The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-05-06
WHERE GAME LAWS STOP.
,rxR A.PLENTY AND WISCONSIN
gIRNkRs LIKE FRESH HEAr.
-. Law Are Not Dsnsd with Malice. but
N, Animals Are 30 Numerous and In
....nx so Fast That They Are Destroy
~ C,op.-How the Fasmer-Hunter works.

.,.uy,rrp. Wis May 2.JThere IL one section
n. yolumtnous game law OF Wisconsin TO
~.,ch IN. farmers OF this region pay no sort OF
..,,,op. and that part 10 the article relating
~. shoo,lnQ Of deer. This game law 10 20
ND 40 restrictive that In many ways II fas
$50 ,,elr. People willing TO obey a reason
~, -,a,u,. kicked over the traces within a
(, the massage OF this one. and now nearly
-, .sryice Is to cumber the shelves OF coun-
.n.-.rs II 10 a little too much 10 ask oil
N.,,der,. a taxpayer and a sportsman that he
''m nnly two deer In a year when tho animals
-, ,hick that they may be seen at any time
$50 man has walked or ridden two miles
-, ba home As Ike Hanning expresses II.
.trI hrsak the blamed law forty times a minute
40 these bucks shall sa'nter up TO me an
h,a me- The law permits the killing OF two
40, bv any ono man. Q citizen Of Wisconsin,.
ts,uesn Nov. i and Nov. 20 OF each year. The
aean .ea,on IA thus restricted to twenty-one
49, No dogs are allowed. No fre-hunting
., NIGH, is allowed. No traps or pitfalls are
sloved. No deer must be slain when in tho
-, nj ON the ice. II q man u found in pos
,.s.ion o, d "red-coat- skin. or . spotted fawn-
.s,n bs IA guilty upon prima facis evidence.
Ma NAV be fined 500, or shut UP in the county
all for ey MDnlDb, VI w cSNA
nrsoned AT the discretion OF the Justice.
This statute the people calmly ignore IL has
been upon the books for some years and much
Of il is q dead letter. In central ana nornern
Wisconsin. outside OF tho county eeau'
there ia practically no market. 1t 10 very dn1-
chi, to obtain fresh beef. mutton or pork. Inc
folk, i've mostly upon salt meaN. and only
the man condemned TO bacon. "sow-beny
and ham all through a winter can understand
the tiger sh craving for fresh meat which pos
-.sses the salt feeder. The men grow suriy
and inpatient. the women get SICK. when d
farmer gets SO that he hates cured reeh win u
uo,sonous hatred and q fat buck loafs along the
edge Of his field a quarter OF a nile from inc
house and his rifle, clean as a new pm lnsids Mo
mi stands ldlv IN a corner, what IL salu man
going TO do9 Naturally he goes after the DUCK
md gets him. Naturally he sends pieces OF
Inc yeuison to the homes OF his nelshboIs'
ior they are all doing the same thing ana ne
knows il. lie not only disobeys the law. but
h. has come to look upon me game wHrueh az
an lnlermeddler and II would De unsafe lor one
IL these officials 10 become TOO energetic III
the discharge OF his duties,
Beginning in Wood county and running 10
lake superior is q vast stretch OF FOREST land,
Gigantic oaks. hlckorles, poplars ana pines
cnmpo,s II. The soil IL covered WITH n carpet
Of dead leaves three inches thick. There is mhch
nnderhrush, much tamarack swamp. thousands
Of mai lakes. streams and springs Deer
food young buds, young grasses. NE sWeet
iuner bark Of the NAPLES plentiful. Ii IS
an .dea! land for the propagation OF me animal
The proportion OF this land now UNDER cult,Ea-
non is as / To 800. The farms are small ana lar
scattered. The lumber camps are not sufficiently
N evidence to rob the section OF It's WILDERNESS
,harac,er. The few axemen and farmers
are too busy six DAYS in The week 70 huht reHu-
lar!y. They are too religious 10 hunt on sun
dI,s If there we're no restraining law AZ All
Their combined Efforts would not suffice 10 make
a sensible decrease IN the, quantity OF deer'
Consequently, when they do get the chance,
'hrv bring in fresh venison at any season OF
the wear and when asked about u 'ney plead
ignorance Of the law Al the same time they
foreign shooters. II man from another State.
