Feb. 12, 1910.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
have compared this scenery to that of Switzer¬ 
land. It loses nothing in the comparison, save 
in loftiness of the peaks which were now tinged 
with purple and red as the sun- came into view. 
Hundreds of feet below the clear waters of 
White River sparkled from the touch of the 
sun like grains of powder scattered slowly over 
blazing coals. A light frost covered the ground, 
the post oak and other trees of the wilderness, 
but in an hour it vanished. 
Daybreak had already lengthened to 8 o’clock 
when it found the Governor and guide Will 
Hunt, mounted, prepared for pursuit of the big 
game of the Ozark Mountain country. They 
had ridden over rough stretches of shelving 
rock country and were on the back of a cedar 
ridge, when a large whitetail buck broke from 
cover. Governor Hadley fired, but the high 
strung animal he was riding jumped as if in 
anticipation of the shot, and the Governor 
missed. Many more deer were seen, but their 
size saved them. 
Fully two hours of strenuous riding had been 
indulged in when the country became more 
broken, timber scattered and parks of delicious 
blue joint grass spread here and there in the 
hollows and on the hog-back ridges. Signs of 
elk were everywhere; the ground, soft from the 
morning’s thaw, registered plainly the imprints 
of animals that had fed there but a few moments 
before. Words of caution on the part of the 
guide were unnecessary. Over to the left a 
moving patch of brown and fawn, blending 
closely with the ubiquitous sedge grass, dissolved 
itself after close observation into a band of 
feeding elk. Leaving their mounts to graze at 
random, the hunters crept within 300 yards of 
their quarry. After watching them for half an 
hour it seemed there was nothing but cows in 
the band and they were about to leave the herd 
when a nice bull appeared in the center of the 
cows, a bulwark of female protectors between 
him and the hunters. For a while no oppor¬ 
tunity for a shot was offered as the herd moved 
up the west slope toward the head of the hol¬ 
low which ended abruptly at a bluff of rock, 
the cows still flanking the male on each side. 
Then an old cow began to scent danger and the 
band started off at a slow trot. The hunters, 
fearing to lose the bull, in an effort to get a 
better sight of the animals, involuntarily stam¬ 
peded them. In wild confusion they scattered 
here and there until the bull, the last of the 
band to take undue alarm at the presence of 
man, broke for a patch of cedars at a rapid 
gait. It looked as though he was to reach the 
cedars safely. He had only ten feet further 
to go when suddenly his rapid flight was checked. 
He was seen to kneel abruptly, then turn at full 
length on his side and become a brown mass as 
quiet as the brown post oaks beside him. Three 
hundred yards east of where the spat of smoke¬ 
less powder echoed back and forth, Governor 
Hadley was seen taking his rifle from his shoul¬ 
der. Will Hunt, who was with him, climbed to 
where the handsome brute had fallen and found 
that the shot had struck but an inch or so be¬ 
hind the left shoulder near the heart. The guide 
quickly bled and disemboweled the elk and cov¬ 
ered it with boughs of cedar. 
The hunt was resumed. A still wilder coun¬ 
try was traveled over which tested the endur¬ 
ance of both man and beast. Toward evening,' 
after the party had passed numerous cows, a 
nice bull arose from his bed of blue stem at 
the approach of the hunters, and at a fast gait 
trotted down a slope covered with boulders. At 
200 yards every stone his hoofs touched sounded 
sharply to the watchers on the opposite ridge, 
lo them it seemed as though he would run for 
the mouth of the hollow, but he rapidly changed 
his mind. In an effort to climb a small bluff 
he retraced his steps toward the slope where he 
had rested, suddenly stopped, fell and lay an 
inert mass of flesh and bone, the result of a 
well placed bullet in bis shoulder. 
The sun began to dip below the timber, so 
the hunters turned their horses toward camp 
A TYPICAL OZARK STREAM. 
without further adventure. A warm supper 
awaited them at the lodge and everyone did 
full justice to the venison, quail and squirrels 
which had been secured by Game Commissioner 
Toberton and other members of the party and 
prepared under the skillful direction of mine 
host, Major McCann. It was evident that each 
member had fully enjoyed the day, so much so 
that early retirement was in order, and long 
before 9 o’clock the hunters in the wilds of 
Taney were enjoying a sound sleep. 
At an early hour again the party was on the 
move. The chief executive of the State had 
been very keen on securing a fine buck deer and 
the keeper’s lodge had only begun to fade in 
the distance, when a fine buck jumped from the 
post oaks and stopped in the center of the rocky 
path. It was pointed out to Governor Hadley, 
but he ignored it, stating that it looked too much 
like tame game so near the lodge. The true 
spirit of the sportsman prevailed, but it was a 
very fine specimen of a whitetail which any 
sportsman would be proud to have in his col¬ 
lection of heads. 
After an hour’s ride to the northwest over 
rocky valleys and almost insurmountable hills, a 
large bull elk was espied on the west slope of 
an open post oak hill, a monster indeed whose 
magnificent head could be easily seen, as the 
morning sun rendered him conspicuous to all. 
At our close approach he arose and viewed us 
with a dignified air as a king of the wilderness 
should look down on some weaker inhabitant of 
his domain. The guide said: “Don’t shoot him. 
We want to save him for breeding.” Evidently 
the bull fully appreciated his value and trotted 
off over the brow of the hill unmolested. 
Now the hunters separated, Governor Hadley 
and John Swanger riding toward the summit of 
the big bluff ahead, and Will Hunt and myself 
following on down over the ridge to the slope 
of the west side. The guide had been told to 
kill two young bulls which the major wished 
to have sent to his home in Springfield. Hardly 
had we ridden a mile when the guide saw to the 
northeast a band in the flat. Picking out a 
young bull, he crawled on hands and knees for 
an easy shot where the ever present cows would 
not interfere by getting between him and the 
bulls. He was using a new rifle and I cou’d 
not imagine why after sighting he took such 
a long time to shoot. Eventually I heard the 
report, then another and another, the cows trot¬ 
ting briskly up the draw. The young bull began 
to follow, and although I could see his left fore 
leg dangling, he gamely kept the course of the 
cows, but fell as the Governor cut short his 
misery by a well placed bullet. The guide came 
to me with an air of chagrin that was pitiful 
to behold; one whose marksmanship was at all 
times accurate felt keenly the mortification of 
missing. He handed his rifle to me and told 
me to try the trigger. Try as I would it was 
only with the greatest effort that I could make 
the hammer fall. No wonder the skillful one 
had missed. 
The party killed two more elk and several 
whitetail deer, and upon returning to the lodge 
it was decided that they would return to civiliza¬ 
tion the next day. Governor Hadley for several 
days had been complaining of a finger which 
he had accidentally lacerated. Signs of septi¬ 
cemia were evident and for fear of further 
misery they returned home next day. 
During the hunt plenty of quail, turkeys and 
ducks were killed by Mr. Toberton and Frank 
Wightman, who had devoted their energies to 
securing the small game for the needs of the 
outfit. 
The Wetmore preserve is a very strong les¬ 
son for game protection. With but a few head 
of elk and deer twenty-five years ago, there 
are within the inclosure to-day between 700 ai d 
1,000 elk, and at a rough estimate 3,000 deer. 
Every year they are hunted and quite a number 
killed. The increase is rapid, but respect for 
the breeding season of game is well observed 
by the members of the club. This park should 
be a model for every State to follow—yes, and 
every country. Loch Laddie. 
