Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-10-21
BUTCHERING DEER IN VERMONT.
Demand for the Old LAW Protecting
Them.


From the Rutland Herald
Except in Essex county the generation OF
Vermonters Immediately preceding the
present one never saw a deer. PartridgeS,
squirrels and some other small game had
not been utterly exterminatcd by years OF
indscriminate slaughter, but the deer, with
the otter and the beaver, had become en-
tirely extinct. And the question before the
state today is whether the determination
Of the harmless and beautiful animal shall
be repeated.
Some men interested in having Vermont
forests repeopled with deer brought few
animals to the state years ago, law was
made protecting them and they multiplied
and spread in all directions. In many sec
tons they have in the last few years been
a common sight. and in not few cases
have become relatively tame. The law pre-
vented men from showing deer what blood
thirsty and cruel beasts they were, and
the deer came not to fear them. 1t is true
that a deer killed now and then but
the law was generally obeyed, and 1t is not
too much to say that the whole state was
delighted to have the animals once more
in the woods.
The legislature in 1896 made October in
| each year an open season. with certain re-
| strfctions as to ways of killing, and for
week we had all over the state the starting
out of hunters, the crack of the rifle and
boundless lying. But the situation is such
| that the feeling of a very large class of
| people was well expressed by one OF the
| best known sportsmen in the state at Rut-
| land the other day: Il like to hunt mighty
well, but / can't kill one of these deer;
| can't do it, 1 had just lief go into a
mans yard and shoot a Jersey calf" The
deer killed so far have mostly been those
| that had lost their fear of men, and the
| killing has been the work of butchers
| rather than that of sportsmen. The Herald
| hears of one authentic case where a buck
running for life was brought down with a
| rifle at long range. Doubtless there have
| been other cases of true sportsmanlike kill
| ing but the Herald actually knows OF no
| other. Upon the other hand the air Is full
| of unpleasanty definite reports of deer
| driven out from herds Of cattle to be shot,
| of tame deer watched for and shot down
| when they came to get their usual feed.
| and of the use of lights and salt and other
| methods forbidden alike by the law OF fair
| play and of the state. There is a substan-
| tial reward offered for the conviction of
| any one resorting to Illegal methods, and
| the Herald will be delighted to report con-
| victions. OF course the tame deer will soon
| disappear. II. indeed, any survive the butch
| cry Of last week. and with the great army
| of hunters at work in our limited forests
| the really wild deer Will stand no chance.
| The deer Is harmless. by nature shy and
| timid. and Is by far the most beautiful OF
| all the larger animals. 1t Is true that in a
| few cases there have been complaints of
| injury to crops by deer, but that injury at
| the most Is trifiing. and II thought best the
| state could make very small appropria-
ton to cover everything OF the sort.
Do the people Of Vermont want their