m THE GAME LAWS OF ALASKA 33 



probably in the district of another court, where possibly he 

 may be subject to prosecution from some Deputy Marshal, 

 who may not approve of him, or of the fact of his having 

 received a permit from some other district. I presume, 

 however, that a permit once issued would hold good to 

 export trophies from any part of the country. 



There is one remarkable fact about the enforcement of 

 the game laws in their present state, and to illustrate this 1 

 will add these few final remarks. Writing to me in April 1904, 

 one of the head authorities at Washington expresses himself as 

 follows : — " The law specifically prohibits natives from selling 

 skins of animals killed for meat, or from selling the heads 

 and skins of any game animals." And yet in spite of this I 

 can positively state that the natives bring in regularly a 

 supply of brown bear skins to all the local stores, and if not 

 already sold to the storekeepers, they offer these skins to 

 any one who visits the local settlement. I can quote three 

 instances occurring in 1903, at three of the largest stores on 

 the coast of Alaska, when I saw a total of over 120 brown 

 bear skins sold by the natives to the storekeepers, and 

 afterwards shipped out of the country openly, and with the 

 full cognisance of the local authorities. One only needs to 

 pay a visit to the sale-rooms of Messrs. Lampson in London, 

 where hundreds of Alaskan brown bear skins are always on 

 offer, to see how loosely this portion of the game laws is 

 enforced. Although personally I should be the last to 

 complain, after the generous permits which were issued to 

 me by the authorities at Washington, it must and does seem 

 passing strange to sportsmen who have visited Alaska, to 

 see such things, and to look back to the time when they 

 were subject to all kinds of indignities for the unfortunate 

 faux pas of shooting a beast out of season, or killing one 



