368 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Dbobmbbb9, 1880. 



ug sentenoos and well-rounded periods of some "oily- 

 tongucd" ndTOcate, but rather let them listen to the hardy 

 Wins of toil, who niiiy not he able to quote you Chesterfield, 

 but who cttU and will tell the truth if properly approached. 



There is one prat and cryiuK evil comieeted with 

 the inlet just rl.iBfd that should be abolished by 

 the Legislature or Commissioners, if they have the power, 

 iind that ia the use nf seiues or "bull nets" at its 

 innutli. 1 presume; although I do not know this for a fact, 

 that the men who use tieae nets are "simple-hearted and 

 free from guile," and arc honestly plying their calling with 

 the sole object in -riew of Itpcpino Uie wolf from the door.. 

 Certain il'i.s lli:it tbey catcli a fair amount of flab lliat, 

 owine to liiL- aniircily, liring nn exorbitant price. Now Irt 

 ine tell you how tli«ir pr6ee('diiia:s strike a disiiiterc.'^ted 

 looker on. The (Ishermen tell uie that while the tide ia.nm- 

 ning out of the bay the fish are hovering about the mouth of 

 the inlet and just before slack waler'"fhey ascend np the 

 slight current. Now ia the golden o|jportniiily. Our honest 

 fishermen .spread their nets h\ ilie ]o\ver end wUilr a party at 

 the upper end, with much poundim; oji their jinat's ondaiul 

 splasliing iti the water, turn the frightened fish and scare a 

 portion of them into the nets while the rest go out to sen, 

 and as a natural consequence the fishermen of the bay se- 

 cure none, and are obliged to purchase their supply of these 

 honest fishermen at an exorbitant price or send to New York 

 for what they use. 



Far be it from mo to sit in judgment upon these men. I 

 do not even impugn their motives. I merely state the naked 

 facts, luiit but echo the wailing prayers of hungry fellow 

 ereatm-es when T earnestly cull upon "the powers that be" to 

 so restrict and regulate' tbis abuse that in the dwellings 

 arotmd this fair bay not in vain shall be theprayer, " Give lis 

 this day our daily bread." Shadow. 



Nbw Tobk, Nov. 28. 

 Editor Fortit and St/ream: 



Many trips to Shinnecock Bay have interested me in that 

 once famous shooting ground, and I beg leave to olTer a word 

 in regard to its inlet, concerning which there is some misun- 

 derstanding. 



Tlicre was a State law passed about three years ago pro- 

 viding for the appointment of commissioners to fi.x the place 

 for an inlet Into thai bay and making it an offense for any 

 one to cut throutrli the beach at any other point than the one 

 decided on. Such a law was necessary , because it was Ihnnirht 

 Iba! an inlet nin'^l !>c iu the west end of the ba}% hi order to 

 ronain o|icn, and beciinsc, whenever an altenvpt was made 

 to cHt an inlet there, the ea.st end people would cut through 

 the.heachin their neiirbborliood (which they could do in" a 

 few b"nrs, beranse of its nar.mwness), and thus obtain the 

 licarl of water in the bay without which no large inlet can be 

 secured. It is a M'ork of many diij's to cut through the high 

 beach fm-ther west. 



Since this law was passed two irdets have been made, one 

 opposil e the ligbt-bou.se and one f m'ther west Neitlierof them 

 kept iipen ii year, nor do T believe that any inlet from the 

 occ:in ^vbieb local enterprise on Shinnecock Bay is capable of 

 making mil keep open. 



Two things are to be proposed in this connecliou. One is 

 that the State perform the work on a larger scale than has 

 yet been attempted. The State a|.ipropriates a larger sum of 

 money, which Lons Island tax-payershave to help pay every 

 year for Hudson Tiiver improvements. Why shoiild" it not 

 spend ft little on Slunnecock Bay? Another proposition is 

 that instead of cutting through the beach to the ocean a 

 channel bo dug acjoas tbe neck of land from Shinnecock Bay 

 from Moriches Bay. I do not believe that any ocean inlet 

 cnn If nirtin oncn very long, while a good channel leading to 

 j! ' I he eastern part of Great South Bay) would 



!. .'iiancnt. Such n channel would not make 



;-:i ' so good a fi.sbing ground as an ocean inlet, 



but. it wiiiilil liipp down the water, and so restore the feeding 

 grounds for siipe and wild fowls. It is a fact, all reports to 

 the oontrar}' notwitbslanding. that snipe and wildfowl shoot- 

 ing there grows poorer annually, and an honest bayman whom 

 1 inatnict to send for me when there is good duck shooting 

 has not been able to send me the wished for message in two 

 years. L. 



