5* 



RECREA TTOJSr. 



GAME IN ALASKA. 



Editor Recreation: Deer are surpris- 

 ingly abundant 6n the islands in this part 

 of Alaska, and we seldom have to go more 

 than a mile from the beach to find them. 

 They are killed the year round for food, and 

 rarely hunted for their skins. Our deer are 

 smaller than the Eastern red deer, but fully 

 as fine venison. 



At this season, the bucks are on top of 

 the mountains, where they spend most of 

 their time fighting one another with their 

 new horns, that have just shed the velvet. 

 The does and yearlings stay lower down, 

 often along the beach, in grassy places. 



I have killed many deer with a 22 calibre 

 rifle, by shooting them in the head. 



There is talk of building a packing house, 

 in this country, to can venison. Our people 

 are opposed to it; being warned by the 

 havoc the canners are making of the sal- 

 mon. The concerns that put up salt bellies, 

 throwing away the rest of the fish, are the 

 most destructive. We often see a pile of a 

 half million decayed salmon; the refuse of 

 a pack of less than 2,000 small barrels. 



Black bears are sometimes numerous 

 along the salmon streams, coming from the 

 hills to feed on the fish. 



I noticed the first flocks of wild geese 

 moving South, on September 6, just a day 

 ahead of a cold snap. Ducks have not be- 

 gun to flock yet. 



Ptarmigan are now full grown, and oc- 

 casionally come down on the open beach. 



Many fur seals are taken here at Dixons 

 Entrance, , during the spring, and some- 

 times, a sea otter. 



Geo. G. Cantwell, Houcan, Alaska. 



BERRYING ON THE PEND D'OREILLE. 



Usk, Wash. 

 Editor Recreation: My wife, daughter 

 and I, recently went down the river to get 

 some alder berries. As we were out of 

 fresh meat, I told them to take the boat, 

 and I would walk through the woods, and 

 see if I could get a deer. Although deer 

 are plentiful here, none but the white-tail 

 comes down in the flat country, and any 

 hunter knows that he is very fortunate if 

 he gets one of them in a half day's hunting. 

 I had not gone far before I could see from 

 the tracks that there were plenty of deer. 

 Going very slowly through a small slough, 

 I unfortunately stepped on a twig. It broke 

 with a sharp report, and I immediately 

 heard a splashing and running, but was too 

 late to get a shot. I could tell from the 

 snorting or whistling that there were two 

 or more deer, and I knew from the tracks 

 they were large ones. I had but little hope 

 of getting any meat that day, and was walk- 

 ing along rather carelessly, when looking 

 ahead about V2 mile, I saw 2 feeding right 

 toward me. The wind being in my favor, I 



sat down by a big log to awak develop- 

 ments. It was probably y 2 hour before 

 they came within 100 yards of me. 



The buck was a monster. My 40-65 

 spoke his death warrent at the first report, 

 although I shot him once more, on the run. 

 He had an elegant head of horns — 13 

 points. 



This country is certainly an ideal place 

 for the hunter or fisherman. I killed 8 

 mallard ducks at 4 shots this morning and 

 was only gone from the house 45 minutes. 



John B. Renshaw. 



NEVADA GAME HOGS. 



Carson City, Nev. 



Editor Recreation: The educating in- 

 fluence of Recreation has not spread far 

 enough in this vicinity; for some, who call 

 themselves sportsmen, go out before the 

 law is off grouse and quail, and shoot large 

 numbers of them. When law abiding 

 shooters wish to enjoy a day's sport they 

 must tramp all day for nothing, where a 

 month before the season opened one could 

 put up 5 or 6 coveys of quail. 



When I spoke to the proper officer about 

 this illegal shooting, I got a shrug of the 

 shoulders, and " What can we do? We can- 

 not convict if we make an arrest; " and such 

 I understand is the case. 



The constitution of our state gives all 

 fines to the school fund; yet our game law 

 provides that one half the fine shall go to 

 the officer making the arrest, and an officer 

 so doing cannot collect, as it is unconsti- 

 tutional. 



There is work ahead for all who uphold 

 the principles set forth in Recreation, if 

 they wish to protect our game from poach- 

 ers, and make the chances for a day of 

 pleasure more abundant. 



Ducks and geese are very scarce so far 

 this season, possibly owing to the lakes and 

 marshes farther North not having frozen 

 over. 



There is a question I would like to ask, 

 through your magazine. Is it a fact that 

 parties hunt the eggs of our wild fowls in 

 their Northern breeding places, to secure 

 the albumen? I have been told that boats 

 go North every season for the purpose of 

 gathering albumen. W. W, C. 



So far as I have been able to learn there 

 is no truth in this report. — Editor. 



LIMIT THE BAG. 



Merrimac, Mass. 



Editor Recreation: I want to relieve 

 my mind about pot-hunting and its remedy, 

 if there is one. 



New England is blessed with more than 

 her share of this sort of beast, and the 

 sooner he is suppressed the better, for both 

 game and sportsmen. Nearly every ham- 



