The ' 'goose" delighted in firing a rifle that burnt one 

 hundred grains of powder behind a fifty calibre bullet and 

 enjoyed himself hugely in loading up his miniature can- 

 non and banging away at red squirrels, partridges and 

 rabbits. He would leave his camp in the morning, walk 

 to the pond and make the welkin ring for miles around 

 with the noise of his snap shots and sight shots. 



The unwritten law of Maine in regard to the shooting 

 rights on ponds or small lakes is that the sportsman 

 who first puts a canoe upon a pond or small lake is 

 safe from intrusion on the part of any other sportsman. 

 Acting upon this hint we determined to paddle up a 

 stream as far as we could, then carry our canoe to the 

 pond and take posse.-sion, thus shutting out our noisy 

 friend. So at four o'clock one morning, our strongest 

 guide started, and after carrying his canoe on his back 

 for a distance of two miles, placed it on the pond and 

 returned to camp for breakfast. Then after our morning 

 meal I started with another guide and walked to the pond 

 loaded onW with a tin cup, an axe and a rifle. We 

 reached the pond at about half-past seven, got into the 

 canoe, but at the very first dip of our paddle we heard 

 the boom of the 50-100 rifle fired by our "goose" who 

 was busy banging away at the red squirrels on the other 

 side of the pond. This was not a cheerful state of affairs 

 to contemplate. Big game, as a rule, don't like cannon- 

 ading nor a neighborhood that indulges in it. A few 

 minutes after the noise of the shot and its echoes were 

 sobered into silence, we saw a pair of deer two hundred 

 yards away. My guide suggested that I try a shot at 

 them, saying it would be a good idea, even if I missed 



:26 