The great objection to the opening intfl South Bay ia the 

 fact that the waters would become fresh, or nearly so. The 

 water at the eastern end of South Bay is now so fresh that 

 the horsofoot {Limuhm) cannot live in it, and it Is full of 

 small pike, a variety inhabiting brooks and ditches. 



ONKiDALAEEPoA.onKKS. — TheNew York Tfeii^'am recently 

 contained the follo\ving : " A Schwartz is needed at Oneida 

 Lake. So bold have tjie illegal flshei-men become that tliey 

 threaten to kill the next game officer that appears. The Oa- 

 wearo Pallndiwn saya : ' They are Inwlefls in their habits and 

 it is not doiihted tli'at thev will fulfil their threats. One man 

 has thirty 'if (heap trjip nets, worth .'*40 apiece. If the en- 

 forcement of the Iriw lie insisted on it is beUeved that there 

 will he tronlilc. and nt the same time it looks cowardly for 

 the Oneidii ('ounty Game Association, which started the 

 movement, to I.iiick out.' " If there is such a tbinsr possible 

 HR n Ibornniili exposure of the illesTal fishing on Oneida Lake 

 it should be done. It is a notorioiis fact that is t>alked of 

 among nil classes in Central New York that the authorities 

 dare not do their duty. The matter should be agitated all 

 po8.sible and the guilty ones, who compose the wealthier 

 classes all round the lake, be brought to justice. C. 



Iowa — KeoJcuk, Nov. 29, — We have enjoyed an immense 

 amount of fine sport at this place this summer with the rod 

 and line, and have caught some finf specimens of the black 

 baas, striped ba-ss, cropptm, etc. "SATiat we need here is a 

 strict, I'uforceincntof the Slatcflsb laws, andweretheyproperly 

 enforced wo would Imve some of the finest fi.shlng waters 

 that there are iu this State, or oven in the West. Tarn in 

 hopes to contribute something in the future in re.card to the 

 fish and fishing grounds of Southern Iowa. W. H. D. 



A Fr.ourDA P^^<Tr—WallMnffton1l{U■e, N. T., Nm. 2B.— 



l\Tv ^ife iiiiii self are preparing for a trip to the Gulf coa-st of 



r'orifl:i, Iviviii- ,':,;iL-iit three winters there very plea.santly, 

 (lur oidy rtr:iw'i;ie!v being a want of congenial companions. 

 SJiouLl'von know or tiear of snv •j-eiitlemfm who is fond of 

 shoo!ino-and fi-Sblrii^. >m\ his wife, nr.l i;fr:ii(l uf rongbing it 

 a little, vou will please have them rnliesa Wnnnla, P, O. Box 

 101, VVasbingt.onville, Orange Co., N. Y. 



MissoTKi— S«toZto, Kon. 37.— "Weather fine and quail and 

 rabbit-ahootlng good. Oootdbnt. 



^dfriB §ng md 0tin. 



SPORTSJEEN AND LAND-OWNERS. 



OOMMENTS ON THE POBEST AKD STREAM'S PLAIT. 



A NOTE published in your issue of the 35th inst. from 

 East Rockaway, C^ueeus County, L. I., and signed "J. 

 H. Grifiith," is replete with gross ignorance, spite, offensive 

 references and^ uimecessary tkreatB, and but for the promi- 

 nence you give it would not be worthy of notice. 



The writer's objection that tbe game laws involve an "en- 



I r " ; ; .-n the liberties of the people by the weaUhier 



U not nncoustitulioiial ought to be," evinces a 



unworthy prejudices and shows an obliquity 



:i,, 1:1 ill which would delight Dr. Hammond as "a 



.spcdincu from Ihelslfljid. 



All laws ai-e in one seusc an "encroachment upon the lib- 

 erlies of the people" by the donunating classes to which Mr. 

