Sacramento daily record-union., 1889-09-07
LICK !" SHOOTING.
HOW DEER ARE WANToNLY SLAIN AT
THEIR NOCTURNAL HAUNTs.
A Sacramento Party Boasts of Dis
graceful Act-Does Killed and Left
to Rot Where They Fell.

DR.. W. Wood, of this city, who returned
a couple of days since from hunting and
fishing trip in the Sierra Nevada wilds re
ports the most wanton destruction of deer
about the headwaters of the Rubicon
which more than substantiates all that
was charged by the RECORD UNION some
weeks ago. He says that one day be came
upon the abandoned camping place of a
party of Sacramentans. Near By he found
the rottipg carcasses of several does that
had been killed ''in the very wantonness
of lust OF killing, On the site of the
camp was found posted a notice to this
effect:
OUR PARTY KILLED TWENTY FOUR
DEER AT THE LICK AT NIGHT"
To this was signed the name of a we'll
known resident of this city, the initials of
whose name are M E." Whether the
person referred to is responsible for the
notice, or whether or not he was in that
vicinity at the time, we are not advised
but if any party of alleged sporlsmen We're
guilty Of killing twenty four deer at The
lick, at night" they we're guilty of an set
that deserves the condemnation of every
decent man in the State. The wav that
deer are killed az these "licks" is by the
butcher secreting himself in the branches
OF neighboriug tree, of a moonlight
night, and shooting down the deer as they
come there TO lick" the saline properties
Of the spring. This method of deer-slay-
ing is excusable enough under certain
circumstances and when confined to a
limited number of deer-as for instance.
when camping party is in need Of meat.
Sill, it is a fact known to experienced
deer hunters that in these nocturnal sIay-
ing tournaments mostly does are killed
The proportion of bucks that visit the ltcks
at night is very small compared to the
number of does that frequent them, and if
the party of campers referred to actually
killed twenty-four deer at night, while
lick shooting" as they boasted of having
done, it is pretty safe TO say that about
twenty of the deer were does Indeed, DR..
Wood found plenty of evidence of the fact
that does were wantonlY slaughtered, as he
had found their fostering carcasses strewn
about the hills in all directions.
The alleged protection" of deer by the
present law is nothing short Of a
farce, and if the next Legislature
does not take up the subject and
deal with it in an intelligent man
ner another summer will witr ess the al
most complete e8termlnatiOn OF that noble
game. When both hide hunters and city
campers swarm throughout the deer
haunts and slay right and left, without re.
gard to age or sex-an6, for that matter,
without even regard to the seasoEs-the
poor, hunted animals have little chance to
escape.
II is fact that most of the harmful or
inadequate legislation on the subject of
game protection is the result of ignorance
and the inability Of legislators to handle it,
There are thousands of true sportsmen in
the State, representing the higher profes-
sions and leading mercantile pursuits and
they should interest themselves in the mat
ter in a more practical way than BY simply
decrying the prevailing lawlessness and
tendency TO eXterminate the game of the
State The names Of score of men, includ-
ing Judges of Courts, leading LAWYERS,
journalists, railroad officials, wholesale
merchants, clerks, etc, could be given
whose intluenCe-if exerted in the right
drection-would be sufficient to govern
legislative action in the premises. This
class of spOr:smen should consult together
and frame law that would. if enforced
afford something like protection to what is
left of the game of the State And the wav
should also be pointed out to the Legisla-
ture to enforce it stringently The deStruc-
ton OF deer has gone to that extent that for
the next five years deer killing should be
absolutely prohibited The only way 10
etfectually enforce the game law is to have
Game Wardens appointed for the purpose
Of watching and arresting all violators, the
same as the Fish Commissioners do in re-
gard to illegal fishermen,