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CANADIAN GAME TRAILS Necessity for Stocktaking by the Government of the Dominion Ways of tlic Woods and Tliclr Dcni Dcnizciis zciis Sport In Plenty PlentyEvcryivhcre Evcryivhcre Canada furnishes big game of North America a last retreat from the steady encroachment of com ¬ mercial life This is a fact recognized by all writes Hubert Hutton in Rod and Gun in Canada CanadaTo To the south in the United States we find the larger game mammals have been hunted almost to complete extinction The conservation laws arrived all but too late Those interested in the preserva ¬ tion of game in Canada should profit by the example of their less fortunate southern neighbors and enact adequate protective legislation Enaction of these laws is but the preface to the main task in hand that of enforcing the laws which should he accomplished without favor to any and witli justice to all allIt It has been wisely said that ninetenths of wisdom consists of taking a step in time and this adage particularly applies to the game con ¬ servation question questionThe The game hog and market hunter should he routed out and not permitted to pursue his evil practices f slaughtering large nunihcrs of our majestic wood ¬ land creatures in violation of all precepts of hu ¬ manity and contrary to the law of the land Sportsman should not tolerate his presence in the community They should continually bear in mind the fact that he if allowed to continue his evil tactics will eventually extinguish our wild life and roh the honest and humane sportsman of one of natures greatest assets our wild life lifePerhaps Perhaps we already have on our statute books sufficient laws on conservation but what is es ¬ pecially needed the crying need of the hour is en ¬ forcement of the laws without fear and without favor Laws are mere scraps of paper impotent and without avail if they are not properly and adequately enforced It would have been just as well not to have wasted the time to enact them in that circumstance Sportsmen should cry aloud in a mighty chorus for the prosecution and convic ¬ tion of game law breakers and not cease until the guilty one has paid the penalty It is only in this way that the last remnant of Americas larger game animals may be saved before it is ever ¬ lastingly too late Act while yet ye may lest ye rue the day dayGAME GAME HOGS NEED TO BE CHECKED CHECKEDComparatively Comparatively speaking Canadas game fields remain good hunting grounds but ere long Canada will find her larger mammals gone if she fails to profit by the sad experience of the United States It has been but a few years since game was plenti ¬ ful in the States so plentiful in fact that little attention was paid to conservation legislation and now behold the result game of the larger species practically extinct in nearly every state in the Union UnionCanada Canada should take stock of her game resources check up her assets and her liabilities and strike a balancc The game hog is one of her most po ¬ tent liabilities the sportsman her most powerful asset By prosecuting a few pot hunters they may he changed by reformation from liabilities to assets and by educating her people in the ways of true sportsmanship she will eventually have but few liabilities and many assets It is up to fellow sportsmen to effect this education They should lose no opportunity to bring the lesson as they have learned it before those that have carelessly or wantonly paid no heed to the great subject subjectOne One writer aptly notes that Each year the homestead cabins move farther up the creeks and canyons hoofprints like two hulf moons he is speaking of deer less thickly dot the trails and watering places The same thing applies to the moose caribou bear and other big game animals even in a greater degree and sooner or later no hoofprints will he visible at all if effective measures are not speedily taken Think what that unhappy day betides No hunt ¬ t ing Consequently there will he comparatively no joy in vacations nothing enticing about outings no place for the tired business man to sootiie his nerves A7acation time would simply be too dull to be refreshing refreshingGoing Going hunting has charms all its own Today the greatest difficulty is to locate and approach game so when you hike out to the game fields where lies hidden somewhere the game you seek change your tactics go cautiously slowly and straight in the wind or quartering against it hearing in mind that the creatures of the wild are each endowed by nature with remarkable sensing powers such as the human being never possessed The whole secret in hunting for game is to use your head matching their shrewdness and cunning with yours yoursANIMAL ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE EXTREMELY KEEN KEENWhile While man is probably their worst and most deadly enemy they have many other natural foes and the multitude of their enemies makes sharp their wits until the animal intelligence is equal or superior to that of man their ability of using their smelling powers to scent their friends and enemies is in itself truly marvelous This sense is developed a hundred times more keen in them than in a human being because of the constant use they make of it Not only is their sense of smell highly developed but their ears are able through constant practice to pick up sounds that would be quite inaudible to the ear of a man and they have eyes that are trained to detect strange or un ¬ familiar movements They have to bo deeply versed in woodcraft in order to combat their enemies and if they did not possess these extraordinary powers of alertness the wild life of the forest would be quickly exterminated by the genius of the higher order of creation man The keeneyed sharpealed crea ¬ tures of wooilland hill and dale are seldom caught napping It is their business to keep aloof from harms way and you will find them all professionals in their calling They are alert to the slightest unusual sound or noise a slight cough it may be or the snap of a twig in your path hence to be successful you must practice stealth carefully pick ¬ ing your way forward through the brush taking shelter behind every knoll or rise of grouild tree log or bush as the case may he as docs the Indian master of the art that he unqualifiedly is isA A good way to hunt is to select a likely place such as a log or other comfortable scat and simply sit still and wait watchful waiting is more likely to bring success than striding about here and there inevitably making a big lot of fuss that is certain to be detected by tin quarry Just sit still and look and listen A likely place is near thickets watering places in woods or heavy brush and at a location that permits your optics to ob ¬ serve as much ground as possible youll find tin plan less fatiguing and more successful certainly than tearing aimlessly through the brush brushA A binocular telescope is wellnigh indispensable in hunting big game AAith it you are