MEN OF THE AUTUMN WOODS; Non Resident Big Game Hunting in New Brunswick, The Golden Years 1885 1935; Signed Copy

Sackville, New Brunswick,: Privately Published, 2004. Book. Very Good. Paperbound. First Edition. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. pictorial paper wraps,xviii, 264, illustrated throughout with b & white illustrations from photographs, 2 pp bibliography, A much needed work on the development of the business of big game hunting in New Brunswick. All the great hunting guides are here. their stories told in detail. The hunters are here .Babe Ruth , the wealthy American businessmen who were the first to visit the wilderness of big game , caribou, moose, deer. A well researched, well illustrated book , a great delight for lovers of the outdoors. From the Prologue ----- New Brunswick has a history rich in stories, tales and images of its famous salmon rivers, and the sports and guides who plied their waters but little attention has been given to the sport of nonresident big-game hunting. I have written this book to address that neglect. Although it is intended primarily for the enjoyment of the hunter, it should also appeal to those who accept the sport and share the pleasures of a bygone era captured through the camera's lens and the pen of those who walked the trails before. There were many early guides and sports whose accomplishments are now forgotten - victims of the ravages of time. Living relatives are several lifetimes removed and it is with these descendants that the photographs, artifacts and stories are entrusted. But with each new generation bonds with the past are fading; personal ties to dusty and tattered photo albums with nameless faces, worn maps and soiled journals weaken. Most photographs and written accounts of hunting in the early years of the 20th century were left to us by American sportsmen - the paying clients. They brought with them their guns, cameras, pens and diaries and later, in the comfort of their homes, wrote about their hunting adventures in the great Canadian wilderness. Some of their articles appeared in popular outdoor magazines and journals of the day. Others were personal accounts of a particular hunting trip, returned to the guide as an expression of appreciation for a memorable woodland experience. A few of those "illustrated journals" are intact although, regrettably, many of the smiling faces of the early sports, and guides, remain a mystery. But they are all we have. They allow us to share with them a moment during a pleasureable hunting experience somewhere in the backwoods of the province. We begin our journey with one of those early journals - a 1904 hunt for moose and caribou by two American sports from Pennsylvania into the Northwest Miramichi with New Brunswick guide Arthur Pringle. A short review of the moose, caribou and white-tailed deer leads us into the development of early game laws, the guides and their sports, the New Brunswick Guides Association and New Brunswick's participation at the early American Sportsmen's Shows. It is the hope of the author that this book leaves the reader with a greater awareness and understanding of the charming story of early non-resident sports, their guides, and the golden years of big-game hunting. It was a fascinating and romantic period of New Brunswick history - it should not be forgotten. Size: 4 to., (27 Cm).