DeorWlbbb 29, 1881.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



431 



ant of the fact that tie ought to have procured liis license, in 

 'in', district is a very lame one, indeed. Tgrwrantia tegfs 

 neminem excusat is a maxim that his lordship ought to be 

 familiar with. Ho could easily have rectified hiserrorby 

 inquiry of the Ulerk of the Peace or Game Commissioner 

 (who resides at or near Caledonia) or any Warden. 



Now, bavin-, 1 thiok, shown by his own evidence that his 

 lordship was clearly liable to a fine for hunting without a 

 licence, ?Ord :. > the way he was dealt with? lie com- 

 plains that he had not all the formalities of " trial, convic- 

 tion and sentence," and asks if it is right to hang a man 

 without th se preliminaries. Certainly not. But this is a 

 very different case, aud his lordship having been caught in 

 flagrante delicto, I do not think there was anything to try. 

 A clause iu the Game Laws (Sec. 29) reads that "every 

 holder of a license must produce the same when required so 

 to do by any Justice of the Peace, Game Oonmri sioner, or 

 Warden, or officer of the Game Protection Society ;" so that 

 if his lordship, being a non-resident, was found hunting, 

 and could not produce his license when called upon, I am 

 inclined to thiok he could be fined on view, as is done under 

 the Fishery Act. However this may lie (and I am only ex- 

 pressing my own opinion), I believe, upon reflection, that 

 his arrest under a capias was not illegal. The section (21) 

 relatiug to the collection of penalties, reads : 



"Any penalty imposed by this Act may be recovered in a 

 summary manner, in the same manner as a private debt, in 

 the name oi any person who may sue for the same." 



Now, in the case of a private, debt, any person can take 

 out a capias against a debtor by swearing thai he is about to 

 leave the county, eta That could have been easily and 

 properly douein 'his case and then his Lordship cauldhave 

 given bail, and bad hn trial if he wanted one. And this 

 right to arrest by capias i3 a very necessary one in order to 

 carry out the law— for what would be the 'use of issuinu a 

 summons to a transient person "ho, before the day of trial, 

 would be out of the county -so that anyway I fail to see 

 where the -'harsh treatment" comes in. There are several 

 other points in his Lordship's letter which I would like to 

 remark upon, hut this letter lias already grown too long — 

 one let me briefly allude to. He says that *' no one supposes 

 that the objec of the Game Society is to make money out of 

 strangers." He forgets that his champion, tbe New York 

 World (inspired no doubt by its interview with him), very in- 

 solently remarks that " the object of the game laws of this 

 interesting region (Nova Scotia) seems to be more to extort 

 money from the wayfaring sportsmen than the preservation 

 of the game, and compares the officials of ihe law to the 

 harpies who infest Niagara Falls demanding money from 

 visitors at every turn," and one of the objects of my first 

 letter to the Forest and Stream was to correct this mis- 

 statements, so calculated to injure the character of our game 

 officials among sporismen abroad. 



I am sorry that his lordship holds the opinion that our 

 Game Laws '•are inadequate for the purpose and in- 

 adequately administered." The statement that the law is 

 a dead letter as far as the natives (under which term, I 

 suppose, he includes Indians and other Nova Scotians) are 

 concerned is not correct. I know of many prosecutions and 

 convictions of residents— so much so that the poor back- 

 woodsmen (for whom ther^ might be some excuse if they 

 killed niore'tlum the prescribed number of animals for food 

 for their families) complain i hut they are punished, while, 

 too often, the getuicinen sporismen, who kill for pleasure, 

 escape. But no Iranian laws are perfect, and I am free to 

 admit that there may be imperfections and discrepancies in 

 our Game Laws. All that I can say is that a great deal of 

 care and attention Wefe bestowed upon iheir preparation by 

 the gentlemen who framed them, and that their sole desire 

 was to endeavor to put upon the statute book a law suitable 

 to the requirements of the country. In conclusion, I would 

 invite his lordship to join our society. A contribution of ten 

 dollars will make him an honorary member, and he will thus 

 be assisting the funds of a very useful society, and at the 

 same time be able to give us the benefit of his varied ex- 

 perience as a. sportsmen in amending and removing whatever 

 incongruities may cxi.-t in the present Game Laws of ihis 

 Province. 



