The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1902-03-15
FUDDS IN THE FOREST.
HOW MAINE GUIDES ARE PIT rEn
AGAINST LOGGERS.


Latter Damned Low StrearN The,
Want to Float Their Logs 2 own bu
Their Operations Preven' Hunter,
from Traversing Water G curses.
Tue old guides in th wild wood
lands. of northern Mai he are tellins
wond erful stories this season of the
unpreC edented numb ar of deer which
are roa ming in thu. almost pathles,
forest. -The farm RS during Septen
Der were kept BIZ .sy driving the dee
from barn. yard and garden and tn,
snorting loc oDo' lives of the Maine rail
road killed 0 N any deer at night thai
the game war Ie of the great hunting
belt complained: o the railroad off cials
of the slaughter. The new game law
enforced this sea son against the kill
ing of deer dur ing the first of the
aut, Imnal months was respon sible 70,
the ir great numb ers when the first
of October spoltsn zen appeared on the
sc enc.
A hunting trip through the Maine
woods this year reveals condition of
affairs which only the Oldest guide can
remember as having existed before in
that section. The past sum, ner has
been the dryest known in for ty years.
In consequence many of the famous
streams which have been wont to
dash and foam by logman's camp and
sportsmans leanto are now only shall
low brooks which cannot even float
the light draught canoes SO necessary
for expeditions travel to the heart of
theh hunting range.
These conditions have 'oeen respo
sible for almost nightly f'suds between
logmen and camp own Ars The Tor
mer have 100000 logs at the head
of the Aroostock restin g hard and fast
on the river bottom. AnxioRs to start
the big booms toward the sea, the log
men have built dam we'll up toward
the riverheads, hoping by easy stages
to move them on iheir journey. The
rivers have run almost dry below
these dams, and the click of reel, the
swish of a line and the purling of wa
ter from the bow of a canoe, sweet
music to the sportsmans ears. are
unknown sounds these days; and the
logmen ar blamed for it.
The Gus tomary nightly quiet of the
sportsmen s camps has been broken.
The camp owners have tried by force
to carry a way the logman's dams, and
the latter are forced to keep guards
on duty all night to ward against these
depredations. Thus far victory has
been with the logmen. because of su-
perior numbers.
Returning sportsmen say that the
feuds have not affected their sport in
the least. The guides always report
for duty in the morning, despite their
nightly attacks OH the enemy. They
think that last years record for the
hunting belt Of almost 1000 deer will
easily be eclips'ed this season.
A party whic b returned to this city
the last week in October reported six
inches Of snow in the vicinity of Mum
sungun River and deer tracks on every
hand. Despite the heavy fall of snow.
no reasone BILE amount of exposure to
the weather in these latitudes seems
to bring bad results The man who
at home must have his room heated,
and three blankets on his bed, can
sleep on a shakedown of boughs in
lean-tO in the woods, and never mind
the winds that play around him. With
camp fire at his feet and his form
wrapped in blanket, he is protected
from all ills and sleeps like q healthy
child.
While the moose in Maine are not |
diminishing, according to the best au-
thority. the old bulls, whose horns are
coveted by the hunter. are hard to ap- |
proach. The best of moose guides are
having a hard time this year to run
down the big game. When they fail,
nobody else need expect to succeed.
They know not only the habits of the
animals they hunt, but are as familiar
with the woods as with their own back
yards. They live in the woods most
of the time. The forest appeals to
them as the sea does to the sailor.
They trap in it, spruce bum" in it
and timber in it until they know its
every feature. These men are inter
esting characters. They are always
studying the ways of the great ami
mails. They know the runways or
ranges of the bull moose, and at what
time the animals may be expected at a
certain place.
The picturesque and nerve-trying
method of moose hunting by attracting
the bull with the simulated call of the
COW cannot be practiced much in
Maine this year under the existing
game laws. The open season for
shooting big game is so late that call
ing is futile. In the mating season
the old guides can initiate the weird,
screeching call of the cow moose SO
perfectly that the wiliest old bull is
deceived and will be drawn to the
source of the sound. grunting respon-
sively as he comes.
AS far as can be learned, there have
been only four cases of buck fever"
in the Maine woods this year. Four
men are known to have been killed by
misled hunters mistaking them for the
skulking deer.
Hunting in the great woods OF
Maine has become q fad with many