FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSIONER. 367 



against Courtney at the time. After his recovery, however, Courtney went 

 at his old business of violating the Game Law. A year ago Protector 

 Speenburgh, after an all-night trip through the woods, nailed Courtney at 

 Spruce Lake while hounding deer in violation of the law, and Courtney was 

 fined $90. Since then, through the efforts of Protector Stanyon and others, 

 Courtney has been convicted of different violations of the game law, and 

 judgment was taken against him for more than $400. At present he is 

 serving a six months' sentence in jail. 



A Shooting Affray 



It is not uncommon for protectors to be shot at while in the pursuit 

 of their duties. There are few protectors who have served any length of 

 time on the force who have not had an experience of this kind. As a general 

 thing, however, there is little danger from this source. The shots are fired 

 out of bravado, and not aimed to kill; or else the cowardly violator lacks 

 the nerve to shoot straight. On the Niagara River, on Oneida Lake and on 

 Lake Champlain boats have been hit by bullets, but so far in the history of 

 the force no protector has been killed. 



During the present fall, Protector D. C. Speenburgh of Hunter, while 

 pursuing an Italian violator of the game law, was painfully, though not 

 seriously, wounded by the miscreant, who fired a charge of number four 

 shot at the protector from a distance of six rods. Speenburgh shot the 

 Italian through with a thirty-eight caliber revolver, and while the Italian 

 did not immediately succumb, it is believed that he did not recover from 

 the wound. The circumstances of the case are quite similar to the shooting 

 of Special Protector Frank Viele about two years ago. Speenburgh is one 

 of the best protectors on the force, possessed of abundant nerve and resource- 

 fulness, and an energy that has made him a terror to the law-breakers, not 

 only in his own section, but in the Adirondack region as well, where he has 

 done considerable special work. 



Game Refuges 



The great increase in the number of hunters and the constantly lessen- 

 ing game supply which has resulted in the present stringent game laws, has 

 also developed a world-wide movement in favor of game refuges. Tracts 



