Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1909-10-29
Westminster

began at sunrise Monday morning, and 1t
will close at sunset tomorrow night. A
slaughter Of the deer was predicted when
the last legislature passed an act allowing
does to be killed. but few men could have
foretold such a carnage as has resulted.
In the first three days of the week in
Windham county alone the correspond
ents of The Phoenix reported 33S deer
killed Some towns have not been heard
from and many hunters have not come in
from their camps in the woods. 1t seems
probable that by the end of the week
more than 800 deer will have been killed
in this county.
Considering the number of hunters who
have been out the accidents have been
remarkably few. One man, Fred Harris
of Westminster, died in the Memorial
hospital this morning as the result of the
accidental discharge of a rifle by his son.
One man In Dummerston is reported to
have had a bullet hole put through his
hat and number of men have sighted
rifles at their fellow hunters and realized
that they were men just in time.
Young men and old, women as well as
men, have been out after deer through the
week. Three women have killed bucks,
and one 15-year-old boy shot a doe off in
the woods by himself. Men over 80 years
old have been out and have come in with
trophies of the hunt. Two large bears
and a large number of foxes and raccoons
have been shot by the deer hunters. The
biggest trophy of the open season was a
white buck, a partial albino, which was
killed in Brattleboro early In the morn
ing of the first day.
Farmers and others who wanted to have
the deer thinned out ought to be salts
fled with the results of the change in the
law. 1t is impossible to say what pro-
portion of the deer have been killed, but
1t is evident that the open season has re-
their
the actual slaughter in the open season
there Is always an aftermath when
wounded starving deer are found dying
or dead in the fields and woods, and this
year the tale will be more grewsome
than ever before.
Up to the present time few reports have
come in of hunters mistakng cattle for
deer. A fine eight-months-od helfer was
killed In the Betterley pasture on Dunn
merston hill Whoever killed it bled 1t
well so that 1t could be used for meat,
but he neglected to notify the owner and
1t laid in the pasture two days and spoiled
before it was discovered.
From the reports which The Phoenix
correspondents have sent in it appears
that Newfane is the banner town of the
county as to the number of deer killed.
Williamsville reported seven, Newfane II,
South Newfane five, and four more were
killed by Brattleboro men who were at
were killed in the town of Newfane
Dummerston is close second, with 25
deer to its credit. Rockingham reported
70 and Grafton and Townshend 20 EACH
Trophies of 5rattleboro Men.
white buck was killed early on the
morning of the first day by Howard John
son, driver for the American Express
company. The buck was small, weighing
not more than $50 pounds, and it was con-
siderably spotted with brown. 1t was not
the big white buck which has been seen
about here the past three or four years,
being only a threeyear- The big
buck is known to have been seen on
Black mountain in the winter of 1907
1908, and 1t was almost pure white and
was full grown with large antlers. The
buck Mr.. johnson killed was only a fawn
at that time. 1t seems probable that the
white doe which was reported as being
in company with the big white buck was
in reality the young buck which Mr..
johnson shot Mr.. Johnson secured his
trophy on the ridge back of Samuel Sar-
gents place. Several other hunters were
in the neighborhood and two of them
shot at the white buck at about the same
time Mr.. Johnson did, but it was Mr..
Johnson's bullet which dropped the deer.
When he first fired the deer was standing
about 20 rods from him with two of the
ordinary color. His first shot did not
take effect, but as the buck ran Mr.. John
son emptied the magazine of his rife at
him. The last shot struck him in the
neck and he fell. The other hunters shot
after he was in full flight and it is pos
sible that one of the three bullets which
struck him was from one of their rifles The
body showed three wounds, one in the
neck, one on the hip and one on a hind
leg.
Other Bratteboro hunters had good
luck on the first day OF the open season.
IA WanI .~I.N
year-old buck, weighing about IT'S pounds
which he killed on the Wilson farm in
West Dummerston. The biggest buck to
be brought in early in the week was a
2SO-pound one killed by Joseph Stark near
the Marlboro line. Clarence Bruce shot
hne 25O-pound buck in Jamaica. This
buck was something of a curiosity as one
antler appeared to have been broken off
and to have grown again simply as a
spike, while the other was a well de-
Veloped three-point antler. DR.. c. r.
Aldrich killed buck Weighing about $50
pounds in Putney on the first day, and
10. ID. Weatherhead killed one of about the
same weight in the western part of Brat
tleboro. The first doe to be brought in
weighed III pounds. 1t was killed by
Leon White in Newfane. The crowd of
Brattleboro hunters who went to the
Marlboro North pond for the week had
good luck on the first day. four deer and
tWo IoAes DelnB Drought in. Frank
Wright shot large doe, Sherman Abbott
shot small doe, Frank Streeter shot
a small buck and d. M. Stockwell shot
a three-year-old buck. Mr.. Abbott shot
the two foxes while waiting for deer.
c. w. Ellis shot a small doe in Marlboro
Monday
Brattleboro men did not do quite so
much business Tuesday and Wednesday.
Henry EVerleth shot one of the finest
young bucks seen this year Tuesday. 1t
weighed about It's pounds and was killed
In Putney. Dana Stafford got q large
spike horn buck and ]. L. Grover shot
a l6O-pound buck on his Dummerston
farm. The heaviest buck reported was
shot by Richard Brown on H. r. Browns
farm in Halifax. This was a veteran
weighing nearly 800 pounds. The hand
soonest set of antlers seen in Brattleboro
for many years was exhibited in Abbotts
market. The buck bearing them weighed
about 275 pounds and was bought by Mr..
Abbott from Ernest Parmenter of Gull
ford. John Wilson brought in a small
buck Wednesday which he killed in Dunn
merston. Fred Fox of West Brattleboro
shot large buck Tuesday.
Later reports from Brattleboro hunters
indicate that they are still having good
luck. James Helyar shot doe In Wards
boro and George and Delmar HAWKINS
each got doe in NeWfane. Cant o. ].
waterman went to Amsden and brought
back good-sized buck yesterday Six
bucks were shot by hunters staying at
the farm where he stayed. Robert Dunk
lee shot buck In West Dummerston.
Henry Wilson shot a buck In novar T.