A Memukr of tub Nova Sootia Gamk Protection So- 

 ciety. 



Halifax, A r S., Dec. 10, 1881. 



THE POT-HUNTING SON OF HAM. 



Hbaens, Texas, Dec. S, 1881. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : 



I am indignant. The cause of my wrath is Ihis : One day 

 this week, two fellows came into town, each with a covered 

 wagon or "prairie, sch oner;" aud they were peddling live 

 quail, which they claimed to have trapped, to the number of 

 thirteen hundred iu four days. Now, at one time I was a 

 boy ; an I that boy dearly loved to set traps and catch quail, 

 and I think 1 kuow enough about it to know that this ex- 

 ploit of matching thirteen hundred in four days is manifestly 

 impossible. Tbey must have used nets aud driven the quail 

 into them. 1= there no way in which this wholesale destruc- 

 tion of game birds can he stopped? Is there no law to pro- 

 tect them from these wretched pot-hunters ? Why don't our 

 Legislature do something to protect the game while 

 there is plenty here to protect ; and not as some of our 

 sister Scales have dune— wait until the game is all destroyed, 

 and then make laws to protect birds that are extinct or very 

 nearly so? "An ounce of prevention is better than a 

 pound of cure." If laws were made aud enforced now, 

 while game is plenty, Ihcre would still be plenty for genera- 

 tions to come. 



Another thing that is driving the game away, though de- 

 stroying comparatively little, is the negro with his old army 

 musket. He is very numerous in Texas, and especially so 

 in the vicinity of the Brazos River. He's one of the kind 

 who is not afraid of work, no sir I He'd lie down and go to 

 sleep by it. He carries his old relic of war-limes wherever 

 he goes, and no malter whether in season or out of it, he 

 bangs away at everything in the shape of a bird that is so 

 unfortunate as to fall in bis way. You have some nice pond or 

 some place on thy river where you have been preparing to go 

 for a week, and know perfectly well that you will find duck 

 there, and are " dead sure" no one knows of the existence of 

 this particular " duck-hole" except yourself. You go there 

 at the first peep of day — and there you find one of these 

 animated black walnut statues, who has been there for two 

 hours, if any ducks have been there, and be managed to 

 get pretty close to them, and his old fifty-pounder didn't 

 hang fire, he probably got one, seldom more. He watches 

 that place all winter, after he has killed one duck there. 



When he finds wherea covey of quail "use," he takes his 

 gun, and goes out early in the" morning or late in the evening 

 and watches for them. As soon as he gets them, as nearly 

 in a hunch a* possible, he "turns loose" his old cannon. 

 When he "cunts tori" and finds his gun han't" busted," hi 

 lakes what he has killed, never getting what have only been 

 crippkd and hobbled off to die, and goes to town to seli his 

 h„,ty. 



He is one of the evils with which this country has been af- 

 flicted ever since the war. Yon can't get rid" of him, nor 

 away from him. He is in every clump of bushes in the 

 county. If you ask information of him about game, he 

 tells yon willingly all he knows to be a lie. But he can't 

 shoot on the wine and be never owns any ddg but a mangy 

 cur. Pointers and setters and their workings are a mystery 

 to him, and I hope they will remain so. 



I wish some of our Texas sportsmen would look into this 

 netting and trapping business, and see it it cannol be 

 remedied by our law-makers. Please bring it before them 

 iu your valuable paper, aud stir them up. 



When I wrote you last, we had promise of a fine season, 

 but since then it has turned warm and no wild fowl are 

 stopping here at all. Quail and deer are plenty; but no 

 snipe. B, C. EC. 



