Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-03
Compiling List Of T Hunters Killed.

tentative being shotguns loaded with
buckShot The recent accident in that
state, spoken of above, happened under
the new law. and was due to the fact
that the hunting territory is very limited
and the number of hunters very large.
In the figures kept by the biological
survey no attempt is made to catalogue
the accidents other than fatal resulting
from hunting. When the work of col
lecting the data was inaugurated four
years ago some attempt was made to do
SO, but it was soon discovered that il
was impractical, on account of the fact
that there was no place to draw the line
on what would constitute a noteworthy
accident and the overwhelming amount
of work required to get reliable data on
the minor accidents. The data was found,
also. to be unreliable. because thousands
of minor accidents never came to the
notice of the survey.
Perhaps the most significant fact de-
duced up to date by the survey is that
the percentage Of hunting fatalities oc-
curing in states where doe hunting Is
prohibited is practically nothing. 1t is
thought that the fraction of time caused
by the delay in determining whether the
animal is buck saves the hunter. 1t
stops point-b blank firing, which i'm states
having no doe laws is the most pro-
life source Of accidents.
1t has been found that in the seventeen
states where the killing of does is pro-
hibited there have been but nine fatal ac-
cidents to deer hunters in the last four
years. In the states of Maine, Michigan,
New York and Wisconsin where the
killing of does is not prohibited, in the
same length of time there have been
thirty-four fatalities in deer hunting
alone. nearly four times many in these
four states in the states where the
doe laws are in force. OF the nine
fatalities mentioned, it is also shown
that there have been peculiar incidents
connected with each of the deaths which
remove them from the line of ordinary
hunting accidents. The case of the two
men killed in New Jersey by the same
load Of shot is hardly fair sample or
hunting accidents Three of the deaths
ing of the doe law" has never been very
Another death came from
drowning, the hunter breaking through
the ice in the pursuit of wounded buck.
The roster of death for 1911 promises
to be fuller than last year While the
hunting season is practically over in the
Rocky mountain region, and entirely closed
in the Pacific states, the season for deer
hunting is just in its height in the eastern
section the anu III beoISld,
South Carolina, Florida and other states
of the southern division. Colorado,
which was once a good place for hunters,
now has but seven days for deer hunting,
this year the season being from October
l to T. during which time male deer only
We're allowed to be killed.
Michigan, which has always had the
largest number of fatal hunting acct
dents, has changed her laws in such a
that the probability of accident
is much less. In the lake state there was
a total of thirty-Seven hunting fatalities
from all sources last year, and the survey
so far has received news of the death of
sixteen hunters from all causes this sea-
son. The laws have been changed SO
that where hunters formerly had twenty
one days they now have twenty-five from
the day of taking out the license, with
the additional provision that an option OF
time out of any part of the sea son, which
is a month and a half. may be had by
the hunter. This will reduce the number
of hunters at any one time, and il is
thought will reduce the number of fatal
hunting accidents for the year in Michi-
gan.
OF the total number of deer killed last
year, officially reported from twenty-five
states, and aggregating 10000. Maine
stands first with 1900, Michigan second
With 13,tU, Wnlle New 1oFk Is tniIu Will
1000 Wisconsin and Vermont stand
fourth and fifth. respectively. the former
reporting 6,OO0. and Vermont. which is
one of the small states in size, losing $500
deer in ten days of shooting.
1t is estimated that in the fifteen other
leer hunting states $4,000 deer were killed,
bringing the total to nearly 10000. while
t is obvious that thousands of the killed
are never reported. Estimating the total
lumber of deer killed at 10000. and the
lumber of hunters killed from all causes
asst year at 10 there was one hunter
net his death for every so deer bageed
Turing the hunting season.
Many pecuiarities in the game laws of
he various states exist. For instance. il
s unlawful to hunt Sunday in any of the
states east of the 10oth meridian, which
,asses through Denver Col, except Hi
lois, Louisiana, Michigan, Texas and
Wisconsin. One may not shoot water
-owl in any place i'm Maryland or in Ohio
nor OH tho Susquehanna flats
md certain rivers in Maryland Tuesdays.
Hunting is prohibited in several Mary
and counties election day, while when
here is snow on the ground hunting is
not allowed in Maryland. Virginia, New
Jersey and Delaware. The game laws OF