32 BIG GAME SHOOTING IN ALASKA chap. 



mean undertaking, even with the prospect of a good bag in 

 return for one's long journey, and a certain amount of hard- 

 ships entailed. 



Since the above remarks were written I have again 

 heard from Dr. Palmer, and he says : " Congress is still con- 

 sidering the question of amending the Alaska game law. 

 One of the provisions of the pending bill purposes to transfer 

 the issue of permits for trophies to clerks of the courts in 

 Alaska, and such permits, authorising the shipment of two 

 deer, two moose, and two caribou, will be issued to non- 

 residents, only on payment of S250." 



If this idea be carried out it will, no doubt, have a good 

 effect, although perhaps the price is rather stiff. It will 

 probably put a stop to the issuing of permits to a number of 

 men who have hitherto obtained them in order to trade the 

 trophies thus sent out of the country. These men are likely 

 to be known to the clerks of the courts in their own district, 

 and permits may be refused such persons, but it is impossible 

 for the authorities at Washington to identify many of the 

 applicants who apply for the permits in writing. 



The great drawback to this arrangement, from the point 

 of view of an English sportsman intending to visit the 

 country, appears to be that if he desires to receive a permit 

 before leaving England (which is undoubtedly the wisest 

 thing to do under these ever- changing regulations) it 

 necessitates a very long delay between the time of writing 

 for it, and the time of receiving the permit. Moreover, if 

 permits are issued by clerks of the courts to export trophies 

 only from their own particular districts, it may happen that the 

 sportsman will find himself, at the termination of his wander- 

 ings in Alaska, many hundreds of miles from the place where 

 he originally intended to be at that particular time, and 



