New-York tribune., 1903-03-01
ROYAL HUNTING.
Horv Nany MonGrchs Enjoy Sport
scith Dog and Gan.

been the farorfte pastfme of royalty, is to-day
even more perhaps than IN bygone ages t"e
distinctive sport OF kings. Nor is TINS SUI
prising. When the monotonous routine OF ther
daily life IS taken INTO consideration-the emo
less chain Of court functions. receptions. ban
euets and vis.ts-whnt more natural than tnA'
crowned heads should seek relaxation in the
noble sport which has tee.- the special pre-
rogstive OF their forefathers for Centuries! Inc
keenest Of royal sportsmen at present are
Emperor Francis Joseph, Emperor "hilaHl'
King Carlos OF Portugal. King Victor EN-
manuel of Italy, and Prince Nicholas OF Mon
te0egro.
Emperor Francis Joseph is passionateiy lono
Of chanois hunting. the dangers Of whicn nave
always fascinated him from the days OF ms
early youth. The Emperor generally INDUCES IN
his favorite sport in the neighborhood of Iscni'
the heart OF the Austrian Tyroi. The Hapsburg
sovereign is accompanied his expeditions oy
only two three princes OF the Imperial famllS-
intent hunting only for the pleasure IL al
fords in itself Francis Joseph's shooting parties
take place in the simplest manner possible, ana
are divested Of all outward show and mlse-en-
scene With an aIpenstock in hand and a gun
over his shoulder. the Emperor leaves his shoot
ing box ct Gansgebirge. where he has spent
the night at 4 a. m. and often spends the en-
tire day in the mountains. only returning late
at night. Francis Joseph is capital shot, and
rarely misses the chanois springing from rock
TO rock When the Emperor gives shootlng
party in honor Of brother sovereign it is either
In the preserves of Karapanesa or in the
forests neighboring to the shooting box at
Korisserdo. On such occasions the Emperor and
his guests each goes his own way, starting at
daybreak and hunts the whole day quite alone.
As 8 rule the Austrian Empercr's shooting par
ties last three or four days. The Emperor is
never present at hunting parties given in honor
OF official persons and diplomats, it being the
master Of the hounds who presides on such oc-
casions tFi the Emperor's name
Emperor VILLA n is perfect fanatic in the
matter Of sport and is an excellent shot, not
withstalIding the fact that he cannot his
left arm He shoots, rule, with very light
guns which he can easily hold in one hand.
The Emperor's favorite hunting grounds are in
the royal forests Of K6nig's wusterhausen, near
Berlin, in the Grtnwald and Syringe. William
II is generally accompanied On his expeditions
by his aides-de-camp. by the grand marshal
Of the court and by the grand master of hunts.
The Emperor always wears short shooting
jacket OF gray material, this being of the
few occasions when he dons civilian attire. Ac-
cording to oficial statistics. the Kaiser has shot
1896 head OF game during the last twenty
FIVE years. the following being the itemized list
OF his victims: Two buffaloes. elk, 3 reindeer.
5 bears. 1.O22 wild animals OF various kinds,
21S9 deer, 121 chamois. 16.1SS hares, 674 rab-
bits 9,643 pheasants. 81 heathcocks 4 wood
cocks. 95 grouse. 20 foxes, Sc wild ducks. 694
corTnorants, $50 roe deer and 5S1 head Of game
Tot classified.
Notwithstanding his poor physique King Vic
tor Emmanuel like his father, King Humbert,
is an enthusiastic sportsman. and is particularly
fond Of hurting in the Valley OF Aosta- The
Kings other favorite shooting haunts at
game Is very abundant On occasion. while
chcmois hunting with his father. Victor En-
manuel, then Prince OF Naples. and the Duke
of the Abruzzi nearly lost their lives In the
Valley Of Gesso; IN November, 1897, they were
overtaken by storm and almost frozen
TO death. being obliged to spend the night in a
small chalet exposed to the blast Of the storm
Eut neither this nor other dangerous expe-
riences have Iessened the Kings love for sport
In winter time. whenever he finds the opportu-
nitv and leisure, he leaves Rome to shoot boar
in the Abruzzi At Castelporciano, some twelve
miles from Rome. as many as two hundred
bosrs have been shot in one day by the King
and his party
The present Cars favorite shooting grounds
are ct Gatschina and at Tsarskoe Selo near d.
Petersburg Nicholas II also shoots IN the
wild districts OF the BIalowiege forests near
Mfnsk; on such occasions the imperial sports
ally at g. m and take luncheon in the forest
to ,eturn only late at night Rolling Kitchens
similar to those used in the French Army, are
taken on these expeditions; in this manner a
sunptvous meal can be provided for the royal
party at few minutes notice: for. unlike the
German and Austrian Emperors, Nicholas IL
does not like to rough it, table is set in
the open air, the Czarins being seated next to
her husband, while the guests take their seats
of
Buffalo hunting is the best sport afforded in the
imperial Russian preserves. but the race
is almost extinct these animals are hunted only
every third year. Last year over a hundred
were shot; OF these, the finest weighed twelve
hundred pounds and was brought dswn by the
Gar himself The female buffaloes never
shot and in winter are driven into large parks.
where they breed. Next to these budaloes the
finest big game in Russia is the BlaIowiege deer;
the Car and his party shot four hundred Of
these animals within a week last autumn.
King Carlos's achievements as z sportsman
have been too recently commented upon to be
repeated. While visiting President Loubet a
few weeks ago at Rambouillet the Portuguese
sovereign easily proved himself the best shot
among regning royalties Of to-day. The King
has shot over every royal preserve in Europe,
but he is particularly partial to Rambouillet
where he first made a reputation for himself as
skIful msrksnan in October. 1895. at
shooting party given in his honor by President
Faure The King took three thousand car
tridges with him that occasion. and during
the course of the day brought down $50 head Of
game among them being 13 deer and 633 pheas-
ants.
n. Emile Loubet may be nkened to his royal
contemporaries in his love for sport. Although
fefthanded. he is q capital shot He prefers. as
-,,le IN 90 MT shooting with his fayorite dog