Jan. 18, 1908 .1 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
97 
were no black deer. He replied that there must 
be black deer because he had seen one. 
“You probably saw a black stump,” said one 
1 of the party. 
“No,” replied the other. “Stumps do not move, 
and I saw this thing move.” Then we all 
grasped our rifles and went to a point where we 
had a clear view of a distant summit. There 
we saw a big black bear. Orders were given 
that the members of the party whose duty it was 
that day to act as drivers, or to take the place 
of hounds, should proceed in a roundabout way 
to the opposite side of the hill on which the bear 
was moving. When they arrived there they were 
to howl and bark with the intention of driving 
the bear to the opposite side of the mountain 
where other members of the party were to be 
concealed, ready to shoot the bear whenever he 
appeared. 
Not a moment was lost in getting the plan 
into operation. We were to attempt to shoot 
the bear when he passed near he lake at the 
foot of the hill, where we lay concealed, waiting 
for the run down the hill on the part of the 
bear. It seemed to us that we waited hours, still 
no alarm came from the men who were to drive 
the bear. This waiting for the appearance of 
?ame would seem to be monotonous to those 
who have had no experience, but in reality every 
moment is full of excitement and interest. We 
lave opportunity for much thought and delibera¬ 
tion. The mind and nerevs are strained. We 
think of things we never thought of before. We 
hear sounds never heard of before. We ex¬ 
perience queer sensations. When a strange 
sound is heard that indicates the possible ap¬ 
proach of game our hearts beat so rapidly that 
we are alarmed lest the beating should be audi- 
ole. If the weather is cold we get benumbed, but 
lare not move for exercise. 
By and by we heard barking and howling in 
he distance. Then our rifles were ready for 
mmediate execution, and every nerve at atten- 
ion. Soon we heard a crash of broken twigs 
and a heavy tread, and in an instant the black 
pear was before us. I fired and he toppled over. 
•Soon my companions hurried forward in time 
o see his death struggles. 
_ The chief gain of this annual hunting expedi- 
ion is not the deer and the bear. My com¬ 
panions and myself secure our greatest reward 
n recovered strength and vitality of mind and 
>ody. Man was not intended by his Creator to 
pend his life in houses poorly ventilated and 
irtifically heated and filled with germs of 
•lseases. On these excursions we live the natural 
ife. We are out doors night and day breathing 
>ure air impregnated by the odor of spruce and 
•alsam. We sleep each night without windows 
' r doors. Our daily tramps strengthen every 
nuscle. Our deep breathing fills all the air cells 
’f our lungs. On our return home we are not 
he same men we were when we departed. 
Charles A. Green. 
Mr. Ehrich’s Trophies. 
Two pictures are reproduced herewith show- 
ig game secured by Mr. W. J. Ehrich, of New 
ork city. The antelope and elk were secured 
i Jackson s Hole, Wyoming. The elk antlers 
re very fine indeed, each tine being fully a foot 
i length. Their position in the picture fore- 
nortens them almost beyond recognition, but 
ne size of the antlers can be rated by their 
pread, which is clearly defined. 
The Boy’s Buck. 
Asheville, N. C., Dec. 1 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: Two weeks ago my eleven-year-old 
boy made his first shot at quail, killing two of 
a covey on the wing. Needless to say, Dad was 
more delighted than the boy, and it was de¬ 
cided there and then that the boy was to go. 
along on a deer hunt off the coast of Georgia 
the next week. 
One week ago to-day we arrived off Sapola 
Sound, only to find that our baggage had failed 
to come through. After a wait of one day and 
no baggage coming we were taken care of by 
friends and had two days’ most enjoyable hunt¬ 
ing on Blackbeard Island. 
The shooting was done from stands, the deer 
being started from the swamps and palmetto 
?- . 
A MAGNIFICENT ELK. 
ridges by beaters and dogs. Six guns in the 
party; five deer killed, the eleven-year-old boy 
getting a fine young buck; Dad coming away 
without a shot. 
