272 FIFTY YEARS A HUNTER AND TRAPPER. 



Oh, you find fault with the game laws you say that the laws 

 are not just to all alike. Well, in one sense of the word this is 

 true. The state, law confiscated your traps, then placed a bounty on 

 noxious animals, and then fines you heavily if you set a trap in a 

 way so as to be able to catch one of these noxious animals (queer 

 laws) ; but, nevertheless, we should try to protect our game if we 

 are to have any left. At the rate the game is being slaughtered at 

 the present time, there will not be a deer left in the State of Penn- 

 sylvania, and but very little game of any kind. 



You say that it is a hard matter to protect the game that 

 is true; for it is hard to get local game wardens that are of 

 much account. A man of much principle and business qualifica- 

 tions will not accept the position, as he does not like to arrest 

 a neighbor for fear of hurting his regular line of business. The 

 State Game Wardens are not acquainted with the different game 

 localities, and with the people who have but little or no regard 

 for the game laws of the state. 



I will give an instance which came under my observation the 

 past season : The game laws of Pennsylvania prohibit the u<=e of 

 buckshot in deer hunting, and the law also prohibits the killing 

 of does. Now, a man who was hunting deer with a shotgun 

 loaded with buckshot, was looking at another hunter's gun, which 

 was a .32 Special Winchester; the shotgun man noticed the small 

 caliber of the Winchester, asked the party who had the rifle 

 (knowing nothing of the shooting power of the Winchester), if 

 he expected to kill anything with that little thing, and at the 

 same time stating that good buckshot gun was the thing to hunt 

 deer with. When asked if he did not know that the law forbade 



the use of buckshot in deer hunting, he replied, "Oh to with 



the law !" They knocked me out of my bear traps, and the next 

 thing they will do is to pass a law to prohibit hunting with a gun 

 that costs less than $500.00. 



At the same time, and in this same place, a party killed a 

 large doe that had its tail entirely shot away and several buck- 

 shot were found in its body. 



I will tell a little joke that was got off on one of the State 

 Game Wardens as told by himself in the hotel at this place, 



