New-York tribune., 1902-05-17

executed game laws for his enjoyment of the
sturdy pleasures of the chase.
Mr. Roosevelts views as to the value Of big
game hunting are well known, and he does not
omit TO reinforce them here-the healthiness
Of the hardy outdoor sports of the wilderness,
the value of their qualities to the soldier. A
curious feature Of modern warfare Mr.
Roosevelt points out. is its return to the quail
ties of individual initiative, ability to live and
work in the open. and personal skill in the man
agement OF horse and weapons. American big
game is vanishing with melancholy rapidity;
vet the facts have been often Overestimated. In
the West there are still considerable regions
where the various species Of deer are found in
great abundance; and in New-England and
New-York, as well as w-Brunswick and
Nova Scotia, the Whitehall is more plentiful than
Il was thirty years ago, as are the moose and
caribou in Maine and New Brunswick But
the sportsman and the lover of nature should
Join in preserving these creatures from wanton
destruction all over the country
An excellent feature of the volume is the
series OF maps by DR.. c. Hart Merriam, show
ing the range and distribution of the various
types OF deer. From these it appears that all
the animals here discussed, except the white
tail deer and the moose. are to be found only
in the Far West The Whitehall has held its
own better than any other kind, and is to be
found from Southern Canada, from the Atlantic
to the Pacific, down into South America. The
blacitaf or mule deer. is the largest and finest
Of the three small varieties. In Mr.. Roosevelts
Colorado expedition in the winter Of 1901 he
invaded the wintering ground of the great Colo
rado herd; and in the huge pasture inclosed by
barbed wire fences they We're more numerous
than he had ever seen them elsewhere. He was
immensely interested in the way they got
through the wire fences:
II the animals had chosen. they could have
jumped any of the wire fences saw; yet never
in a single instance did / see one of them so
snow tracks which indicated their having done
so. They paid no heed whatever to the fences
far ] could see, and went through them at
will; but they always got between the wires or
went under the lowest wire. The dexterity
with which they did this extraordinary.
When alarmed they would run full speed toward
a wire fence. would pass through it, often hardly
altering their stride, and never making any
marks in the snow which looked as though they
had crawled Twice ! bands thus go
through wire fence, once at speed the other
time when they were not alarmed.
Ordinarily this deer must be killed bv long
tramping among the hills, skilful stalking and
good shooting. The work is sufficiently rough
10 test any mans endurance, and yet not such
severe and intense toll is required to follow
true mountain game, like the bighorn or white
goat. The chase OF the Whitehall on the other
hand offers less attraction TO the sportsman of
Mr. RooseVet's type, though others have lauded
II highly. 1t is generally found in regions where
II is extremely difficult to kill Iegitimately and
yet comparatively easy TO kill under circun-
etances that make small demand for prowess
upon the hunter. Stealth is a chief requisite in
stalking the whitetail-and Mr.. Roosevelt pre-
ters hardihood and endurance. When the woods