(_From Featherstonehaugh's Journal._)
Deer are more abundant than at the first settlement of the country.
They increase to a certain extent with the population. The reason of
this appears to be, that they find protection in the neighbourhood of
man from the beasts of prey that assail them in the wilderness, and from
whose attacks their young particularly can with difficulty escape.
They suffer most from the wolves, who hunt in packs like hounds, and
who seldom give up the chase until a deer is taken. We have often sat,
on a moonlight summer night, at the door of a log-cabin in one of our
prairies, and heard the wolves in full chase of a deer, yelling very
nearly in the same manner as a pack of hounds. Sometimes the cry would
be heard at a great distance over the plain: then it would die away, and
again be distinguished at a nearer point, and in another direction;--now
the full cry would burst upon us from a neighbouring thicket, and we
would almost hear the sobs of the exhausted deer;--and again it would be
borne away, and lost in the distance. We have passed nearly whole nights
in listening to such sounds; and once we saw a deer dash through the
yard, and immediately past the door at which we sat, followed by his
audacious pursuers, who were but a few yards in his rear.--Immense
numbers of deer are killed every year by our hunters, who take them for
their hams and skins alone, throwing away the rest of the carcass.
Venison hams and hides are important articles of export; the former are
purchased from the hunters at 25 cents a pair, the latter at 20 cents a
pound. In our villages we purchase for our tables the saddle of venison,
with the hams attached, for 37-1/2 cents, which would be something like
one cent a pound.--There are several ways of hunting deer, all of which
are equally simple. Most frequently the hunter proceeds to the woods on
horseback, in the day-time, selecting particularly certain hours, which
are thought to be most favourable. It is said, that, during the season
when the pastures are green, this animal rises from his lair precisely
at the rising of the moon, whether in the day or night; and I suppose
the fact to be so, because such is the testimony of experienced hunters.
If it be true, it is certainly a curious display of animal instinct.
This hour is therefore always kept in view by the hunter, as he rides
slowly through the forest, with his rifle on his shoulder, while his
keen eye penetrates the surrounding shades. On beholding a deer, the
hunter slides from his horse, and, while the deer is observing the
latter, creeps upon him, keeping the largest trees between himself and
the object of pursuit, until he gets near enough to fire. An expert
woodsman seldom fails to hit his game. It is extremely dangerous to
approach a wounded deer. Timid and harmless as this animal is at other
times, he no sooner finds himself deprived of the power of flight, than
he becomes furious, and rushes upon his enemy, making desperate plunges
with his sharp horns, and striking and trampling furiously with his
forelegs, which, being extremely muscular and armed with sharp hoofs,
are capable of inflicting very severe wounds. Aware of this
circumstance, the hunter approaches him with caution, and either secures
his prey by a second shot, where the first has been but partially
successful, or, as is more frequently the case, causes his dog to seize
the wounded animal, while he watches his own opportunity to stab him
with his hunting-knife. Sometimes where a noble buck is the victim, and
the hunter is impatient or inexperienced, terrible conflicts ensue on
such occasions. Another mode is to watch at night, in the neighbourhood
of the salt-licks. These are spots where the earth is impregnated with
saline particles, or where the salt-water oozes through the soil. Deer
and other grazing animals frequent such places, and remain for hours
licking the earth. The hunter secretes himself here, either in the thick
top of a tree, or most generally in a screen erected for the purpose,
and artfully concealed, like a mask-battery, with logs or green boughs.
This practice is pursued only in the summer, or early in the autumn, in
cloudless nights, when the moon shines brilliantly, and objects may be
readily discovered. At the rising of the moon, or shortly after, the
deer having risen from their beds approach the lick. Such places are
generally denuded of timber, but surrounded by it; and as the animal is
about to emerge from the shade into the clear moonlight, he stops,
looks cautiously around and snuffs the air. Then he advances a few
steps, and stops again, smells the ground, or raises his expanded
nostrils, as if "he snuffed the approach of danger in every tainted
breeze." The hunter sits motionless, and almost breathless, waiting
until the animal shall get within rifle-shot, and until its position, in
relation to the hunter and the light, shall be favourable, when he fires
with an unerring aim. A few deer only can be thus taken in one night,
and after a few nights, these timorous animals are driven from the
haunts which are thus disturbed. Another method is called
_driving_, and is only practised in those parts of the country
where this kind of game is scarce, and where hunting is pursued as an
amusement. A large party is made up, and the hunters ride forward with
their dogs. The hunting ground is selected, and as it is pretty well
known what tracts are usually taken by the deer when started, an
individual is placed at each of those passages to intercept the
retreating animal. The scene of action being in some measure,
surrounded, small parties advance with the dogs in different directions,
and the startled deer, in flying, generally fly by some of the persons
who are concealed, and who fire at them as they pass.
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