The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-09-05
From Now On the Public Is
, at Liberty to Experience One of
the Greatest Joys that Come
to Sportsmen.

housing the advance guard of an army
of enthusiasts. To be sure it is small
army, but then most of the soldiers are
Well-drllled and are not prone to that
| frightful ailment known as buck fever.
| City men, too, many of them, but now
! a-dayS city man is as expert with
| beth rod and gun as are half the guides.
Perhaps it may be thought strange
| that there should be so great revival
| of deer hunting in New York state, but
| if the man who wonders will bark back
| a year or two, it will come to him
| that the New York legislature at its
| last session, but one, passed law pro-
| hibiting hunting deer with dogs and
| in various other ways which were both
! cruel and unsportsmanlike. This law
| has been more rigidly enforced than
almost any other of the game laws Of
the state. To be sure, just as in the
| old days of Robin Hood and Friar
| Tuck, a haunch of venison hangs in
| the cabin of some of the foresters at
| times of the year that it would not do
! to let the game warden view it, but
nobody grudges that, just SO long as
| the general spirit of the law is obeyed.
The floating for deer at night on the
placid bosom of lake or river is an eX-
! perience most charming ind weird.
Seated in the bow of the frail cedar
beat with a skillful guide and paddle
at the stern, you are propelled past
rocky headlands and alder swamp,
| through acres of lily pads that CRATE
and scrape aginst the sides of your
frail craft, past sandy beach and
marshy shores, slowly or swiftly as
| occasion requires, and with absolute
silence, as success will depend upon
your silent approach to your game as
his majesty splashes around in the
water, Kidding himself of the flies and
mosquitoes and feeding on tempting
| lily bud or water grasses.
For hours you listen for these well
come sounds. At last as you approach
a favorable feeding ground, splash
is heard near the shore that sets the
blood to leaping and tells you the SUI
preme moment has arrived. Your heart
beats faster and faster. Tightening
your grip on your rife you cautiously
remove the cover from the jack, a
stream of light is cast through the
darkness ahead of the boat, and In its
pathway, relieved against the gloomy
| forest background stands the monarch
! of the forest, his antlered head erect,
and eyes looking out at you like two
| balls of fire. With nerves in tremor
you bring your gun to your shoulder
| thoughts of buck fever flash through
YOUR mind, the chagrin of possible
| failure Gains you a bit. Now, with
true sportsman's instinct you cover
your game with both sights, aiming
| directly between those eyes of fire, and
! pull the trigger.
The painful stiffness of hours 1s
broken by the report of your gun,
which sounds like a cannon, echong
and reverberating from mountain to
mountain. The guide swiftly propels
the boat forward Your heart beats
prodigiously loud, as your companion,
who has not spoken above a whisper
for hours, now says in gratified tones;
'rWen, you've got him. Yes, you made
a good shot There he lays in the
water ahead. He's fallen almost In MS
tracks"
Now the boat is alongside, you step
ont into the shallow water and with
some little difficulty the buck is lifted