FROM THE. GAME FIELDS. 



305 



killed. No one to whom I showed it knew 

 what it was. Now quails are quite plentiful 

 and grouse have grown beautifully less. I 

 think this is accounted for by the fact that 

 much of the cover has been cut off, making 

 the conditions much better for quails than 

 for grouse. The open season, on our birds, 

 should be shortened at least a month. Make 

 it unlawful to shoot upland birds until Oc- 

 tober 15th, giving the young grouse a 

 chance to become stronger of wing and 

 more worldly wise. 



H. F. Chase, Amesbury, Mass. 



Fridley, Montana. 



Editor Recreation: Last winter I took 

 a trip up the mountain to see if a bunch of 

 3 does I knew of had increased in num- 

 ber, during the year. I found where they 

 had been staying for some time; and then 

 saw fresh tracks leading down to a creek, 

 where I expected to find them in the 

 bushes. They had gone on up the moun- 

 tain on the other side. Half way up I 

 found their beds in the snow, 8 of them. ■ 



Like a boy after a rabbit, I stayed with it, 

 to see if there was a buck among them. I 

 had a new Winchester 30-30 and wanted to 

 give it a trial. The snow was knee deep and 

 the going heavy. A mile from their beds, 

 I came up with them, pretty well tired. 

 They were all lying down among some 

 scrubby firs. I crawled to within 30 yards 

 and looked the deer over — 5 old does and 

 3 fawns. Not a buck, so my hard work 

 was for nothing. 



If these deer are let alone, in a few years 

 there will be a good number of them. 

 Grouse are plenty enough for fine shoot- 

 ing. Fifteen miles from my place there is 

 a band of mountain sheep, 26 in number. 

 There are some fine rams among them. 



Recently I had a letter from my brother, 

 who was in Yellowstone Park during the 

 winter. He says young elk died, during 

 the wipter, in large numbers. Last year 

 was dry, so grass did not grow well, and 

 the ranges were eaten off so close that 

 there was not feed enough, in the winter, 

 for the elk. 



In the park elk increase rapidly, and if 

 the game law was enforced in Montana, 

 elk would drift out of the park, to the 

 North, and soon be plentiful here. They 

 would find better feed than in the park, 

 and in a few years would be as plentiful as 

 they now are to the East and South. Now, 

 if an elk crosses the line, there are men 

 after him at o'nce, with all kinds of guns. 



W. A. Hague. 



you know. The old man gets a little fidgety 

 about that time, too. 



Wisconsin now has a law requiring all 

 non-resident deer hunters to pay a license 

 fee of $30. I have hunted in Wisconsin and 

 Michigan, nearly every fall, for 18 years. 

 Sometimes 5 to 6 of us go, and stay 2 or 3 

 weeks. In all that time I don't think we 

 averaged one deer to the man. 



On one of my annual hunts I met a 

 native in the woods, one day. He admired 

 my rifle, and said he was going to get a 

 new gun, for he had killed enough deer 

 that summer so he could sell the pelts and 

 buy one. I asked him how many deer he 

 killed. His reply knocked the wind out of 

 my sails — " 97 deer! " Just think of it, and 

 weep! Ninety-seven deer killed for their 

 skins! 



On another trip I stopped at a cabin, in 

 the woods. While talking with the man, 

 I glanced into an old shed. There I saw a 

 stack of deer hides over 3 feet high. The 

 man told me he killed deer all summer. 

 Said he ran lots of deer down in winter, 

 when the snow was deep. He hunted for 

 the market. Just think of these things, ye 

 wise law-makers! Tamarack. 



Game, such as rabbits and quails, is more 

 plentiful this fall than for several years, 

 because of the excellent cover for hiding 

 last year, and the new rabbit law. Squirrels 

 are scarce in this vicinity, on account of the 

 depredations of the 2 legged rioters. Fish 

 are also getting scarce, because of the mar- 

 ket hogs netting them. Several men were 

 taken, with their nets, but they claimed they 

 were catching turtles, and the mayor did 

 not know the difference. 



There were also some'rabbits killed here, 

 during the close season, but the men claim 

 they did not hear of the new law. I think 

 the game commissioners ought to issue a 

 great number of pamphlets and distribute 

 them over the country; or better still send 

 Recreation to all poachers and pot hun- 

 ters. 



Your efforts in making a sportsmen's 

 journal have far exceeded my expectations, 

 and Recreation will always be a welcome 

 visitor in my den. I am pleased to see it 

 gaining favor with so many sportsmen, and 

 hope it will soon reach 1,000,000 circulation. 



I want to ask you if you think the Rem- 

 ington shot gun will stand common charges 

 of nitro powder.* Hoping to hear from all 

 brother sportsmen on some subject. I am 

 David I. Shafer, Covington, Ohio. 



Greenville, Ohio. 

 Editor Recreation: There are always 5 

 or 6 young fellows here, waiting to see Rec- 

 reation, about the time they think it 

 should come. Want to see the pictures, 



With the exception of the buffalo, big 

 game in the Yellowstone park, is increas- 

 ing and it is estimated there are 25,000 elk 

 here. Any day one can see bands of 75 to 

 100, by going an hour's ride from the Grand 

 Canyon hotel The best authorities place 



* Yes. — Editor. 



