Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-10-19

! 1ue season Is now TO lanu when
| those who renew their youth Ivy out
| ings with gun and camp kit may be in
vited to visit the region about the
headWaters Of the various streams
! that form the ella river, writes Il
| Western correspondent of the New
! York Sun. There is never day when
game worthy Of any mans rifle is not
| here within reach Of the Well-cquipped
| sportsman; but beginning with the
last part Of September, and continuing
to Christmas, there are peculiar advan-
| tageS in the matter of climate, and in
| the feed and water for the team one
| must have that make the fall season
| the best of all. And the p .esent aso4N
! is certain to be the most delightful
| seen in several years, because a beauti-
| full supply Of rain to wet down the arid
| plains has fallen, and the rich gramma
grass is growing up as weeds grow
! in the Mohawk valley. While these
| lines are being written the game of
the region is feeding as it has not done
before in years, and such layers of fat
will be found lining the porterhouse
and tenderlOin parts of the deer as
would gladden. the eyes and satisfy
the appetite of the oldest nunter
This region is one Of the few left in
| the United states where game is sure
! to be seen by the Wayfarer journeying
| across the country on the public high
way by the ordinary public convey
ance. There are a good many sections
of the nation where game can be found
| by the expert hunter-deer still roam
within a squirrels jump of the me-
trOpolis-but the tenderfoot will see
game here. The driver of the stage will
point it out to him as they drive along
the road.
One comes here from Magdalena, 4
small mining camp at the end of 4
/ branch of the Santa Fe railroad. The
distance by stage is just 100 miles.
The stage leaves Magdalena about
10 o'clock in the morning, and by noon
| it passes from lovely little valley
with trees on every side, and there
after skirts along the north edge of
the great San Augustin plains. From
| the moment the wheels cut into its
yellow sand let the tcnderfO0t keep
his eyes wandering over the plain,
and pretty soon a white spot. and
then another, and perhaps half a dozen
| together, will be seen bObb;ng mp and
down on the yellowish green surface.
An instant later the eye will make out
grey form, of which each white spot
is an integral part. The forms will
look to one unaccustOmed to them for
all the world like grey goats, but the
driver will say while the tenderfOOt
looks that ''Theres little bunch of
antelope"
For twenty miles, say five hours,
the stage rolls slowly along through
the sand Of the plains. During that
time from six to ten punches of antelope
VIE be seen by the tourist. They
are not always running away, either,
nor do they always start up out of
range. Of course, since the trail is
stage route, and somebody is passing
over it every day, and people have
been doing SO every day for years,
the antelope, as a rule, are shy. They
| have been shot at so much along the
trail that one wonders to find any
! there and yet now and then hand
some prong horn will jump up and go
circling around the stage, stopping at
intervals within fair range to gaze
at the outfit, and finally turning his
white flag to view and hump himself
into the next township at a speed
! that would test the bottom Of the best
! horse that ever ran at Monmouth park.
| Of the antelope the tenderfOot sports
| man may be sure he will see a plenty
to satisfy his curiosity and whet his
ambition To see other large game re-
uuires either skill or the aid of an eX-
perienced guide. However, the guides
can be had, and with them the dogs
that are needed for certain kinds OF
game
! One of the best spots 4Or game in
this region is Apache canon. 1t is
best because game abounds, and be-
cause it is a most delightful valley, for
the camper. Imagine a pasture half
mile wide winding along for ten miles
between steep slopes and precipiceS
that tower hundreds of feet above the
grass land, with a grove of live oaks
here and another of cottonwoods there,
and pines and cedars scattered every
where; with a silvery thread of a
brook shining through the shadows;
with dozens of gray squirrels playing
about over the lawns, or leaping from
branch to branch among the birds in
the tree tops. and that is Apache canon.
One day last fall couple of the
cowboys concluded to carry some veni-
son to town to ship to market. SO
they went over there, and in one day
killed and dressed eighteen deer. The
writer drove up through this canon
for nine miles without seeing a deer,
but he was in a heavy wagon that made
a deal of noise, while three dogs that
were with the outfit had no end IF fun
with the squirrels. But let any one,
even a tenderfoot, establish camp
there. and then go away where some
dark gulch comes into the canon, and
sit down in a clump of oaks either
at sunset or before sunrise, and If he
doesn't get a deer it will be because
he has the buck fever and can not
shoot straight
Plenty of eastern readers have killed
deer in the Adirondacks and the noun
tains of Pennsylvania. The mounted
heads of the bucks are beautiful tro-
phies. Three, four, and rarely five
, prongs to the antlers spreading above
| the head make an ornament for the
dining room that alone pays for the
: discomforts Of the long wait on the
runway beside the lake or stream While