while en¬ 
gaged in calling that we were fortunate enough to 
snap the huge bull here presented. 
There has been a very earnest desire on the 
part of the state to secure October Mountain for 
a state reservation and turn it into a preserve for 
the propagation of large game for the state. No 
more ideal spot could be had. Mile after mile of 
(Continued on page 627.) 
