b'HISTORIC SCUGOGby J. Peter HvidstenDangers Of The HuntH UNTING, TrappING aNd fIshING were an important part of early settlers lives, and crucial to securing food for their families.The land was plentiful with deer, ducks, geese, and the lake and rivers filled with fish, but danger was always present when out hunting and there are many reports of violent accidents.some of the most tragic of these events took place in the fall, during hunting season. In the fallof 1870 a group of men were out duck hunting near Lake scugog.One of the men in the group was Isaac fenton, a resident of port perry, who had teamed up with group of friends for a day in the marsh.One of the party, Mr. st. John, was in the act of pulling the trigger as a flock of geese approached, when sud-denly, his friend Isaac stood up in his duck blind.The action brought Isaacs head directly in the line of st. Johns gun and the shot entered his left temple.dr. Culling Knowlys, another of the hunters in the party, said hed heard the shot to his right and saw a hat flying towards the lake.st. John, who pulled the trigger, exclaimed immediatelyMy God Ive killed fenton, and he was seen running, towards the man who was found laying against the riverbank on his side, with blood running from his left temple.dr. Knowlys, after reaching and examining him, immediately pronounced Isaac had received a fatal wound, and had died almost instantly.aNOTher INCIdeNT involved daniel Ireland, of port perry, who met with a serious and near fatal accident on New Years day, in 1875.Mr. Ireland and a group of local hunters had been out shooting and returning home about five in the afternoon.daniel was riding home on his sleigh with his loaded rifle laid across his lap.hitting a bump his rifle slipped from his lap and when attempting to grab it, the trigger struck the edge of the sleigh.The gun discharged and the shot entered into his right side, grazing his ribs.Back in town, the services of dr. richard Jones were at once secured. The dr. extracted as many of the bullet fragments as possible and tended to the serious wound.The outcome of Mr. Irelands injury was hailed by the doctor and his friends to be much better than might be expected from the serious nature of the wound.1/4 PageHorizontalSize - 6.8 x 2.2FOCUS - OCTOBER 202143'