Washington, Dec. 18. — Having an office near the river, 

 and being compelled by business to remain there after dark, 

 I have noticed something which is contrary til all law — the 

 gunning of ducks at night by the aid of a light filed in tbe 

 bow of the boat. The ducks being attracted by tbe light, 

 swim upquite close to the boat, and are then easily killed 

 with an ordinary gun. This practice is one which, 1 believe, 

 is quite new in this vicinity, but which ha? existed and be-n 

 stopped in Chesapeake Bay. Up W inquiry I have found 

 this shooting is done by two negroes, who use sail-boats. — H. 



STATE PIGEON TOURNAMENTS. 



Editor Fared t 

 I most heard 



s 



NEW TEAR IN THE WOODS, 



jN the First of the Year every Ash, hlrd ana beast, 

 Protected ty law, sat down to a feast ; 

 T'was a Thanksgiving Dinner, hence alt of them came, 

 As the time li ad expired for taking of game. 

 First came Mr. Buck, and Ills wife Mrs. Deer, 

 Mr. wobbler, and Mrs. Wild Turkey were there ; 

 Then came Mr. Huffed Grouse, and pretty Miss Quail, 

 Willi Mr. Buck Babbit, and Miss Cotton Tall. 

 Mr. Fox Squirrel, MISS. Orey Squirrel aodBlack Squirrel, nexteanie, 

 With Woodcock and Snipe, too numerous to name, 

 Mr. Pickerel and Lady, and beauteous Miss Trout, 

 And old Mr. Black Baas brought Widow Pike out. 

 When all had arrived and the cloth bad been spread, 

 And the guests were all seated, Mr. Buck rose and sotfl, 

 ■' It affords me much pleasure to see you all here, 

 At our annual reunion this first of the year, 

 Yet many old friends, It gi ieyes me to say, 

 I miss at our Thanksgiving dinner to-day. 

 Let us all return thanks that our Uvea have been sparer]. 

 Cotton Tall said, ".Arnen! for I nearly was snared 

 M And l," said Wild Turkey, " came near to toy end, 

 And am thankful that T have escaped being penned." 

 Mr. Woodcock, Miss Quail and Miss Snipe ail sail that 

 They were thankful to have escaped Ihe Hawk aud the Cai. 

 Mr. Ruffed Grouse was thankful tbe Fox and the Mink 

 Had left him alive, for he Teally old think 

 Several times through the summer and rail of the year 

 That he never would live to meet with them here. 

 Buck Rabbit declared the Owl was his loe, 

 And would waichhlm at night wherever he'd go. 

 He was glad be was living to give thanks to-day, 

 And now wished to hear what the squirrels might say. 

 Mr. Fox Squirrel, Mrs. Black Squirrel, and also .Miss Gray, 

 Declared they had nothing before them tola , 

 Except that through vigilance strictly applied, 

 They had managed thus tar to keep their own hide. 

 The Pickerel, the Bass, the Pike and I in- n ,v, I 

 Had various things to be thankful : 

 They'd escaped the nsh basket, the n. i and the seine, 



The Fish nawk, the Heron; Kingfisher and On - 



In addition to these they'd escaped an along, 

 The angler who caught ftsh not four' Inches long. 

 When all had given thanks then Mr. Buck sain, 

 Tbe Pot-hunter was always his greatest dread. 

 That while to the spoilsman he'd lay down his life. 

 And so would his daughter, his son or his wife, 

 He trusted that Pan, the god oi the chase, 

 Would sparejdl his kindred the shame and disgrace 

 Of being killed by a hunter to n:i up his purse, 

 For certainly nothing on earth_eould be worse. 

 When the repast was dulshrd a motion was made. 

 That " a premium on scalps of destroyers be hud, 

 Whether Pot-hunters, Foxes, cats, Weasels or Mink 

 or on Owls or on Hawks, for we realty do think. 

 That U ten dollars per scalp were laid upon these. 

 All sportsmen conld find game wl : ruse." 



A motion to amend was Indignantly spurned, 

 The first motion passed and the meeting adjourned. 



Sakcho Panza, No. i. 



