Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-05
ROYAL SPORTSMEN
MANY MoNARCHs HUNT WITH
DOG AND GUN.
Emperor Francis Joseph, Kaiser Will
Liam and Kings Carlos and Victor
Emmanuel Fond of the Chase.

From the New York Tribune
Hunting, which from time immemorial
has been the favorite pastime Of royalty, is
today even more perhaps than in bygone
ages the distinctive sport of kings. Nor is
this surprising. When the monotonous
routine Of their daily life is taken into con-
sideration-the endless chain Of court func-
tions receptions, banquets and visits-what
more natural than that crowned heads
should seek relaxation in the noble sport
which has been the special prerogative Of
their forefathers for centuries? The Keen
est OF royal sportsmen at present are Empe-
ror Francis Joseph, Emperor William, King
Carlos Of Portugal, King Victor Emmanuel
OF Italy and Prince Nicholas OF Montenegro.
After the Chamois.
Emperor Francis Joseph is passionately
fond of channels hunting, the dangers of
which have always fascinated him from the
days Of his early youth. The emperor gen.
orally INDUCES in his favorite sport in the
neighborhood OF Ischl, the heart Of the
Austrian Tyrol. The Hapsburg sovereign
is accompanied on his expeditions by only
two or three princes OF the imperial family
Intent on hunting only for the pleasure 1t
affords in itself, Francis Joseph's shooting
parties take place in the simplest manner
possible, and are Invested Of all outward
show and mise-en-scene. With an alpen-
stock In hand and a gun over his shoulder,
the emperor leaves his shooting box at
Gansgebirge, where he has spent the night,
at In, and often spends the entire day
in the mountains only returning late at
night. Francis Joseph is a capital shot,
and rarely misses the chamois springing
from rock to rock When the emperor gives
a shooting party in honor of a brother SOW
ereign it is either in the preserves of Kara
panesa or In the forests neighboring to the
shooting box at Korisserdo. On such occa-
sions the emperor and his guests each goes
his own way, starting at daybreak and
hunts the whole day quite alone. AS a rule,
the Austrian emperor's shooting parties last
three or four days. The emperor is never
present at hunting parties given in honor
of official persons and diplomats, 1t being
the master of the hounds who presides on
such occasions in the emperor's name
The Kaiser.
Emperor William Is a perfect fanatic in
the matter of sport and is an excellent
shot, notwithstanding the fact that he can
not use his left arm. He shoots, as 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 konigs Wusterhausen, near Berlin, in
the Grunwald and Syringe. William II Is
generally accompanied on his expeditions
by his aids-de-camp, by the grand marshal
of the court and by the grand master of
the hunts. The emperor always wears a
short shooting jacket Of gray material, this
being one of the few occasions when he
dons civilian attire. According to official
statistics, the kaiser has shot 80, $40 head
of game during the last twenty-five years.
the following being the itemzed list of his
victims: Two buffaoes, elk, reindeer
3 bears, 1,022 wild animals of various kinds,
2,1S9 deer, 121 chamois, 49, 1873 hares. 674
rabbits. 9643 pheasants, 81 heathcocks, 4
woodcocks, 50 grouse, 20 foxes, Sc wild
ducks, 694 cormorants, $50 roe deer and 5S1
head of game not classified.
King Of Italy.
Notwithstanding his poor physique, King
Victor Emmanuel, like his father, King
Humbert, Is an enthusiastic sportsman
and is particularly fond of hunting in the
valley of Aosta. The kings other favorite
shooting haunts are at Ceresole and the
southern Alpine districts, where game Is
very abundant. On one occasion, while
chamois hunting with his father, Victor
Emmanuel, 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 snow storm and
almost frozen to DEATH being Obliged to
spend the night in a small chalet, exposed
to the blast of the storm. But neither this
nor other dangerous experiences have less
ened the kings love for sport. In winter
time, whenever he finds the opportunity
and leisure, he leaves Rome to shoot boar
in the AbruZzi At Castelporciano, some
Twelve miles from Rome, as many two
hundred boars have been shot In one day
by the king and his party.
At Gatschina
The present cars favorite shooting
grounds are at Gatschina and at Tsarskoe
Selo, near st. Petersburg. Nicholas II also
shoots in the wild districts of the Blalo-
wiege forests, near Minsk; on such occa-
sions the imperial sportsman and his guests
make an early start, generally at am,
and take luncheon in the forest, to return
only late at night. Rolling kitchens, SINH
lar to those used in the French army, are
taken on these expeditions; in this manner
a sumptuous meal con be provided for the
royal party at a few>minutes notice, for,
unlike the German and Austrian emperors,
Nicholas II does not like to rough it, A
table is set in the open air, the cZarina be-
ing seated next to her husband, while the
guests take their seats according to the
strictest rules Of etiquette. Buffalo hunt
ing is the best sport afforded In the i'm
perfal Russian preserves, but as the race
is almost extinct these animals are hunted
only every third year. Last year over
hundred were shot; OF these, the finest
weighed 1000 pounds, and was brought
down by the car himself The female
buffaloes are never shot, and in winter are
driven into large parks, where they breed.
Next to these buffaloes the finest big game
in Russia Is the Blalowiege deer. The car
and his party shot 400 of these animals
within a week last autumn.
INSCRIPTIONS on Rugs