776 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Nov. 12, 1910. 
Adirondack Hunters Killed. 
The Adirondack deer season closed Oct. 31 is 
believed to have been not quite as fatal to hun¬ 
ters as the season of 1909, although according 
to reports five persons were killed and a half 
dozen others badly wounded. Of those killed 
four were shot by mistake for deer and one was 
the victim of an accident. A report published 
in the Sun gives the following detai’s: 
The first deer hunter to meet death in the 
Adirondacks this year was Theron Plumb, who, 
on Sept. 20, was shot by his companion, Clifford 
Judd, while the two were following deer near 
Tupper Lake. Plumb was shot through the back 
and died within a few hours. On Sept. 25 
Timothy M. Healy, a traveling salesman of this 
city, was shot by his guide, who mistook his 
brown coat for a deer and was almost instantly 
killed. Roy Wires, of Herkimer, was killed on 
Oct. 16 by Alfred Winston, a’so of Herkimer. 
Wires lived several hours after having been shot 
and expired in a carriage in which he was being 
hurried to a hospital in Utica. The scene of 
Wire’s death was at North Lake. 
On the same date that Wires met his death, 
and in the same section of the Adirondacks, 
Charles A. Dodge, of Springfield, Mass., was 
killed just as he was about to go on a runway 
to watch for a deer. He was shot by Sam 
Brakey, who was guiding the party of hunters. 
Newman Cook, sixteen years old, who resided 
in Lowville, tripped on a log as he was pursuing 
a deer on the afternoon of Oct. 2, and his 
weapon discharging sent a bullet into his abdo¬ 
men and caused his death the next day. 
Of those wounded, but surviving, Truman 
Llaskell, a prominent hotel keeper and guide, 
residing at Wilmurt, had the closest call. While 
a party of which he was a member were return¬ 
ing from a deer hunting expedition, a gun in 
the hands of one of the hunters was discharged, 
the bullet shattering Haskell’s shoulder blade and 
lodging in his back. Haskell is now on the road 
to recovery. 
On Sept. 16, the day the season opened. Wil¬ 
liam Aubrer, of Croghan, was shot in mistake 
for a deer by his son. Aubrer recovered, but 
lost one of his legs. From the point of view of 
the hunter the season which closed recently has 
not been a remarkably good one, as the condi¬ 
tions most of the time have been anything but 
favorable for getting deer. It is believed that 
there were as many deer in the Adirondack 
region when the season opened as there have 
been at that time in any year for the last quarter 
of a century, but as a rule sportsmen did not 
find it an easy matter to obtain a shot at them. 
The foliage was very heavy this year and re¬ 
mained on the shrubbery until late, rendering it 
difficult for the hunter to see any considerable 
distance in the woods, and as there was but 
little rain during the first five weeks of the shoot¬ 
ing season, the leaves on the ground were ex¬ 
tremely dry, making it impossible to walk on 
them without making a noise. These facts ren¬ 
dered successful still-hunting impracticable until 
the recent rains came. 
Quite a number of deer were killed during the 
first week of the open season, for many of them 
continued to come down to the water, as they 
had been in the habit of doing during the sum¬ 
mer, and hunters therefore had an opportunity 
of seeing them, but after that the animals seemed 
to forsake their old haunts and retire to more 
secluded parts of the wilderness. From what 
can be learned from different sources it is 
thought that the total number of deer killed in 
the Adirondacks this year will be about the 
same as last year. 
A Narrow Escape. 
In Camp, Lake Twitciiell, Adirondacks, N. 
Y., Oct. 27 .—Editor Forest and Stream: So 
many have been killed in mistake for deer this 
year—three being killed near here—I think I 
ought to relate an experience I once had when I 
came near shooting my guide. 
The year after the passage of the law for¬ 
bidding the use of dogs, it was the practice of 
the guides to put those they were guiding for 
on runways and go off into the woods and bark 
like dogs and try to drive in deer, and some 
men were quite successful at it. One morning 
my guide and I started out to try this. After 
putting me on a runway he went back into the 
woods to try to drive in a deer. After a little 
while I changed a short distance to what I 
thought was a better place. As I was sitting 
on a rock watching I heard a stick snap. I got 
on my feet instantly and cocked my rifle. Sev¬ 
eral rods in front of me was a group of bushes. 