Tennessee Game Notes— Nashville, December 21.— 

 John Nicholson has just returned from Keelfoot Luke. Be 

 reports ducts and geese abundant, aud a large number of 

 sportsmen to shoot them. Many of these gentlemen are 

 from Indianapolis, Springfield and Cincinnati. The hotel 

 at Idlewild is admirably kept, and the shooting close In is 

 the best on the lake. This p ant is most easily reached from 

 Union City, where Messrs. Card well or Williams will only 

 be too happy to give visitors all tbe facilities wilhiu their 

 power. Our market is now overstocked with gan 

 are do wn to a dollar per dozen ; 'possums aud race ions fioru 



twenty-five to fifty cents, according to size. Venison only 

 brings teu cents per pound. v Vild turkey the same. Two 

 novices in field sports went out last week, ami although they 

 emptied one hundred and seventy-five shells, on 

 home a highland turtle and two woodpeckers, the other kill- 

 ing shot taking effect in their dog. John Burkholz said very 

 justly, "Temvools petter sthay in ze haus, abee de next 

 dime dey pin gilliu zuui veller, imtl den i ley pin gettin in 



tor benedenliary." Fox hunting has been r, ..' ii ■: i m - 

 fall; game plentiful, and weather as if made to order. 

 William Hobbs still keeps up his nocturnal chases after 

 'possums. J. D. H. 



Texas — Abilene, Taylor Co. — Antelope, wild turkey and 

 quail are quite plentiful in this vicinity. — W. 8. H. 



d, Strea » : 



' indorse your views in relation to the slay- 

 ing of pigeons at the meetings of the "Gam • Protective So- 

 tou ocranlry. With you, I think these societies at 

 their annual meetings can find enough to engage their time 

 hytal ng active measures for the protection if our game, 

 lint if not, then let them be consistent in tbe eyes of Ihe 

 world anil haul down the flag of game protection, and raise in 

 its Stead th- flag of game destruction. It has long ago b« en 

 written that we cannot serve two masters, and tbis jsTas true 

 ■3 it was then. 



1 hud in my travels, wherever I go, that the public senti- 

 ment is emphatic against these pigeon slaughters, and yet 

 more decided against netting pigeons under any circumstances 

 whatever. They speak the tuth when they fay these birds 

 are becoming v..ry scarce under this awful netting system, 

 and that the time has now arrived svhen it should lie stopped 

 ng at iaws in every. State and 'territory of the Union. 

 i heartily indorse these sentiments. 



Game societies shou'd never forget that nearly all the 

 sporting grounds of our States are the private domains of the 

 people, and that it is to them we are indebted for all the 

 sporting amusements we enjoy. Hence, we should not be 

 blind to the privileges we receive at their hands, nor deaf to 

 their righteous judgment. For myseli, I beJievein the kind- 

 ness of the people, m a- would I treat them with ingratitude 

 by ignoring their wishes. 



Besides, these shooting matches are cruel and barbarous. 

 I allude more particularly to the one held last vear, where, 

 under the banners of " fame protection," over 40,000 pigeous 

 • . ai'. lo have been killed. These were specially netted for 

 this occasion, aud nearly 2,000 miles away, in the deep and 

 secluded forests of the Indian Territory, bordering on Texas, 

 where they had collected in great numbers to build their nests. 

 to la y ami hatch their eggs and to feed and raise their young.' 

 Here, among the Indian' tribes, they would have been safe 

 from the barbarism of the treacherous net, had not Ihe greedy 

 white man followed them there to gobble them up by thou- 

 sands while they were upon their feeding grounds and seeking 

 food for iheir young. Here the unsuspecting parent birds 

 wete caught and huddled into coops and carried away in 

 wagon loads for over 100 miles, through the rough forests, 

 and oyer the yet rougher roads, to the nearest railroad, and 

 from thence they were carried as prisoners of war to Coney 

 Island, there l o await, in debility and sickness their coming 

 fate. 



