The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1909-01-15

Graphic Description Of Hunting Trip
and Of tho Country by DR.. Z. b.
Kenner, Formerly Of
Pennington.

left Galveston ON Dec. 26th
and boarded the San Antonio
Arkansas Pass Railroad for Bee
Vile, Texas, where l was joined by
four other hunters. Together We
left with light two-horse wagon
for the Simmons ranch, carrying
with us camping outfit, etc, for q
weeks hunt. We travelled for foni
miles In n southwesterly direction
through Bee and into live oak coun.
ty, passing through Oakville, the
county seat of Live Oak county
and on to the Simmons ranch, go.
ing through the George West ranch,
which is one of the largest and best
equipped ranches In Texas. II con.
sists OF IL, 900 acres of land, all un.
der four bsrbed wires, with peeled
mesquite posts. II Is subdivided In
to smaller pastures, In like manner,
well stocked with fine cattle and has
as many deer on 1t as cattle; In fact,
1t Is impossible, any time OF the
year, day or night, to drive along
the county road, which runs through
this magnificent ranch for twenty
miles, without seeing or hearing at
least a half-dozen bucks give you
the whistle and flag you, (by which
| mean jump up and snort and run
off playfully through the bushes,
raising their white tails
The hunting of deer on this ranch
Is forbidden; In fact, Mr.. West has
Fence Riders, 20 In number, who
have an allotted Territory to cover,
just as policeman in city. They
leave in the morning on horseback,
with their Winchester, pistol and
lariat, and make their daily rounds,
to protect the cattle, keep them in
certain pastures and keep out hun
tiers. The object OF keeping them
out is, when n hunter shoots, he IL
likely to cripple the cattle, or cause
them to stampede and break into
other pastures, etc. Another thing:
Mr.. West is anxious to preserve
the deer, and when any hunter slips
stealthily into the pasture and shoots
at a deer, 1t is the duty of the fence
rider to dispatch, with all haste, to
the place where he has heard the
report of the gun, take the man y
name and reports him to the grand
jury for trespassing. These fence
riders are generally tough custom
ers. They learn to track the hun
ter through the woods. Then, too,
he is equipped with a strong field
glass, and he waits and watches the
open places with his spyglass, aud
If the hunter gets in the open the
rider is soon up with him. He asks
him his name, and courteously tells
him, II 1t Is his first offense, that he
is In Mr.. Vests pasture; and he Is
requested not to hunt on IL, and out
lines the pasture, so he will not
make second error of hunting
there. The hunter will start as II
he is going out, and oftimes soon
turns in the opposite direction, and
when he thinks he Is safe, kills
buck. the rider then comes upon
him the second time and talks pretty
roughly, but tells him to take the
buck out and stay out. III It hap
pens to be a doe he has killed, then
he reports II to the county officials,
and the hunter has to appear ut
court and pay $500 for killing a
doe, with costs, and he fined for
trespassing. Nevertheless, from
the first day of November to the
first day of January of each year
there are hundreds of deer killed by
hunters who camp around the Dor
ders of this ranch, or while travel
ing along the public road through
1t, as one can, by law, shoot deer
200 yards on either side OF the pup
lie road. But this is not all: the
hunter, In his eagerness, invades
the solemn precincts of this sacred
and well guarded ranch every day
during the season, and slips about
like wild deer, and when he thinks
the rider Is IN another part OF the
pasture, or after some other hunter,
he will look for the horns, to be
sure IL Is a buck; then, with his
Winchester, he takes deliberate
aim and lands his game. II he hears
the fence rider coming, he will at
tempt to hide his deer and get over
the feEce, or hide somewhere In the |
thick brush, until night falls or the |
rider goes away, and then packs his |
ieer to the fence and to camp. So
he patience of these riders IL sorely
.ried, and one cannot blame them
or being rough, because the hunter
IAN kill all the game necessary,
and, according to law, one hunter
l.. L