 Griffith himself, if he owns a fai-m; belongs. "R'liat protects 

 him in his property? What deters the ubiqiutous tramp 

 from occupying and using Mr. G's house and barns, and 

 what punishes the genius if he invade them or rob or deslxo}^ 

 his cliicken-roost or his crops? And is a tramp not one of 

 " the people " and outside of "the wealthier classes ?" But 

 for the laws he might, if the stronger, rever.se his position 

 and convert himself into a member of the 'wealthier classes" 

 and turn Mr. Grilllth out of his posse.'.sions and into one of 

 "the people." Does not this M;nide'riug f'tetor in society 

 consider this law " nnconstitution.al or that it ought to be ?" 

 But who staiuf more stm-dily for it and insists upon its en- 

 forcement than East Rockaway fiuniers ? Wlio denotmcc 

 " woe unto any man who disregards these uotices" to keep 

 off their farms ? 



Mr. Griffith, with felicitous inconsistency, stigmatizes one 

 part and in the next instant calls for protection upon another 

 portion of these very game laws. He and his neighbors Inive 

 put up " the required legal notice." Whence is the authority 

 for this notice derived and what is its effect? Wliy form 

 these game laws wbieli be so glibly arraigns ? But for them 

 a sliooier on bis or any Oiber farmer's lands wovdd iu ordi- 

 nary CiLses, where no s[!eeial injury was done, be lialde only 

 in uominiil damage-s— say six cents— for the technical tres- 

 liass, w.liil^t tliesc laws assure him of any actual damage and 

 entitles him Iiesides "to exemplary daniages to an amorml 

 not exceeding twcnty-flve dollars." The gunner, heedless 

 thereof, is assured that Mr. G. and his neighbors will exact 

 this pound of flesh. Is not this part of the law " uuoonstitu- 

 tional,"Mr. Griffith, or " ought it not to be ?" It would be 

 difficult to compete with Mr. Griffith in his senseless appeals 

 to the prejudices «f the imthinking or ignorant. "Encroadi- 

 ments upon the liberty of tbe people" — " the wealthier class- 

 es" — "that uumitigated uuiaancc, thereal sportsman" — "aris- 

 tocratic tresiJa.ssers " and such like phrases dance through his 

 intlatned iniiiginution with nil (lie ina|itness and jumble of a 

 Rockawny-clarn-produccd nightmare. 



The experience of every man who has come in contact witli 

 a real sportsman will rise up and testily that a kinder, more 

 genial, liberal, considerate and unaristocratic member of the 

 himian family than he, cannot be found on or off Long Is- 

 land. 



He does not " throw down " farmers' fences, or intention- 

 ally " wound their cattle," and if by accident any injury oc- 

 ctu's from him to land, or living thing, the real sportsman is 

 always ready and prompt to make fvdl reparation. Nor does 

 be plunie himself upon bis wealth if he possess any, or his so- 

 cial position if he have it, or in any way or nianuer obtrude, 

 or make himself offensive. He is retiring, and consorts on 

 equal terms with all wbimi he mc-ets. He is forgiving, too, as 

 well as consolatoiy ; for should he meet even Mr. Griffith, he 

 wotdd shake his hand cordially, and assure him that he had 

 not the sligblest intention of invading his farm, and probably 

 exclaim, "Lord! Griffith! the sea must have been running 

 pretty high on the liar the other inght before you overhaided 

 yovu- sheet. " 



No farmer is, notwithstanding Mr. Griffith's a.ssertion to 

 the contrary, ' ' virtually the owner of the game " by which he 

 is understood to mean quad and piu-triclges. Tliey are lo- 

 cally migratory Ijirds — pfu-ticularly the former -and" feeding 

 here to-day aiid there to-morrow.' By wdiat right then, does 

 any particidar farmer claim to virtually o-mi them ? If he 

 were proprietor of all the country they inight behis, but from 

 time immemorial every where these birds have been regarded 

 asferce naturm — wild birds — with ownership in no one until 

 captured and in hand. The sole proprietor of them iu their 

 natural freedom is the people of the State. It is to the in- 

 terest and enjoyment— and some cases the health— of the 

 public th.it they "should not be exterminated, hence the game 

 laws and the prohibition again.st certain means of capture 

 airre to extirpate them if permitted. 



Tbcie is much more (m this subject, and the cognate sug- 

 gestion in your issue of the 25th inst., as to the " proposition 

 to Gentlemen Sportsmen," but there isneither space nor time 

 to discuss them at present. If tlus long screed does not 

 weary and scare you I may return to it. Manhattan. 



