306 UPLAND SHOOTING. 



season, a day, perhaps two days, just enough to be first 

 into the young broods; these men know they are violat- 

 ing the law, and in their guilty hearts there lurks but 

 one fear, and that fear is, that they may be apprehended 

 and fined. The sanctity, the purity of the law, that they 

 as good citizens should uphold, is willfully violated, and 

 to cover their shameful acts, they hide their guns and 

 dogs in their wagons and sneak out before daybreak, and 

 return after dark; if seen coming in by some friend, and 

 asked where they have been, they reply in a nonchalant 

 manner: "Been after snipe." To say they do this because 

 others do, is to present a childish excuse, devoid of rea- 

 son, for no sane man can knowingly violate a law and 

 be excused. The maxim Ignorantia legis neminem 

 excused (ignorance of the law excuses no one) is as old 

 as the hills, and its principles will never change. We 

 can only attribute this willful violation of the game laws 

 to extreme selfishness, and no man with the heart of the 

 true sportsman throbbing in his breast will do it. For a 

 number of years the time for shooting prairie chickens 

 commenced August 1st; this was entirely too early. A 

 step in the right direction was taken when the law, in 

 Iowa, was changed to August 15th, but a beneficent 

 advancement was still further made when the law was 

 passed making the open season to begin the 1st of Sep- 

 tember. September 1st ! That is a glorious time to com- 

 mence to shoot these birds, for they are full-grown, 

 worthy of pursuit, and are kings and queens of the 

 prairies. At this time I would rather bag a half-dozen 

 than to get three times as many early in the season. The 

 Legislature of Illinois has passed a law prohibiting the 

 shooting of prairie chickens for the period of two years. 

 This law went into eifect in 1887. At the time of its 

 passage, it met with the most violent opposition on the 

 part of many sportsmen, for they felt it to be an unwar- 



