The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-06-01
BIG GAME WITH A REVOLVER.
A Thrilling Adventure in the Adiron-
dacks-A Guide Recounts the
Remarkable Exploit of a City
Man-TWo Bullets Sent With
Quick and Sure Aim.
Written for THE SUNDAY CALL

ana Sui OlueIS III lllt puIouib VI AO"A'H'
have hardly known Il season when we diu
not have at least one or two gold-hunters'
The speaker was one of the veteran guides
of the Northern Adirondack region. VINO
made his headquarters at Star Lake, in 81.
Lawrence County. The guides in that see
ton of the wilderness form a somewhat
peculiar class. For many years their prln-
cipal occupation during the season has been
plotting parties Of sportsmen on long trlps
through that dense portion OF the North
Woods They are very important factors
in camp life and associate on terms oil COM
parative equality with their patrons Inc
outcome of years of this kind of association
is the survival of a class Of guides OF much
more than average intelligence and lnteS-
rity. They are individually known as men
OF character, ana at the end of one trip are
usually engaged for the following season.
They work in pairs and are relied upon Tor
the many Offices which make camp lie III
the wilderness comfortable.
On this occasion the guide, who is among
the best known of the fraternity, was en-
gagged in plotting the newspaper man
through the woods around Star Lake Where
he was making some mid-winter obseTva-
tons. Tie somewhat DrOsy remark when
has just been quoted was an attempt on the
part If the guide to sustain his end OF not
animated conversation in the sitting-room
of the hotel at the lake, after hard days
tramping in the heavy timber.
do these hunters from civilization
usually shoot well?" was asked
Il don't think the deer in these woods
would be extermnated very soon, If our
visitors had to depend entirely on their own
alrstl Co.. l.RNr .NtNNE .iNy Mt "
diplomatic reply of the old guide. Deer
have been sufficiently plenty in these woods
for the past few years TO satisfy any
reasonable man, but you know they don't
always swim up in front OF the hotel to be
shot, as one did here at Star Lake last fall.
1t takes d good deal of Skill TO kill our deer
in sportsman-like way, as You know from
your own experience up here last fall.
The visitor from the low country WINGED
a bit at this historic alluSion to his futile
attempt to bring down buck at short
range on the occasion of his last trip to the
mountains, and subdued laugh showed
that others in the party sitting around the
big wood burning stove had not forgotten
the incident. The magnitude OF the game
and an unfamiHarity with the sights with
which the Winchester rifle was rugged,
combined to produce an inaccuracy Of aim,
which saved the life OF the buck and danl-
aged the bark OF a spruce some distance
(thc guides estimated It at two rods away
from the living mark. He hastened TO
change the subject by repeating his ques-
ton regarding amateur hunters in general.
The best marksman l ever saw IN st.
Lawrence County" the guide replied, twas
II Buffalo man named Birgin, who came
here a few years ago with his wife, who WAS
ain invalid. She was threatened with con-
sumption, and the doctors had advised her
to try the air of the mountains. Birgin had
a neat log cabin built abuut two miles in
from here early in the spring, and when lie
had furnished 1t handsomely he moved III
with ills wife and two servants. lie seemed
to have plenty of money, and didn't have
anything TO do but take care of his wife and
sketch and write little, and practice shoot
ing with revolver He didn't seem TO care
much for hunting, and | don't think ] ever
saw him use rifle.
Il never could see why lie practiced so
much, for he could hit everything within
range that he could see. L have known a
good many crack shots and seen deal of
close shooting in my time, but this city man
beat them all. He didn't use any of those
ns%slangIes pistols, but always practiced
with rather oId-fashItHea locking = olt, 5
revolver. He always said he hated to k.l'
anything. He shot to Kill before lie left
the woods, though.
Zone day asked him how he came 10
be so expert. He said that when he was
a very young lad he had fancy for pistol
practice. When Captain Travis opened
pistol gallery in Buffalo he took lessons of
him. The Captain became good deal in
terested in him and took pains to instruct
him. When he went away he made him
present of the revolver he still used, and
advised him 10 practice with nothing else.
1t was one Travis had had made on purpose
for sharp-shoOtlng.
when Birgn told me about Travis he
showed me a Shot / would not believe could
be made if l had not seen him make it three
times in succession. Some hardwood
boards had been left where the floor of the
cabin had been lad. Birgin took one OF
these boards aud laid 1t on the ground, anu
leveled it up carefully with little spirit
level Ten PAGES from the plank he uut
mark about as big as a silver half-dollar on
a tree. Then he got back ten PAGES from
the plank and leveled his pistol and fired at
the center OF the plank. The bullet glanced
from the hard wood and struck the mark on
the tree, This he did three times III sue
cession. He said that was one Of the shots
Travis had taught him, and he had always
kept it in practice. He said that some time
his practice might be of use to him. And
he WAS right about that.
was not very busy in the spring and
early summer, ana l went around with BIZ
gin good deal. Like every stranger, he
was afraid of the woods, and he paid well
for anything that looked like work.
"Atter a couple of months Mrs. Birsin'S
health was so much better that she was
aDlt 10 lDfU us III SnpIJ SlTOllS luIO lilb blIl-
Der, and she enjoyed them very much. She
would sit on some cushions, with one Of the
girls, an hOnr or two at a time, while Biz
gin would ramble around and sketch and
examine the rocks. When l had nothing
particular to do, used to stroll over 10
Brgin's cabin along in the forenoon, when
the weather was fine. Then, as his vile
continued to improve, would take them
farther and farther into the woods; each
time in a new direction. On these trips
always carried my doubie-barreled muzzle-
loading shotgun; and it's worth three OF
any breech-loaders | ever handled. In the
left barrel | always had heavy charge CT
powder and DuckShot, and in the other
barrel charge OF fine birdShot. Deer were
out of season, and all Wa cared for was
few birds for Mis-. Birgin.
zone afternoon my boy, who was then q
lad OF fifteen, had been out with my shot,
gun. BE came home at night good deal
excited. He had met some of the boys and
they had told him about panther that had
been seen and heard in the neighborhood.
lie talked so much about the panther that
he forgot to tell me he had fired the charge
of buckshot aud left both barrels OF the
gun loaded with bird-shot.
u didn't take any stock in the story
about the panther and thought the boys had
been trying to scare the lad, | had never
seen live panther, and never expected TO
see one, at least about here. thought so
ter to the Birgln people. i didn't want to
alarm them for nothing and spoil their
pleasant strols in tue woods, when they
were doing Mrs. Birgin so much good
The next morning i took my shotgun
and went over to the cabin. | only looked
to see that II was loaded, aud supposed the
load of buckshot was in the lett barrel. as
usual. as the boy had never interfered with
1t before. My carelessness, for that's what
1t was, came very near being disastrous.
Mrs, Blrgin was feeling stronger than
usual that morning, and we walked q long
way from the cabin. One of the servants
went with us and carried big basket OF
provisions. We camped for lunch in
pretty little ravine, over near Little River.
A fter lunch Birgin and myself crossed the
little ravine and left the women sitting on
the bank. Birgin had his revolver in his
belt, as usual, and began hammering on a
rock, looking for specimens, and sat ipok-
ing on, with my gun over nay knees
Suddenly i heard a stir in the under.
brush on the other side of the ravine.
turned my head. and you can imagine how