FIFTY YEARS A HUNTER AND TRAPPER. 



effective implement there is in taking that noxious animal. As the 

 game and bounty laws of Pennsylvania stand today, it reminds one 

 of the old lady who told the boy that he could go in swimming, but 

 he must not go near the water. 



Now, I believe in a bounty on wildcats, hawks and weasel, 

 sufficient to induce the poor man to spend the time necessary to 

 exterminate these animals when an opportunity comes to him, for 

 the dollar man will not take the trouble to do so. But the only 

 effective bounty law must be placed on the game man, in the way 

 of cutting his bag limit of birds for a single day and the season in 

 two, and placing a closed season of -five years on deer. There is 

 much said as to the rapid decrease of game. Now, so far as this 

 applies to deer, and my observation extends over four counties of 

 the state, at the present decrease (1913) of the deer, there will not 

 be a deer left in these four counties at the end of five years and the 

 deer law is being continually violated. In order to enforce the 

 game laws of the state, the laws should be as near equal as 

 possible, in giving each man his way of enjoying his manner of 

 out-door sport, either in fishing, hunting or trapping. We are 

 aware that there must be a limit to man's idea of sport. There are 

 plenty of men, for instance, who enjoy the use of dynamite in 

 fishing, in killing all the fish in the stream, small fish along with 

 the large ones, also all kinds of fish that happen to be in the pool 

 where the dynamite is used. It may be the pleasure of other 

 sportsmen to kill birds of all kinds and also deer at any and all 

 times of the year. This kind of work can not be allowed. In 

 order to enforce the game laws, the laws must be in harmony with 

 the greatest number of people possible, and not enact game laws 

 that deprives a goodly portion of the people (I refer to the trapper) 

 of their pleasure simply to gratify a certain class of sportsmen. 



The game wardens will then find it hard enough to enforce the 

 law. Say, comrades, I wish to call your attention to an article in 

 the December number of H-T-T, 1912, by Mr. J. R. Bachelder. 

 Mr. Bachelder is an old and respected man and one of the rural 

 mail carriers of Cameron County. Mr. Bachelder describes how 

 the trap law of Pennsylvania has deprived him of the only pleasure 

 that he was able to enjoy in the open, that of tending a few traps. 



