The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-11-29
CLOSE OF SEASON
Tomorrow Is the last Day for. the
Shooting of Deer in Min:
nesota.
Season Has Not Been Favorable for
the Unexperienced-Though
',.,' ~ '-.I
Game Was Plenty.

the Unexperienced-Though
Game Was Plenty.
Tomorrow marks the close Of the deer
hunting season in Minnesota, and the
real close of the hunting season for the
year. Ducks have practically disappeared
and within a week or two all Will be gone
The deer hunting this year has been
only fair. The deer have been PLENTIFUL.
in fact more plentiful than for several
seasons, but the lack Of snow and the
other weather conditions has made the
task of tracking the animals so difficult
that the less experienced hunters have
had trouble In bagging any game:
OF those who possessed any ability as
marksmen, and who understood wood
craft, however, few have returned without
g. full quota of deer. AS the law allows
each hunter to kill only three deer and ono
moose, many have had their trips cut
pretty short by the very fact Of their sue
cess. More than one instance can be
cited of men who have brought down their
three deer on the first day in the woods.
The experience Of hunters this season
has demonstrated that the present game
law is fully adequate to the needs Of the
state so far as restricting the killing OF
deer is concerned While many hunters
complain of the difficulty Of hunting the
animals under the weather conditions
which have prevailed this season, all nave
agreed that there were plenty OF deer IN
the woods.
1t is true that in the northern part OF
the state the residents occasionally let go
at a deer before the season opens, but the
great body Of hunters are kept out OF
the woods except during the period pre-
scribed by law. and the amount OF game
fnr no "a
does not increase the visible supply TO
any material extent.
Where They Eat Mutton.
st killed my first deer at o'clock on the
morning Of Nov. 49, said one resident OF
q northern county, where deer are plen-
tfful THAT Is. killed the first deer then.
I had shot a few sheep before that day.
1t is a curious fact, but mutton is plen-
tiful in our county before Nov. IL, ana
from then until the end Of the month VEN
ison is favorite article OF dlet. Alter
Nov. 80, mutton is popular again.
W. F. Carroll, well-known attorney at
Butte. Mont, recently returned from
hunting trip to eastern Idaho Among
others with whom Attorney Carroll met
while on his trip was Proctor Barclay, also
of Butte, who had novel experience
which is related as follows by Mr.. Carroll:
Mr. Barclay was out with Lieutenant
George Wedekind rounding up cattle, and
incidentally they carried a shotgun. They
came to Il slough along the Snake river
and saw some ducks In the water. !t
happened though that while they were
getting up to the slough a large haWk
flew down grabbed a big mallard drake
by the neck and started to fly away with
it, He headed toward Barclay, who pulled
his gun, took shot at the hawk and
raised it's athers, but scared 1T so that
it dropped the duck, and it came falling
down to the ground. The motion OF the
hawk, however. was so timed that the
duck, whose neck had been broken by the
hawk, fell plump into Barclays hands
who caught it very deity and brought 1t
home. II know this is a true story" says
Mr. Carroll, because Barclay is q Ken
tuckian; he was sixty miles away from
any bottle, and ate the duck
John ELY. of Calvert, near Wililamsport.
Pa. was brought to the Williamsport hos
pital Nov. II suffering from gunshot
wounds sustained in an accident While
hurting racOons Monday night he came
upon a bear trap which an ingenious hunt
err had so arranged that when pruln
stepped into the trap a gun would shoot a
load of lead into his head In the dark
ness Ely tripped on the cord fastened to
the guns trigger and received the bullets
intended for the bear. The bullets passed
through the right thigh and became i'm
bedded in the left thigh. Ely is seriously
but not necessarily fatally wounded.
The deer season opened in Michigan
and innumerable injuries to gunners have
been reported thus far. The dead: George
Willard, forty. and Alexander Cyr sixteen
drowned at Alpena from duck boats; Mat
thew Cole. farmer. near Standish, shot for
deer and instantly killed; John Alcott, Ia,
shot and killed by Percy Bum, II, at
Three Rivers; Anthony Monsor, 16,
%. drowned while hunting near Mt.
Clemens. .,.. -
Circuit Judge Steere of Marquette
Mich, who has returned from the 500
after several days in the woods after
deer, denies the report that he was forced
to climb tree to seek shelter from an
angry bear. but admits the experience was
so thrilling that he does not care for
repetition. The judge first saw the bear
when Bruin was thirty feet from him.
He Immediately fred the bullet hitting
the bear in the face. This so enraged the
beast that, instead of running away, as is
usually the case. he charged at the iurist.
The two were in the midst Of a clump of
jack pines and the judge did some lively
jumping and lodging while he fired four
times at the animal AS he pulled down
the lever Tor another shot the juriSt dis
covered that the magazine was empty.
Bruin was but six feet away and it was
at this time that the judge was thor
oughly alarmed. However, the charge in
the face must have later served to blind
the animal. for the judge was able. to
dodge Bruin again and run to small
clearing. The hunter rapidly filled his
magazine and, returning to the scene Of
the fray, sent a bullet through the bears
body. 1t was dusk and the jurist returned
to camp. The next morning, with COM
Danion, he went back to secure his game
Bruin had gone, but there was plenty of
evidence Of the previous days exciting
encounter. The trail Of blood was followed
to the edge Of a swamp, to which it is
believed the wounded beast crawled and
subsequently died to provide feast for
the wolves. --.
There is much sentiment in the upper
peninsula against the provision of the
present game law prohibiting any traffic
whatever in venison. 1t is felt that, If
the clause was inserted with the inten-
ton Of restricting the annual slaughter
1t Is a failure, for there is no hunter who
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