Please add my name to your list of subscribers and send 

 copies to this office weekly. I also wish to give my hearty 

 indorsement to your scheme for the preservation of game. I 

 will wllingly pay any farmer from 82 to $5 per day for 

 shooting over hi« land, where quail are plenty, or rather", say 

 tweutvlo twenty-five cents for every quail brought to bag. 

 There'are plenty" of quail on Long Island, at Moriches, Yap- 

 hank, Manor. Southampton, Good Ground, etc., etc., and if 

 your plan were put in operation fine shooting could be had 

 ueai- at home. 



I would also suggest that not only quad be protected, but 

 that where there exists a Xovm law against battery shootinic, 

 as in Moriches Bay, the law-abiding gimners .slionht be en- 

 couraged iu their efforts to prevent the l.iwless ones from 

 batteries. There would be as fine shooting in this l>Hy a,s any- 

 where, as the flats are wide and feed plenty if the law were 

 adhered to. Tliere is one man cstieciidly who uses batteries 

 in the spring and by "driving" the birds curtails their slay 

 inthei):iy. His ntmie Can be given if necessary. Geese are 

 iiLsij lilen'iy, but in regard to them a worse evil exists. The 

 lite-savinfi crew being near at hand, under cover of darkness 

 fire-liicht theuj on their feeding-grounds. 



This mattei' should be looked into by some one in authority. 

 With all these disadvantages against good sport, I have shot 

 from twenty -five to thirty ducks and thirteen geeee in a day 

 La the bay. I would willingly subscribe my pro rata for an 

 enforcement of the law to make the sport" stUl better, as it 

 does not continue good rery long once fire-lighting tiikeg 



plac«. I have no doubt that a number of sportsmen would 

 rather pay the full price of the game to law-bieakers Ihan 

 have to travel miles for good shooting at heavy expense. I 

 am one of them. S. 



In going into the details of a scheme for preserving game, 

 the following ideas suggest tJicin.selvcs to my nnnd : 



Given a ciilai)! locality, the farmers of the township, vil- 

 lage or hamlet organize a club for presei-vicg game, those not 

 entering into the association to be debarred from the benefits 

 of the club and to be prevented from illegally killing or 

 snarnig game of any kind by pr if ■ ■: ' T ' ' '■" uliers 



of the club to c..>ust"itute tbe'mse; . ■ : - ! -. ,(|y 



that the laws are euforee<l.° To k,,:]i i.,,.,,.'. , ,..,:r/i«rt 



stations nearest their town the names of panics, memljers of 

 tbe association, wliere good board can be found,- thev alsolo 

 act us guides and keep tally of the game killed. A liliernl 

 rate to be fixed upon i.ter bird, to be paid to the club, and the 

 man or boy who acta as guide to be paid for his services, say 

 3^3 to $3 per day ; n reasonatile rate of board to be fixed. The 

 fluids thus earned to be divided among the members of the 

 club. Advertisements to lie ir>.*crted in good sporting papers 

 of the lociditics where sueli clubs exi.st, with details as to 

 board, rates, prospects for liirds, etc,, etc. 



I think that these suggestions, conveyed to the farmers of 

 Long Island in a liberal spirit by some nf tlie game, :issocia- 

 t:ions, woidd soon make lis fine shooting gromirls in our near 

 neidiborbood as can be found jnivwhei-cr The farmers" elul.is 

 would find it to their interest alw"ays \n have ])lentv of birils, 

 securing remtmeration to themselves and sport t.othe v-mmer. 



-V«(' Yark. E. W. S. 



If our sportsmen would invest a few dollars with the former 



boys and set an example of liberality tbcy wnuld have no 

 trouble to mouo|wlize all the ilivi. , : , ; ; , >fish. 



I bought about 1,100 acres for : .itv, 



and r found the farmers verv ;, , i,,wn 



gentry (as they called them) huiiMi.,:; i.., ,,11:1 I;l[lu^, ruid had 

 notices put up warning tlieui from going on their lands to 

 hunt. 1 .soon got the secret. Indiscreet buntera had beeu 

 liiereuml '.ii. It stock, frightened their cattle and left down 

 <• ■ : ' n gates. I tried uc.nreful. generous ennrse, bv 

 y? a few dollars and avoiding ?ll eaielcjsnes.s. 

 1 I, least fifty covej'S of qu»il and prairie cincUen 



luii! rai'Mis 111 aliundancc on )ny own land, with almost im- 

 lindted privileges. 



