Daily Kennebec journal., 1901-02-26
CARIBOU BY THOUSANDS.
Immense Bag Of Deer in
Newfoundland.

up at the camps by the railway line.
the packing in of the meat and salt be
ing also done there. The marshes are
dotted with deer and hunters. barrels
are piled here and there. cleaning hill
locks of crystal salt reflect the sun
HSht, splendid antlered heads lie by
the track and everything indicates a
scene OF lively activity. with the fren-
"ied NlSor induced by the lust Of blood
'ollo"ed upon the slaughter OF defense
less animals
tntil the snowfalls begin and ii be-
comes too cold for camping the rail
road carries out fifty to eighty car
caSses of deer daily, which the owners
I convey to their homes in the distant
settlements by schooner or smack
These hunters are keen to secure good
antlerS and skins. and many a fisher
mans cottage in these bays is adorned
with magnificent stag's head while
his floor is spread with splendid hides
which the poorer classes sometimes
use to sleep on. Wandering traders
frequently secure heads and hides for
triIie, which American millionaireS
would give any money to have and all
over the colony it is common to see
mounted antlerS used as hat-rac!ls in
private residences In the northern
bays the winter is five months long the
hShertolk being cut off by the ice Hoes
from the outside world and the ven
lSnn a!ternateS with the inevitabla
Goldfish in their daily fare making a
welcome variety which the wealthy
epicure who eats venison abroad can
scarcely appreciate. These baymen
hunt for their own needs solely and
while the pursuit is an unusual one. the
light of the people who engage in it
Tor such purpose can hardly be lis
puted. especially when the vast area
o; the iSland--almost as large as ;he
state Of Massachusetts is taken into
account. and the number of caribou
i must contain is considered.
II the summer the deer make their
way 70 the most northern districts, for
the rich herbage and the cool air Az
autumn approaches they return south
ward, to find shelter from the winter
SnoWStorms in the thick forests which
fringe the south coast. 1t is while in
the latter migration that they are
killed by the sportSmen ana fisher
folk. The transnsular railway lies
across the country like a broad ribbon.
and they have TO cross at some point o.,
another. Therefore, along the ra;l"a7-
line is the fdVorite stalking place for
local and alien hunters. the heads of
The main rivers being next in popular
itN. The deer are safe from molesta-
ZION when they are days march on
either side Of the rails. and how great
their nariIs are in this death belt is
seen from the fact asserted by one
comp tent observer VINO travelled to
ana fro over the uplandS last fan. that
IA saw a Thousand Clrcasses along the
railway ut one time
Ey TIL" close of the year the caribou
have reached their winter haunts ana
then The southern settlers have .heir
turn. These men have reduced ali
otherwise honorable vocation to a mere
level Of dollars and cents. They
slaughter the deer. not for sport or for
Hfe's necessities, but for sordid gain
merely. They engage in regular
battues, kill stays. does and fawns
without discrimination. and ship the
stock of meat to town for sale To tur
highest bidder. OF late years this de
testable business has got into tn"
hands of half a dozen traders who fl
out men for il as they DO for the Tish-
cry They supply them with firearms
ammunition and provisions, ana handle
the Nenison they bring back allowing
them half the proceeds Of the sale Of
The meat in st. Johns, after deducting
the expenses. AS the trader charges
a stiff price for everything he supplies,
and as the charges for freight. hand
ling. commissions. etc. are high also.
it can easily be seen that there is very
little in the transaction for the hunter:
and season like this. when the mild
Wea her sends the value of the meat
down to a minimum, he gets nothing.
but remains more or less in the trad
erS' debt for the outfit which he had
been advanced.
These south coast hunters do not
start for the decr-parks until the first
frosts of the winter have frozen over
the marshes. and made them passahe
for men and dog sleds, for it is by
means of the latter that the meat is
transferred from the hunting grounds
to the coast the railway not touching
that section Of the country at all. The
parties which go in from the south
coast number twenty to fifty men
each. and they enclose large herds Of
deer in likely spots and shoot Them
down literally by the hundred. over
1900 carcasses have been brought here
by the steamer the past month and if
the season had been a severe one that
number would have been doubled. Eut
il being so mild hundreds of carca sses
have been thrown overheard. having