Rensselaer Republican, Volume 22, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 January 1890 — A ROYAL DEER HUNT. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A ROYAL DEER HUNT.

JEmpiror Wilhelm’s Autumn Drive in ths Letriingen Forest. How It Is Conducted by the Kaiser and His | Quests—The Gams’ Shot from Stands Hidden by Foliage —Wilhelm’s Skill with the Hifla A In November and December the emperor of Germany at tends weekly one or more bunting excursions. In the large forests belonging t© the shite the game in tbem is by right the property of the crown :-.nd the emperor’s foresters bsk after it. Therefore; the invi- , tations for shooting parties are sent ! out in the name of the emperor to oth- | er German courts, to royal princes and j to members of aristocratic society who | are sportsmen, as well as to military ; officers. The number of these invited • guests varies from forty to seventy.

The preparations for a royal hunt are extensive and costly, all the; expense being borne by the emperor. The average cost of two days’ shooting Is fifteen thousand dollars. Numbers of foresters come from afar to - assist, in the work, bringing loads ot nete, rags and toils necessary to surround) the drives and fodder for the game. SThe imperial household comes with; itsiretiaue of servants, kitchen officers, carriages and horses, and all the* par* aphernalia needed to transform tfaesol*itary bastile into a pleasant abode for several days.

Letziingen is a village situated, ini j one of the large forests in (he “Pt’O- [ yinz-Sachsem.” The forest contains about fifteen, f thousand hectares of fir trees, beeeh- i covers and-old oaks. In this large ex- , pause game abounds, and is carefully j kept and. preserved in winter, wh®n.| ! the snow lies deep on the ground. The castle of Ketzlingen dates from ! the sixthteen century, and is surround—- ; ed by a moat It was rebuilt and renovated some twenty years v ago by Em—- | peror Wilhelm. 1., and can accommo- ; date forty or fifty guests fob the night, j Over one hundred can sit down . to* 1 dinner in. the great hall. A bridge leads- over-the-moat into the yard be—- ! fore the castle;, and the entrance opens i on.the large dining-hall, which is beaus j tifully dooornted with stags and wild)

bear’s heads. The emperor arrives in the evening, with his guests by a special train from* Berlin. Supper is served early. Before the- company retires “Kaiser--punoh” is- served)* according to the Early on the- following morning tbetrained band e£ foresters sound the reveille on, theiar bugles to awake the f uests. Punctually at eight o’cloak reakfast is served in the hall. Then* the carriages come to the door and the gentlemen enter, each accompanied by his private gamekeeper, who carries- the reserve guns, and loads them during the drives. Each spoilsman gets a number designating his. carriage and his place in the drive.Soon the- company reaches the rennezwous, where they are greeted, by the “fanfare furstengrass” sounded on the bugles. The game in the forest is driven a week or so before the shooting day into so-called “game-rooms.” These are inclosures surrounded by nets and linen toils. In these the animals remain quietly anti get plenty of ladder.

The large thioket in front is surrounded for the time- with high nets. The stands of the emperor and the principal guests are. to the west of the driveway, and are built twelve feet over the ground. The occupants of these onlv shoot towards the linea toils. The gentlemen shoot only towards the outer nets, never intof’the drive. They stand at a distance of one hundred paces one from the other, and before them towards the nets Is a

clear forest, also two hundred paces, with an undergrowth of bushes, whioh affords a good clearance for shooting. The stmds of the emperor and the royal prinoes are built at least twelve feet in height and have each room for three persons, for with tho quantities of game it is necessary that two men load the rifles, while their owner ooly shoots. These kanseln are thickly shrouded with green bushes to screen tbemTromvTew. is sodh&s all the gentlemen are placed the bugles signal the beginning of the drive, and at

this instant the Of the -first - ganKPTOOfn ’’faß," ana its inmates rush through the so-called “long run” . where the emperor stands into the thicket behind.* There the gamekeepers with the dogs await them and drive them towards the nets and past the guests who lie hidden in waiting. To each “game-room” are from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty stags and deer. Ten minutes later the second garnet room is opened, and sooo till all the game has been freed. The drive ussally occupies two or three hours and it ends at a bugle signal. After the first drive the company assembles in a large tent, where luncheon is waiting. At an open bo&ffieun front of it the hot dishes are cooked. Potatoes roasted i» the ashes are a favorite delicacy; so, also, is Irish stew and hot sausages’ with beans and sauerkraut. All kinds-of wine are abundantly provided, but) hot drinks are preferred, especially “negus;” During luncheon the game that has been killed 1 is collected and loaded on carts.

The animals that) have fallen to the emperor s gad are laid out for inspection and viewed by the company. The young’kaiser is a very firm shot, although obliged* to hold his gun only with the right hand. The weakness of Ms left arm has forced, him to train himself to hold the gun or rifle like a pistol, and his aim is very steady and sure; The strength in his right arm. has wonderfully augmented by continual training, and he can bear the greatest fatigue' withou«* feeling it. ' Soon the carriages again come up to take the company to the meeting for the second drive, which is - organized exactly in the same manner as the first. After there turn to the castle dinner is ordered for five o’clock,and the gentlemen appear in evening dress with black

neckties; After dinner the csmpany descends into the court-yard, which is- illuminated with Bengal lights. Here the whole “strecke”—the result of the chase —is laid for view in rows and divided according to the names of the sportsmen to whose guns- it fell. The animals shot by the Emperor are placed in the first row and after them follow those ofi the royal and' other guests. The- bugles of the foresters sound “Hallallii” and this-picturesque romantic sight! ends the- day. The game killed os> the first day regularly averages from' six hundred head) ol red and fallow dber. The evening is-, spent by the company in the sitting and.billiard-rooms, where whist-tables are also set. The emperor joins in these games with spirit. I remember vividly onesuch evening some years ago, whem the late Emperor Wilhelm I. merrily joined in' a game of whist He won three market and put them in his-pocket, well pleased, saying: 1 “I am glad to> have worn a whole thaler, it lessens the- cost of this shoot- | ing party.”

The second day is devoted principally to the shooting of wild ,boars, which are also driven up in the same style as the-deer. It frequently happbns that the- boars get enraged, during the drives and attack dogs and event foresters; therefore great attention and prudence is observed. The result of the second day is, on an average, four hundred to five hundred/ head l of boar and one hundred or so of fallow deer. These numbers show, how large the stock o( game is in the Toy at German forest. The care that is taken* of them is of course great, and after these days of official slaughter perfect rest and solitude again reigns in their green and leafv retreats.

DRIVE AT LETZLINGEN.

CASTLE AT LET[?]LINGEN.

EMPEROR WILLIAM II. AND THE STAG.