enabled to search out all the surrounding country from wher you are minutely spanning every inch of ground for signs of wild life This saves time the labor of miles of walking and assures a greater degree of success By successBy its use often a white object in the dim dis ¬ tance which you could have sworn just moved as seen through the naked eye turns into a shiny rock glistening in old Sols rays and then again over there a blackish one turns into a tree stump and you probably have saved two miles of weary tramping by having along your trusty glasses glassesGAME GAME STALKING IS KEEN BUSINESS BUSINESSWhen When you have made the great discovery to wit sighted game your blood fairly boils with excite ¬ ment your nerves tingle and you have a mad dosirc to rush forward to the combat but wait That will never do Take a second sober thought and go forward as does the stealthy Indian avoiding open spaces and by all means dont KO down wind AVork around until the wind is blowing toward you otherwise the animal will surely sense your presence iiud be off in u scamper to parts unknown before you can get within gunshot Better stoop down and run low keeping hid as much as possible in the brush Crawl if you think it necessary isi every art at your command to kiep from losing that precious trophy so dear to the sportsman It is a fair battle with the advantage if tiiore be any slightly in favor of the game since it is equipped with a natural talent while yours is due to your hraiiipowur development It is not development in the case of the game but to use an old phrase He was jes born that way You wayYou have by this time arrived within striking distance Stow away your glasses and crawl on your hands and knees for a close shot Of course you have a full rifle magazine and you have a good and trusty cartridge ready in the chamber Its a buck you know this for you can see his horns Aim whore V AVhy just behind the right shoulder i trifle lov Bang And you have your trophy trophyIt It is all fascinating lift in tln big woods and the more you associate with Nature the more you will understand her secrets and how to extract the most joy out of them A good way is to pay at ¬ tention to detail Let nothing escape your eagle eye Study Dame Nature and you will find you receive large dividends on your investment Isot least of the things you will get out of this study will be a wholesome respect for Gods handiwork in the creation of every natural object and the wonder of it all will appear to you in a new light It will make of you a better man it will be a veritable tonic to your soul soulAAhatever AAhatever you chance to be hunting you should make a deep study of the habits and peculiarities of that species of game In deer hunting the best months are November and December At this sea ¬ son doe buck and fawn travel together and they are difficult of approach much caution being nec ¬ essary In order to get near them as their mind is more active their scenting powers greater at this season than at any other It is necessary to pro ¬ ceed in face of or against the wind windAnother Another important item is the clothing the sports ¬ man should wear This should be of a neutral color preferably tan or something that harmonizes with the natural surroundings of the country one hunts in As aforementioned the best method in undoubtedly by stalking your game It saves miles of tramping and in the end gets better results The footwear should be of soft noiseless material cither rubber shoe pac or the doublesoled moose hide moccasin threequarter length lengthAfter After a light snow affords the best time when the game may be easily trailed The worst possible time la during heavy winds or when the forest leaves are unusually dry making lots of noise when trod upon When the ground and leaves are wet is a good time especially so if there is little or no wind They can then be found well in the woods and away from water as the moisture on the browse is sufficient to quench their thirst thirstBINOCULARS BINOCULARS A HUNTING NECESSITY NECESSITYThe The principal difficulty is to locate them in regions overhuntcd and for this reason it is vitally important for every sportsman to take along a good pair of binoculars It is not necessary to take the ordinary field glass as this is too cumbersome and possesses only half the vision qualities of i light binocular field telescope It will save you many and many a mile of plodding and this means i whole lot especially where walking is obstructed by tangled undergrowth and other natural obstacles to travel It will also save you much game that otherwise yon would not be able to locate and bag If you hunt in early morning or late in the after ¬ noon look for them near watering places especially if the weather is somewhat mild and warm also about the edges of swamps ridges of hills etc where they feed on the browse of hemlock cedar nibbling the twigs shrubs etc or rubbing their horns against the bark of trees and small ntics Study weather conditions and watch for s ui and you will be a successful deer hunter hunterIn In moose hunting much the same mt ods are em ¬ ployed as for deer hunting The is no set rule to be followed in hunting any kind of game for local conditions vary in different parts of the country and the hunter has to use his best judg ¬ ment paying due attention to the traits of char ¬ acter of the animal he is after season of the year and weather conditions conditionsPack Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and hie away to some distant or local hunting ground there to lose them mid the green You will forget you ever had any troubles or business worries when once you are ensconced within Natures out ¬ stretched arms where you may commune with the primeval forest and lose that tired feeling acquired perhaps in the busy hurlyburly office or some ¬ where outside Natures realm realmIn In hunting bear unquestionably the best way is with hounds or witli a companion Do not allow exaggerated stories of their attacks upon human beings to imbue fear of them as a matter of fact they have never boon known to attack a human being unless wounded or otherwise provoked Hence in shooting them the main thing for you to do is to he sure that your shot goes home and does not merely inflict an injury that will enrage the beast and cause him to attack you If you are a fairly good shot you have nothing to fear October or November is the best time to limit bear before winter sets in in earnest and after the first snow ¬ fall fallAVhen AVhen you have got your trophy whether it be deer moose caribou bear or what not be con ¬ tent and dont slaughter excessively bearing i mind that brother sportsmen are equally as anxiou as you to bring home the bacon and if you act the game hog it will probably mean their cli appointment and afford you little additional pleas ¬ ure for you have a conscionce and it will hurt you Be conservative in all things pertaining to sport That is what designates the true sportsman
