The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-10
CRIME IN THE ACKNOWLEDGES
It Seems Safer TO XIII Man Than . Deer
Out of season.

| Tho true Adirondack woodsman--the man born
and bred in the mountans-has little respect for
the Game laws while he may realize that tho
preservation Of the deer and trout and the conse-
quent visits OF city sportsmcn with we'll filled
purses due to these laws, and that In this
sense tn the goose responsible for his golden
egg, IL is hard, in the winter months, when tho
ardor Is reduced 10 the pork barrel ~ resist the
temptation TO shoulder gun and make an attempt
at knocking over some fresh meat II he is for
tunate enough To do the trick, not much time will
olapsc before c horns, head and hide Of the ami
nal ar barred. the carcass cut up. and some
choice cuts OF mountain sheep" are slowed away in
the woodsmans cabin With this done the dan
ger OF detection is past. unless some i'll natured
ne ghbor has witnessed the shooting and chooses
to make it warm for the hunter he is safe from tho
clutches OF the law and Tia" game protector. -
In one Of the Adirondack counties there have
b en- in the past ten years several homicdes but in
no case has there been a conviction of murder in
the first degree The same county has also seen
frequent violations Of tn" Game laws and il has
sometimes happened that punish mcnt has followed
the latt'r oiIcnsr moro swiftly and with greater
pronnrtIonnt" severity than the capital crime \
group OF mnuntanccrS were discussing this state
Of Affairs in AN ADJ rondlCk cabin notlong ago.
Il believe said the saTc of the party, it's safer
to kill man than deer in this county. II ye
got To kill somethin', jest cracl; yer wife over tho
head with poker or shoot yer enemy in the back.
The iury'll acquit We on the ground that twas
accidental But don't kill deer out o. season,
yen find yersclf behind the bars quicker'n
lightnn"
Il see they got ole Sam Judson locked up down
t the county seat" remarked one Of the group.
yes, he game warden was up this way yester-
day supnnan' witnesses Teller named Smith
.,l..
with his gun fore breakfast an seen Judson cut
tin the critters throat Reckon Smith was
lookin for that same deer herself that's the reason
he felt 80 much righteous Indignation at seein'
Sam violatin' the law.
"Judson'll go to Jail. sure pop. He haint got
nuthin' to pay fine with Countyl have TO sup
port his family or else they'll starve. l reckon
the county can afford TO do it, for it'll be grand
warnn to other folks not 10 monkey with the
Game laws Ez said, if SAM only been salts.
fled To shoot a man any human ben he'd
probly got off all right
You recollect the OF Berkeley an Brown
up at Saranac Brownd been out guidin an
had considerable money. He went into Berk-
eley's hotel to get his load up. He made a fairly
successful job of it. an after he'd spent most of
his cash, Berkeley fired him out That sorter
hurt Browns feelin's He went away an got
his rifle an box of cartridges Come back
to the hotel where Berkeley was settin on the
porch. Brown up with his gun an shot him
dead. He cleared out right away an haint been
heard OF sence. Different ones claim to have seen
him, but he Amt been brought to trial, anyhow
Then there was the Teller UP South who shot
his wife with pistol. He was drunk at the time
"A she lived long enough to swear twas an acct
dent He got off with few months in Jail At
the same term O. court they ave Teller i've years
for stealing a few pounds Of butter l suppose
butter high at the time
IL cd recollect other cases but you know EN-
ez wells do When We shoot a deer out OF
season, on the other hand, you're darned scoun-
drel an amt entitled to any pity The iuryn
soak We the limit every time"
These sentiments are shared pretty generally
by the Adirondack woodsmen. They are by no
means lawless men. but the lax enforcement of
some statutes tends to lessen their respect for the
whole fabric Of the law. Perhaps this explains in
part why many deer are killed and fish are
caught out OF season which the game warden
never hears about