It is to i e presumed that the young of these birds numbered 

 at least 2,000. These were left to perish with hunger in 

 their nests. Day after day, in their lonely ncais, with mouths 

 wide open, they anxiously await the usual return of 

 1 lohful parents to give them food. But they wait and 

 fast in vain. The parent birds do not return. So, "the. young 

 birds pine away from the stress of hunger and thirst' until 

 death finally comes to their relief. Now, all this is no fancy 

 sketch of mine, but is a sad and half untold reality ; and 

 may il be received and treasured up 83 a lesson, pointing to 

 that humanity of feeling aud action which we should all ob- 

 serve aud follow as the rule of our lives. Especially should 

 this be the case with all who profess to be true sportsmen. 



Our motto of " game protection " is cood, and let us labor 

 to build it up. " H.'W. Mekku.i.. 



Jyem Bochelle, A. T. 



Indiana— Angola, Dec. 27, 1881.— The first 

 issue that struck me was "Real Off- Hand Bhot 

 1 have attended some of these rifle sh- 

 the country- and find they all shoot from" rc-i 

 not shi>w any ability or nerve on the marks] 

 Only the quality of the gun. I like to see thee 

 men and hold their arms free from tie il 

 good distance and come as near the rem re oi 

 they can. That shows both the nerve of the 

 qualities of the gun. I should like to b 

 columns from some of the 'coon-hunters. Tb 

 'coon here, and a few hints from some of the 

 may add some improvement on my way Of 

 Quail and squirrels are scarce here; b fe 

 turkeys in the swamps. I killed one of the 1 

 day last I hat weighed 8 lb*, with a 14 bore 

 lining double B.'s, which I think is a little tor 

 well in that size gun.— E. E. 



thing in last 



.ting." Now, 



itches heiein 



I. That does 



tan's part, but 



i Bland up like 



ind shoot at a 



the mark as 



man and the 



through your 



ere is plenty of 



" older heads" 



ualcl ing them. 



v rabbits and 



itter on Salur- 



muzzle-loader, 



heavy to shoot 



An Echo of the dinar- Guns— Sherbrooke, Quebec, Dec. 

 15, 1881.— Editor Forest and Stream: God speed you in 

 your war against cheap guns. One thing you do not men- 

 tion, that is, that the "oaxon" gun is being sold under 

 several different names. The " Zulu" and the "Ranger" arc 

 identical with the "Saxon." We have them here"' in the 

 hardware stores. They are awful. But what 

 most is that such high-class public;,:; ■ the ' '. ntury 



Magazine w HI advertise them. They may not burst for some 

 time; but they will kill, there is no doubt of that. And 

 what a swindle lo say they are well-made and finely finished. 

 They arc the roughest, awkwardest, homeliest, meanest look- 

 ing earthquake-handles ever made. One advertisement says 

 flroy were made for the French army, another, for the 

 Zulus. Strange that even the Zulus wouldn't have them,— 

 Canada. 



Adirondack Winter Notes— Moira, Dec. 26.— We have 

 had no snow here yet. Weather warm as October. It is fa- 

 vorable for deer, and if we don't have a late spring they will 

 be likely to erne out in better condition than commonly, 

 The open weather also prevents crusting, which is 

 better Slill, Beechnuts are very plentiful also/and all kinds 

 of aniuuils and birds that feed on them cannot, fail to have 

 plenty of food. Partridge are quite plenty about here yet, 

 and a go d stock will be left over to breed next season. I 

 do not hear Ihey are hunted to any amount since tbe open 

 season closed. The fact is, they that would hunt them do 

 nol care lo unless they can sell them for market, and llicy 

 dare not do that. Besides, they could not. find buyers now. 



' A. C. 



Ontario Deer— Belleville, Ont., Dec. 3, 1881.— Deer 

 hunters have been very successful this season, despite the 

 destruction of large tracts of woodland by the bush fires. 

 One party of four from this city got five A or, and another 

 party of three got a like number, in ten days' shooting. A 

 party of two from Henders> .n, N. l . , shot seven deer in as 

 many days, and fifteen deer were got by a patly from I 

 bellford. The method of hunting pursued here is chasing 

 into lakes with hounds, and the game do not seem to fin- 

 ish in numbers.— K. 8. B. 



