MBOUI THE GAME PAWS, EEC. Li¢fa | 
of legislation, they were enabled to have several credit- 
able measures passed for game protection, that well 
suited to the various States and localities, and although 
suited to the needs of the times, more practical and 
stringent laws have since grown from the crude nucleus 
until every New England State except possibly Rhode 
Island, have wild deer within their borders, and are 
even plentiful in both Maine and New Hampshire. The 
wild birds in these States, as well as those in New York 
and Pennsylvania continue to grow less in numbers from 
various causes, not the least is the destruction of the 
primitive woods; the unnatural whims of fashions and 
inducement offered to the greedy and heartless poacher 
to continue in his career of bird killing, laziness and 
semi-starvation. 
In the Dakotas it was not until after the wanton and 
criminal destruction of the last of the wild buffalo herds 
which occurred about the year 1884-5, did there de- 
velop a sentiment among the more thoughtful that the 
hands of the wild animal slaughterers should be stayed, 
ere every native wild living thing in the woodlands or 
on the grass lands met the same fate that had swept 
the bison so completely from the face of the prairie 
and plain. 
On August 21, 1887, the writer, as regular corres- 
pondent for the McLean County Mail, penned the fol- 
lowing from his residence at Painted Woods in an 
article entitled ‘‘Enforce the Game Laws.” 
‘‘Of all the Northwestern States or Territories, Dako- 
tais pre-eminent in having the poorest set of Game 
Laws, and the least respect shown by our citizens in 
their enforcement. Who has ever heard of a convic- 
