Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-12-05

and Connecticut, from the Catskills,
counted the Adirondack lakes from the
top of Blue Mountain, seen the beauties
of the SaDgre de Cristo range, and
looked down into the wonderful valleys
of the Rockies, from the slope of Ouray,
over two miles above the sea-but none
of these possessed the peculiar charms
of the wonderous sight before us. We
were looking directly down the valley OF
the San Gabriel, Pasadena seemed be.
meath us, and the intervening hills, from
the innumerabe cafions, appeared to be
made up of pyramids unnumbered, all
connected and forming wonderful laby'
rinth. To the left rose the wall of the
Sierras, peak rising over peak, until they
died away in the distance, their pecul-
lar shape telling of the mighty cataclysm
that produced them. Far down in the
valley rose the peaks of San Jacinto,
Old Baldy aud Santa Ana, the latter
surrounded by halo of cloud, and ap'
pearing in the solitary grandeur like
some huge isolated volcano. The silver
thread sparkling in the foreground is
Santa Ana river, and following the
sweep to the right the vast expanse OF
ocean appeared, of an intense blue.
while several miles out there rested upon
it nebulous underlined haze-a rare and
striking contrast. The entire country
seemed at our feet sublime and i'm
pressive spectacle, we'll worth travelling
four thousand miles to see. people
don't know what they miss, began Mr..
Giddings, when the music of the hounds
bay fioated up from the deep cafion to
the left. 'That means business" he
cried, and so it proved. The first warn.
ing note that rose on the air was ampli.
fed by others, and ran quickly into the
sharp oft.repeated baying that is such
music to the lover of sport and hounds.
knew every note of the music of my
own dogs at home; could tell their dis
tance from the game by the information,
and it was the same here, and as the
baying grew quicker-sounds that make
the blood flow quicker and the cheek
flush-a small dark reddish form dashed
from the lower canon and was seen
skirting the precipitous wall away across
the green gulf. The moment it appeared
the Giddings' Winchester began series
of Gatling- gun movements that for rap.
idity of fire would have astonished
the makers, at nearly the first fire the
| foreleg of the animal was broken-a
remarkable shot, as the animal was so
far away that it looked like small dog.
| The deer was game, and the Winchester
grew too warm for use before it was
killed, and reserving the rest of our fire,
for according to Giddings. l had hit tn,
animal (but this was only a generous
l.. &c IL
me), he rushed down the mountain side
calling and yelling to the dogs that were
now wild for the game.
The deer, which l could just distin-
guish by movement of its leg, lay under
O bush, and / sat for twenty minutes
ready TO fire before l finally saw him.
Climbing the opposite wall, nearer he
crept, moving from rock to rock, when
suddenly the animal leaped from cover
and bounded on plying my colt as fast
as the magazine would work. Down
the gamey creature went again behind
some brush, and here in final struggle
to escape it was brought down by the in
trepid Jean, who had made climb to
reach it that would have been considered
a good days work by an ordinary man.
rhe animal proved to be doe, and after
packing it far down into the canon the
sportsman and dogs reappeared on the
upper ridge. In attaining the summit
the large tracks of a grizzly were seen,
which explained the absence of deer, for
while on this very spot only few days
before ten had been started, on this oc.
casion only two were seen-the bear I'd
stampeded the herd. On the north
slope of the range fine buck was found
dead, propably killed by some hunters,
who would gladly have saved his fine
antlers.
In the East the methods of shooting
deer are often unsportsmanlike. The
boat, provided with jack, is pushed up
to bewildered animal, and when quite
alongside the animal is killed. But in
the sierra Madres the sport can be CON-
mended, as here the deer has all the
advantage. and the sportsman must be
trained climber and sure long dis.
tance shot, of the Giddings type, or no
game is to be had. Nearly all the deer
that he gets are killed across deep and
wide caiions, at a distance that in the
East would not be attempted by sports
man without o telescope attachment.
But Giddings needs nothing of the kind.
His firing is thoroughly off.hand, and so
rapid that it is difficult to see how it is
accomplished.
Pasadena claims some fine marksmen;
Messrs. Graves, Hartwell, Ross and
Holmes all being fine shots; and in some
exhibition shooting after the hunt in the
lower cafion Mr.. Ross not only hit the
small swinging mark that was put up,
but severed the string at his first fire.
While the deer are becoming scarcel
every year, doubt if their numbers are
decreasing. The settling up OF the val
leys drives them further back into the
impenetrable depths of the inner range,
where they will always find refuge, and
so difficult is the hunting that it is not
likely to be overdone; and wonld ad-
wise any one who loves good honest sport
to follow the black tailed deer in the
Sierra Madres, and after the Giddings
hounds.
The black tailed deer, which is the
common form here, is the Cariacus Col.
umbianus of science, aud in general ap.
pearance resembles the Virginia deer.
1t is common throughout the entire
State, often being found with the stocky
aud not particularly attractive mule,
G. Macrotis. In some published works
Its flesh is described as poor eating. 1
fine the reverse to be the fact, the ven-
ison being the finest in flavor and tex
ture that have ever tasted. Judge
Cation has attempted to domesticate the
Columbian deer, but has been unsuccess.
full. The white.tailed deer, ID. Cucurus,
is also found in California, especially in
the northern part. while the Mexican or
Sonora deer, G. Mexicanus, is probably
also found there. The back-tail is u
purely mountoin form, only rarely COM
ing down into the valleys TO feed, pre-
ferring the impenetrable mountain sides
and the thick covers of manzanita and
chaparral for its home, G. f. H.
The Use of Lemons.