The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-10-10
HUNGRY DEER
Attack Western Corn Fields and Farm
ers Have Great Sport.
Now Vorl1 S,,,,

eIS aVeStfeat Sport.
- New York Sun.
This is the season when the farmer Of
the northwest grabs his rife and goes
out to break the game law with pride in
his heart and a desire that he had a
game warden tied somewhere so that he
could shoot between his toes The farm
er is after deer now, and he is after
the deer because the deer are after his
corn. ii
Scattered thru the woods in the Su-
perlor country are many small farms
that have been cleared within ten years
past. There has been a considerable
and majority of the immigrants have
been men of agriculture. The deer is
to them a very serious animal. They
regard him as a peril, and, outside of
liking to eat him, shoot at him as
duty.
The strongly protective laws of some
or the western states have resulted in
an enormous increase Of deer. While
there are many hunters in the woods
ca each fall, there is a huge amount Of
thlckly t1mbered territory, and the hunt
ers cannot begin to account for 1.-THE
OF the animals.
Many more Of them are slain bv
wolves than by human beings, but they
continue to increase, and probably will
continue to do so until there is a change
IN the law which permits the killing Of
only two animals in year and limits
the time, Of the killing to November.
:, There is nothing a deer likes better
than young standing corn, and it will
tall jumping to get it. It is the farm
er>s purpose to preserve his corn at all
hazards, and he will break the law in
order to do it.
It is no trick at all to kill the deer
under such conditions The only thing
the farmer tries to do is to avoid being
caught after the killing is done. That
may give him some trouble if the ward
ems are active. -~l..
The field shows in the morning that a
deer visited it during the night. I'm
less the farmer has been inexcusablv
careless the animal got in by jumping
the fence. It's impact will be plainly
marked, and it will be certain to return
the next night, jumping the. fence at
the same place and keeping this up until
it is killed or has enough Of corn.
The farmer has a choice of lying in
wait in the field at night near the point
OF entry and shooting the deer as it
comes inf the night is to be of bright
moonlight (and deer do most of their
feeding on such nights) he will probably
adopt this course--or he may follow
the deer's tracks outside of the fence,
find what runway@is used coming to the
field and wait for the robber there.
Or he may wait near to the trampled
part of the corn, knowing that the deer,
once inside, will approach it much less
suspiciously than it will approach the
fence. Or he may have his gun hang
ing on its nail and set sharp stake in
side the fence at the point of entry
waiting for the deer to fall on it when
he leaps.
Anyone Of these methods is apt to be
fatal if the farmer knows anything
| about the business, and hA is apt to
know a good deal about it if he has
taken UP homestead in the woods and
made his clearing on it. He will not
use a headlight to shine the eyes of
the deer, because he does not know
whether or not he may shine the eyes
! of the game warden, and of a dark
night in July the headlight is conspicu.
GUS mile away.
There are hundreds of deer slain
each summer in this way, and they are
| in better condition now than at any
other time of year. They have been
feeding upon the lilypads and soft wet
grasses Of the lakes until entirely recov
cred from their winter fast, and the
young corn they Have been eating has
hardened their flesh and put a singu
llarly delicious taste to 1t.
. : 80