It has been my good fortune to go on many 
hunting trips, usually getting my share of game. 
This trip, however, although I got nothing, 
brought me more pleasure than all the rest put 
together. As we grow older and see our chil¬ 
dren coming on, as we turn our guns over to the 
boy, as we see him enter into the sport, as we 
see his face “bloodied” on account of his first 
deer shot by himself, then to me comes the hap¬ 
piest time of my hunt. 
And wasn’t Dad proud of the youngster. A 
running buck, two shots, and when I got there 
the boy holding on to a hind leg calling for Dad, 
the buck dragging the boy through the palmet- 
toes. Of course it is a wonder he was not turned 
on and severely cut up, but he wasn’t, and he 
got the buck. He is sure elected to the next 
Colorado or Canada trip. 
In making reference to the “bloodied face” 
above I should perhaps explain that it is an old 
custom handed down in southern Georgia that 
when a hunter—be he man or boy—kills his first 
deer, his companions dip their hands in the blood 
and rub the blood on the hunter’s face or head. 
He must go the rest of the day without washing 
his face. The boy took his medicine without 
squirming. Your readers who have sons of their 
own will know how Dad felt. 
Following the hunt we had two days of fish¬ 
ing on the sound. The last day five rods took 
75 pounds of trout in two hours, that same boy 
taking his full share. 
Blackbeard Island this year was practically dry. 
In places where in years past we were in swamp 
to our hips in water, one could walk dry shod. 
We saw no fresh water on the island except at 
the quarantine station. The deer are said to 
be leaving the island on account of the drouth, 
coming over to St. Catherine’s. While one is 
scarcely out of sight of deer signs after leaving 
the beach, we did not find the sign as plentiful 
or the deer as numerous as heretofore. Sixteen 
deer were started during the hunt, we being out 
six hours on each of the two days. 
You are going to hear from that boy of mine 
when he gets older, but he will never enjoy a 
hunt as I did this—until he takes his boy. 
Dad. 
Duck Shooting on Frisco Marshes. 
San Francisco, Cal., Jan. 11 —Editor Forest 
and Stream: Duck hunting continues to im 
prove, but results have not been so satisfactory 
as in previous years. The Joice Island Club has 
enjoyed splendid sport since the season opened. 
Canvasbacks have recently been visiting the deep 
water ponds of the Suisun marshes. Heretofore 
canvasbacks have come in great number to the 
bay marshes, but this year they seem until now 
to have overlooked their favorite feeding grounds 
and have preferred the valley marshes instead, 
leading San Francisco Bay sportsmen to think 
that these birds had dropped out of existence. 
Clubs on the Alvarado and Alviso marshes 
have not had as good shooting this year as they 
had hoped for. Recently some nice bags of 
spoonbill and bluebill ducks were killed in that 
vicinity, but the big flights of former times are 
missing this year. 
Ideal conditions as to weather have made duck 
shooting in southern California as good as at 
any time during the present season. Last Sun¬ 
day there were limit bags on almost every pre¬ 
serve, and one story of the day’s results practi¬ 
cally fits all. All sorts of ducks were secured, 
but teal and sprig were most plentiful. Almost 
every man on the Blue Wing, Bolsa Chica, Sun¬ 
set, Canvasback and Westminster club preserves 
got the limit and early at that. 
Quail shooters are well satisfied with the sport 
they have been enjoying of late. Good reports 
have come in from parts of the State where the 
rain dampened the hills and made tramping se¬ 
cure, and a number of enthusiasts are out with 
their dogs expecting good returns. The quail 
at Los Alamos are especially plentiful. The 
shooting there is the best that has been found 
this year. The quail hunting throughout the 
State has this year been better than ever before 
despite the fact that ground and weather con¬ 
ditions have not always been of the best. This 
situation has helped sportsmen to bear the dis¬ 
appointment of this year’s poor duck season and 
has reconciled them to their general ill success 
in those lines. A. P. B. 