At the end of them stood a tree and close to it 
a little clear spot. I saw through the bushes 
what I was sure was a deer. What made me 
sure was the fact that I saw over the tops of 
the bushes what I thought was the tip of the 
antlers of a deer moving along about as a deer 
would walk. I thought I would have a better 
sight to wait till the deer stepped out from be¬ 
hind the tree. I had my eye on the sights and 
my finger on the trigger of my rifle waiting for 
the deer to step out, when who should step out 
but my guide. “Heaven,” said I, “I came near 
shooting you.” He said : “I did not know you 
were there.” “You came near finding out,” I 
said. What I thought was the tip of a deer’s 
antlers was the point of a gun he was carrying. 
The occurrence made me very nervous. I 
never was frightened so in my life; much more 
so than was the guide. 
I often think what I might have done if it had 
not been for that clear shot near the tree. I 
would not take such another chance for the 
world. It goes to show that even we old-timers 
cannot be too careful and never shoot at any¬ 
thing we do not plainly see. I know the temp¬ 
tation is great when you think a deer may get 
away, but do not take any chances; better lose 
your deer than kill a man. 
I know of a guide that killed his own brother. 
C. S^Foster. 
All Laughed Save One. 
St. Cloud, Minn., Oct. 31. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: I.ast November I went for a visit to 
my father’s camp. Another guest in the party 
was a man from Duluth, six feet tall and tip¬ 
ping the scales at 310 pounds—one of the finest, 
joiliest men that ever shot a gun and brought 
down a duck. 
Some of us were standing on a pass between 
two lakes, while the man in question was out in 
the rushes in a small boat. Some one called, 
“Mark west,” and looking in that direction we 
saw coming two splendid ducks, flying low. The 
genial man raised his gun and followed the birds. 
Thinking it best to wait until he could shoot 
broadside, he slowly turned a quarter way round, 
made a beautiful shot, saw with a smile of satis¬ 
faction that they both fell, and sat down—over 
the gunwale of the boat. 
The water was mud—if I may use the para¬ 
dox—and I am glad that I was too far off to 
hear his salutation to the lake bottom. 
Mrs: L. C. M. 
Major Charles De Rudio. 
Major Charles C. De Rudio, U. S. A., re¬ 
tired, died last week at his home in Los Angeles, 
aged seventy-eight. He was an old soldier born 
in Italy in 1832, and fighting in the Austrian and 
Italian wars from boyhood to young manhood. 
He came to the United States during the Civil 
War, enlisted in the 79th New York High'anders, 
a little later received a commission and was mus¬ 
tered out of the volunteer service in January/ 
1866. Appointed second lieutenant in the Second 
Infantry in 1867, he was transferred in 1869 to 
the cavalry arm and assigned to the Seventh 
Cavalry. He saw much Indian fighting on the 
plains, served under Major Reno in the fight on 
the Little Big-Horn River in June, 1876, and, 
cut off from the command, was the hero of an 
extraordinary adventure which has never been 
related. 
In the Civil War and in all his Indian fighting, 
Major De Rudio displayed great courage and 
splendid soldierly qualities. He was retired for 
age in 1896 and later received the rank of major 
for Civil War services. 
A Hampered Bull Moose. 
In his report to the Maine Game Commission, 
E. E. Sweet, of Mars Hill, one of the game 
wardens, tells of an extraordinary accident which, 
seems to have happened to a large bull moose 
near Presque Isle Lake. 
He found the animal lying on its side with 
one of its horns tangled in a broken blow down. 
The moose seemed to have fallen, and, in striv¬ 
ing to rise, its legs had been thrust under the 
log into soft ground, so that it was impossible 
for the animal to get out. 
With the aid of a lumberman Mr. Sweet cut 
the moose free from his fastenings and pulled 
him out, but he was unable to rise to his feet and 
seemed to be paralyzed. The indications were 
that he had been in this predicament for several 
days. They tried to feed the moose, but he 
would not eat and died the next day. 
Genesee County Fish and Game 
Protective Association. 
Batavia, N. Y., Nov. i. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: Several new members were received at 
our October meeting, and Dr. Wm. D. Johnson 
gave an interesting account of an auto and fish¬ 
ing trip taken last summer with Dr. Spofford. 
It was decided to purchase some more Hun¬ 
garian partridges, those planted last December 
having done well. Quite a number of Mon¬ 
golian pheasants are being taken, but complaint 
is made that they are hard to kill. Larger shot 
is needed; fours are small enough. 
After adjournment a special meeting was called 
and some stock was subscribed for to purchase 
land in this vicinity for a fish and game pre¬ 
serve. Chas. W. Gardiner. 