ur from a Wisconsin city for that matter. went
nto Mood county and shot a buck out Of season
be would p" ,MaH, Four T hours sn'' ~ "''
IN. manner in which the deer have multi
plied Of late years Is remarkable. lhcir IN
'r'lS, is due mainly To the antl-dog ana anu
Grelight sections 81 the law. These two sections
have been rigidly observed. The animal.
have grown Ia such numbers thai not only are
the, within reach of the most inexperienced
sportsman. hut they are n positive menace Ia
crops Later on in the spring, when me wileat,
oat-. rye, barley and Indian corn get out OF he
ground the farmers VIII he shoounE DUCKS
1t only because they want ,venison but te-
,aIsa they DO not want to lose money The
unoultof damage To iortv-acre field OF. Young
wheat which a single buck i capable Of doing
= nov ll'Hi~lfifl IVY W NiN' Nl'
armed in a dnar country and have had Ia foot
rn bills II * the ordinary habit d the woods
Il to te'd n early morning and late IN th"
t.rnouu The nuCi;, however, which has found
a,ll whose contents suit him. lies up all day
anl does his eating al night IL goes without
,i,la- that no ordinary ,barbed wire ience VIII
A"G, him ont \ t"n-rall fence staked ana no
,rrl will sometimes keep him out and some
lines not There are bucks which Will clear
tul fence that i, not a good eight feet in height
Ih' animal leaps into the held eenerahy az
about 10 o'clock ~ night and ~ once begins
aruH>ing H. will stay in il until the first faint
'l>hes IN the East mark the coming day. In
The maantilne he will prance about. leap, run,
yr down and roll and in ms manner desuoy
When the buck has been visiting a field
steadily for two weeks. three or four acres OF
= now the wear and tear very PLAINLY. Much
% tha grain will be broken or beaten down.
ap1 rhore will be large bare areas. When the
lirmer discovers thu lncursions-an and the visits
ma have been going on for a month before he
,nnWSo f them he waits for a moonlight night,
soAS to that particular section OF the field and
hides himself in the grain. He knows exactly
whore to 40. for a buck, If undisturbed, will con-
'Inm to enter and Leave a tied at the sam same
that h. cannot Jump the fence anywhere else;
" else he is a creature of habit. he can not tell
whl Tho farmer remains crouched WIN IN
leatlv listening ears for a half hour or an hour.
Then he hears Atty yards away a slight crash.
and looking keenly sees the brown sides OF tho
bIch. which has lesped tho fence and is now
W1lklnG SLOWLY ana proudly, toWhIu ms mehuy
feast The farmer brings his rife to an easy
position and whistles softly. Instantly the buck
stops, throws up his head and elances rapidly
IN every direction. The moonbeams, shine
brightly on the foresight OF the rifle. There Ia
a crack. a wIsp of light blue smoke instantly
d~i,~ipated. a S~pasmodic spring and a tremend-
Gus hurry in the shaking wheat, In thirty
seconds everything - still The farmer walks
~, looks stolcally down on his PROSTATE Enemy
and goes to tho house after q wagon. There
will be yenlson on the farm the next day and the
dsy after. The ~neighbors will get some. II
a game warden should. happen To-, arrive and
threaten to make complaint, he will be taken To
that part Of the field which has been devastated.
II h. is,tlll recalcitrant, he will be told to move
on, and move with a rush. Generally he is a
mln Of sense who stays to dinner, has some
oi tho meat. calls IL beef or mutton, and goes on
hs way In the cool of the evening with a full
stomach and a gentle heart
II a often the case that, instead Of a soil
'arv buck prowling and depredating At night
q mall Held, away IN n the woods zen miles
rom q Post ONCE, Will be- entered by a half
dozen or a dozen deer in the full light Of day.
il then behooves the farmer man 10 stir his
-'uHps or he will have no grain left. Find
.ic that tho deer have Corne. he summons his
sons, or any hired men, or any neighbors he
Of damage, going through the woods along
tie lenCe and not through the field They APP
Wroach the open from the trees and In this way
gel between the deer and their refuge. They
strike the fence at the place where the animals
have crossed and distribute themselves along
y tn" deer, having been seen busily browsing,
ne men STICK their gun n!uZzles trough the
renee, sight carefully and let drive. Such
deer as are not down will break instantly for
HER cover. seeking to get out by the way they
came IN. In other words they will charge
straight at their concealed fOemen, coming
NE he II is a neye-racking sight. but
tteedy shot apiece before the deer go over
thsm and crash INTO the underbrush. II req