Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1914-11-20
LOCAL VETERANS OF THE CHASE
Habits of the Game, Its Haunts Here
abouts and Methods of our
Pioneers in Taking 1t

The return of the local SportSmen,
display of their game, or chagrin,
at their lack of any, naturally gives
rise to curiosity as to the game hab-
it's and conditions, in other days. AS
result, "reminiscences are in ac-
tive inquiry as to the luck of earlier
followers of the hunting trail, and
pioneers, such as j. Lindoo, Bob
Sands, Joe and Doug Fritz, as
special centerS, in stOreroom gath
erings of lovers of the chase, are
being put through the third degree
of cross examination, in regard to
this section, in those times, from the
Sportman's standpoint.
The latter, who was on the scene
hereabouts % years ago, talked in
terestingly to a NeWs-Budget repre-
sentative, of the time when game
was all-plentiful, as far as Black
River Falls, some 80 miles south.
The turf in the woods or anywhere
else then, as compared with the
present time, being very little bro
ken, the waters of lakes and rivers
We're not muddy but of a decided
reddish cast, the coloring being
washed from the pine leaves. They
were beautifully clear, however, and
animate, so to speak, with the fin
est of fish.
Mr.. Fritz was here in '93, during
the great fire, that destroyed Hink-
ley, Mimi, and was one of the "a
residents, which Ladysmith contained
at that time, who worked night and
day to save the town.
"At that time, said he, in answer
to the News-Budget representative,
though no doubt hundreds of wild ami
mails were burned, many deer, bear
and other varieties fled to the wa
ter courses and hard wood timber
for protection since, owing to it's be-
ing comparatively free from slash
ings," it did not so readily take fire.
| l have also seen, in the summer
time, perhaps 80 to 100 deer in the
| river at once, to escape the flies.
What was our methods and sue
| cess, in those days, in taking theme
Zone could get all he wanted for
his own use, most any time, by go,
| ing to the "sink-holes," where the
oil-tanks are located, in the west
part of town. Hunters being few
then, no protective, warning badges
were worn; on the contrary, they
were sometimes dressed in deer
skin, which, nowadays, would consti
| tute one about as "bad a risk, as
| the insurance men say, as does the
red breeches of Gen. Joffre's soldiers
| when compared to the gray green
| uniforms of the Kaiser's men"
AS the deer is popularity supposed
to be a close relative of the com
mon sheep, which is said by natural
lists to be the biggest "numskull' OF
all the domestic animals-not ex
cepting the hog-did you ever no
tice a family resemblance?
con the contrary, an old buck
could give the elder VonMolke points
and still beat him to a "Teddy"-
an FRAGILE, when it comes to STRAIT
egg. Their eyes are stationary, like
a cats, and they don't see you, if
you don't move. They don't aim to
ever run with the wind, but against
| it and in a zigzag manner, so they
can scent over a wider space. A
| deer lying under a "Windfall," OF
we'll hid, will allow you to pass with
| in a few feet-he knows you can't
scent, and he is willing to take
chances on your seeing him. Again
| let one be raised, by the hunter,
| in the woods, and at the first jump
| seemingly, he will put a goodsized
| tree between himself and his pursu-
| er, which is kept strictly in the
| same exasperatingly relative posi-
| ton until he is well out of range.
We were accustomed to ambush
them by throwing out salt, in the
| neighbOrhOod Of their ''run-Ways. .