Two years ago 1 had to winter the Bob Whites among my 

 fat cuttle in my brush heaps. I cut and piled bmsh heaps, 

 then threw wheat straw over the brush piles, and over eighty 

 quad wintered nicely. This winter luis set in so hai'd 1 um 

 preparing to do the same thing. C. G. 



I read with great iutej'est the letters in the Forest and 

 Stkeam on the subject of protectiug game. Keep it going : 

 it will help to call the attention of true sportsmen to Ihc dan- 

 gers which threaten the extinction i.f game in (Mir vieiiiitv. 

 and periiaps stir up the game clubs to a sense of the responsi- 

 bility resting on their .shoidders. I must say that I consider 

 Long Island one of the worst-poacherl place's in this State, ex- 

 ceptin.g, jterhaps. the Adirondack region. 



I liave shot and fished on Long Island a great many yeiu's 

 and I know that the evils that ""A True Lover of the Sport " 

 comphuns of are only too true, and if our new society is a suc- 

 cess we shall do our share toward breaking them up, whether 

 the farmers like it or not. But I think that the farmers will 

 find it greatly to their advantage to atop poaching and pre- 

 serve the game. Membbb New Pbotkotive Sooietj-. 



Nm T<}rh% Ike. 3. 



As you invite comment on yo\u- plans for bringing the 

 sportsmen and farmers more into accord, I would sngeesl 

 that the sjiortsmen put themselves in direct communication 

 with tbe farmers for tbe piu^inse of securing board, lodging 

 and a guide imd companion tor their sport in'stead of going to 

 a hotel, where the charL:es w.-.ulii be higher 



It is generally ' «■■.:, I ii.ii ihe inilux of s[K)rtsmen into 



any locality is th' rying a good deal of money 



into that place, ii; -: i' in,- ,-■•, why not give the farmers 

 whose land furnishes the game the benefit of that money? 

 It will also l.ie the means of bringing the two into contact, 

 and if the sportstnan be a gentleman he may make a convert 

 of the farmer, whose previous ideas of a sportsman mavhave 

 been formed from tbe roughs or market-hunters he mav for- 

 merly have thought fit to order otf his ploee. .Vs a farmer 

 (and"alB0, I hope, a sportsman") I know whereof 1 write. 



LitdifiM. <^'<>««- E. H. A. 



As a sportsman and having a "wiali to pour oil on the 

 troubled waters apparently existing between shooters audfar- 

 mers, and also to start the ball rolling you suggest, I will 

 guarantee to pay tbe boy or farmer on whose grounds I may 

 shoot next season tbe rate of .$12 per 100 quail, or I will pay 

 a reasonable price for permission to .shoot and give oiie-hflff 

 the birds killed on saitl grounds. Now, game preservers, 

 come up to something that does look like action. S.moee. 



Brooklyn, N. Y. 



I fully Indorse your plan as between farmer and sportsman 

 in commenting on the letter of Mr. Griffith in to-day's paper. 

 I have [ireaciied this doctrine to farmers and sportsmen 

 wherever I have met them during my shooting for last five 

 years and am glad you are putting it before us In tangible 

 form. A. 8. S. 



Broofclj/n, N. T. 



I heartily approve of your plan for the removal of the dif- 

 ferences of opinion between "the farmer's boy" and "the 

 citv sportsmen." Wm. D. 



jv'm York. 



Mi^"NKBOTA Deek Shooting — Pillfbury, Minn., Nov. 30. — 

 The open season for deer commenced in this (Toddj county 

 November 1 and closes December \n. Tljat the game has 

 fieen reasouablv plenty the followintr list will show : The 

 liain brothers (three of them) have killed 4.5 deer and 4 bears; 

 Peter jVlcshire, 30 deer ; Loring l'.,aehelor, 22 deer : Marshall 

 Adiuns, 23 deer ; Henry Adams, 17 deer and 3 biMir.'! ; A. Fd- 

 son. 14 deer ; Peter Roy, 17 deer ; Millard Aleahire, 16 deer; 

 N. Kinney, 17 deer; Peter Roy, IS deer; while almost every 

 man In town has killed from 1 to 10. At least 4 tons of veni- 

 son saddles have been brought into this village this season, 

 and all Idlled within a radius of ten miles. I am sorry to ^lay 

 that but little regard is paid to the game law, and iu a few 

 years the deer •mil be utterly exterminated. Pheasants, gray 

 and black squirrels, coons, wolves, etc., are quite plenty. 



J P. J.. 



